Review Time #84

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

All I can say is wow. Yep that is basically what I thought of the book. I came home from uni to this book, I read this book instead of doing my lit review that was due in two days (still got a high D, so that turned out all right) and I read it in 24 hours (would of been less but I was too tired from driving home). I absolutely loved it and in typically me behaviour I am writing this review instead of doing my nutrition analysis! 

*Do not read past this book if you a) have never read Throne of Glass which you will now go and read this epic series and b) haven't read up until Heir of Fire which you should do right now and then come back as there may (correction there totally is) spoilers for Heir of Fire and the previous books in here*

This review will be split up into different parts because there are so many story lines going on in this series! Starting with Aelin, and holy hell did you kill some people/things/who-knows-what-that-was! As the cover says 'Her destiny awaits. But first vengeance...' you know right away that shit is going down and well it did. So many intricate plans were execuated during this book and well lets just say that no one put Aelin knew the full plan. So many decisions that Aelin had to make in this book, but you know what they say 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'.

Rowen. Rowen. Rowen. You will know from my Heir of Fire review that I was shipping these two and well I still am. When he turned up in the book I was jumping up and down! And that is all I am saying, you can read it yourself to find out the rest. 

"You look like-"
"A queen?"
"The fire-breathing bitch-queen those bastards claim you are."

Dorian made me cry in chapter 1. Yep I was crying in chapter 1 and almost all of the chapters from his POV. You know the fall out  from the end of Heir of Fire, well that is why I was upset. And AHHHHHHH! Also the bromance between Choal and him is simply the greatest. Choal, I was hating on you at the start and then you were back in my heart after a while when you stopped being such an ass (which I understand why, but still no need to be an ass). Also I don't know how you were going along with Aelin's plans without actually knowing the full plan! Aedion, gah I felt so bad for you at certain points, but your fighting skills and getting over said problem made me like you even more than before.

Manon I really wasn't a fan of you in Heir of Fire but damn girl in Queen of Shadows I loved you! Manon has no allegiance expect to her 13 and that makes her even more dangerous as you don't know if she will end up fighting with Aelin in future books or against her.

"She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph."

One of many favourite moments of mine is when all the story lines intersect at a point and a few chapters I'm not sure if I was breathing, freaking out and going 'oh my fucking god' the entire time. And the ending, no cliffhanger! But I am still so desperate for the next book it makes no difference.

Sarah J Maas just has a way with words and how she has created the epic fantasy series makes you wish you had the entire series with you. Maas manages to keep you guessing throughout the entire book and makes you believe/think tings have happened which haven't actually happened. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you very very very very much Bloomsbury Australia for sending me out a review copy of this book!

Rating: 10/5

Keely xx

August Wrap Up 2015!

Hey everyone, I'm back to blogging again! Wooo! I said earlier in one of my posts that my A Court of Thorns and Roses review was coming well that is still true but I really am struggling to write a review (I really loved it!), also my Queen of Shadows review will be coming out soon. This will probably happen when I am stressing out over my assignment that is due this Friday, my prac exam next Tuesday and also my online test next week. Woo uni...

So this month I got to meet Cassandra Clare and Holly Black which you can read about right here. I talked about my top Aussie TBR which you can find here and I even wrote a review about Trouble from the Start which is found here! This month I have a lot of uni work to do and I am going to uni games but I think I might manage to do a couple of reviews and posts because there are some good books sitting on my TBR!

Also I made an instagram account for my blog... basically so I can do book tags and not piss off all my friends it is @myspinonbooks 

Review books:

• Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
• Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
• In The Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker

Thank you very much Bloomsbury AU, Penguin Teen Au and Allen & Unwin!

Event books:

• Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher
• Running Like China by Sophie Hardcastle
• This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
• Pompidou Posse by Sarah Lotz

Thank you very much Hachette AU for the Date A Book YA night!

Swapped books:

• Searching for Somebody by Jennifer Probst 
• Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
• Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

Thank you very much to Jaz (@pixelski) and Jeann (@happyindulgence) for these books!

Bought books:

• The Queen of the Tearling and The Invasion of the Tearling by Erkia Johansen
• Mai Tai'd Up by Alice Clayton
• Wildlife by Fiona Wood
• Ophelia by Jackie French 
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

So that is it for my wrap up! Make sure you comment below with what you got this month/week so I can check it out!

Keelyxx

Review Time #83

Trouble From The Start by Rachel Hawthorne


Avery knows better than to fall for Fletcher, the local bad boy who can’t seem to outrun his reputation. Fletcher knows he shouldn’t bother with college-bound, daughter-of-a-cop Avery. But when their paths cross, neither can deny the spark. Are they willing to go against everything and let their hearts lead the way? Or are they just flirting with disaster? 

Trouble from the Start releases simultaneously with companion novel The Boyfriend Project. These heartwarming paperback originals are the perfect summer reads, great for fans of Jennifer Echols, Lauren Barnholdt, and Susane Colasanti.

Trouble from the start,  is a companion novel to The boyfriend project (which I haven't read) and it follows Avery, the classic good girl, and Fletcher, the classic bad boy. 

Avery's father is a cop and every summer he fosters an at-risk kid or in this summers case; Fletcher. After a party the previous night where Avery drank a bit too much because she realised that all throughout high school she didn't really do what everyone else did, the occasional party and a boyfriend wasn't on her list of priorities. Getting a ride home on the back of Fletcher's bike wasn't something that she would normally do (also why let a drunk girl on the back of a bike?) and it may of totally ruined her reputation at school (honestly who cares about this you have a week of school left and will never see most of these people again!?!?!).

Turns out Fletcher isn't all that bad and makes sure everyone knows what really happened that night. After an incident which Avery handles (because she is kinda badass and her dad is also a cop) Fletcher (who was on his way to help out) kind of ends up hanging out with Avery, Kendall and Jeremy.

As summer goes on so does the flirting between Avery and Fletcher until they finally give in, it's cute. The relationship between these two is cute and fun just like a first love should be. I enjoyed that they were friends at first and there was no insta-love because 9/10 that doesn't happen!

The ending was a bit fast paced with a few loose ends coming together and working out what they each want to now that summer is over with colleges which is what every person who finishes high school is like! I really enjoyed the story while it was slightly predicable and eye-rolling at places it was an enjoyable contemporary novel and those who love Jennifer Echols and Kasie West like me will really enjoy it!

Thank you very much for Harper Collins for sending this copy my way!
You can buy Trouble from the start from bookworld, booktopia, dymocks, amazon!

Rating: 4/5

Keelyxx

My Top Aussie Books TBR

Hey everyone, with the recent #LoveOzYA movement on twitter I thought that I would share some Aussie books that are on my TBR since I have previously done this post about what Aussie books I recommend.

1. Ophelia by Jackie French
Okay I bought this in Sydney on the weekend and I cannot wait to start it! I loved Jackie French in high school and this book is an adaption of Shakespeare's Hamlet which I had to read for my HSC and I bloody loved (okay I really love Shakespeare, okay?) 

2. One True Thing by Nicole Hayes
I have started this one, but I got sick and then had to catch up on so much uni work that I haven't gotten back to it yet, but I will soon!

3. Cloudwish by Fiona Wood
I loved, loved, loved Wildlife by Fiona Wood and I cannot wait until September 1st when Cloudwish is published!

4. Risk by Fleur Ferris
This book is such an intriguing looking thriller, I am a sucker for a thriller book especially Aussie thrillers are reading Tara Moss's books.

5. Pretend... by Stacey Nash
I love Stacy Nash's Oxley College series (see Ssh! and Wait!) yes this could be because I live where this series is set but I also love Aussie NA and being able to relate to it so much makes me love it even more.

6. Every series by Ellie Marney
Sherlock Holmes. Enough said. Well Watts & Mycroft that is. 

7. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I love These Broken Stars and when I heard that Kaufman had a new series out with another Aussie author I got really excited! 

8. Running Like China by Sophie Hardcastle
Usually I am not one for memoirs but after hearing Sophie speak about her troubles with mental illness on Monday night I cannot help but look forward to reading about her story and struggles that she has had. 



So that is it for my Aussie TBR be sure to comment below some more fantastic Aussie books for me to read!!

Keely xx

Meeting Cassandra Clare and Holly Black and the Date a Book YA Night!

Hey everyone! I'm back (hopefully) and this past weekend I was super lucky enough to go to the Cassandra Clare and Holly Black Q&A/Signing at Kinokuniya Sydney as well as going to the Hachette blogger night last night which I meet Holly again as well as new Australian author Sophie Hardcastle!

So Saturday my friend and I caught the train down to Sydney for the event and met up with Pavan (@_PavanH) to have lunch and get our seats for the event. We RSVP'd fast enough to be lucky enough to get seats and priority for the signing as well. The Q&A was hilarious and the stories that were told were fantastic. 

Cassandra Clare & Holly Black Q&A!

My signed Clockwork Angel

So I got my 3 infernal devices books signed by Cassandra and I waited for Monday night to get my Holly Black book signed.

So last night was Hachette's Bloggers night, I missed last years night because I had just gone back to university but this year it fell in my holidays so I was able to make it! We got to meet Sophie Hardcastle who has a memoir Running Like China  releasing on the 25th August it is about her struggles with bipolar and finding out that she had the mental illness, really looking forward to reading this one!

We also got an overview of what books are releasing later this year and early next year with some great titles to look out for! I am super excited for Glass Sword which is the sequel to Red Queen, a thriller called The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong and Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin which is a story about what would of happened if the Axis powers won WWII (my love of modern history is making me excited for it!). 

Wildlife & Ophelia!

Since I cleaned out my bookcases recently (and mum is making me get rid of some) I took to twitter to see if people wanted some of the books since I did have complete series to get rid of and well I ended up taking 25 books with me to Sydney so enjoy everyone! I also grabbed a book off the wonderful Jaz (@pixelski) which was Searching for Somebody by Jennifer Probst because it was recently announced that she would be at the Sydney Author Event in 2016 which I plan on going to again! I was in Sydney so I couldn't help but pick up some books while I was at the bookshops, I finally got my own copy of Wildlife by Fiona Wood aka one of my favourite books ever and Ophelia by Jackie French which is also signed because 1) I love Jackie French and 2) I love Shakespeare and Shakespeare retelling's! 

My signed The Darkest Part of the Forest & Holly Black bookmarks from the lovely Gina from @Behindthe_Pages

Book Haul!

Some goodie bag goodies!

Hearing Holly talk for the second time in three days was amazing and this time her talk involved strange pictures (there is a troll under a bridge in Seattle, I wanna go!), fairytales and how her books have changed since she first started writing her first book in the mid 90's. I also happened to be sitting in the lucky chair and I won a Ruin & Rising tote bag, a copy of Lying Out Loud and an ARC of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardvgo (when I won this I felt like everyone was gonna jump me for this book!). In our little gift bag at the end I got All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, Pompidou Posse by Sarah Lotz and The Raging Light by Estelle Laure as well as a Date A Book mug, makeup and other little bits and bobs. 

My ACOTAR review should be up this week considering I have had 3/4 of it done since May... damn uni getting in the way all the time!

Keely xx

Review Time #82

Wait! By Stacey Nash

Jordan Hays knows just how precious life is; that’s why he has his own mapped out. He’ll work to pay his way through university while he studies hard, regardless of the constant distractions. Because when it comes to becoming a nurse, he’s deadly serious. He won’t fail to save someone again.

But Hex Penton is way too similar to the sister he lost, and even though the only thing more fun than stupid dares is the crazy girl who sets them, Jordan needs to make a choice. Hex believes every moment is important; every opportunity must be taken, because you never know when the world will be yanked out from underneath you. With the foundations he’s based his life on shaken, Jordan must discover what’s more important: making sure Hex’s life isn’t wasted, or remembering how to live his. 

It’s time to play truth or dare.

***

Wait! is a story about acceptance, learning to trust and in turn love while facing life's unexpected difficulties.

After reading and loving Ssh! by Nash I couldn't wait to get my hands on book two in the Oxley saga. Apart from the fact that the whole series is based where I go to college and University, I love the writing and knowing what really happens at an Australian college.

Wait! Is about Hex and Jordan, who are both freshers (first years) and what they are both dealing with while they begin studying at university. Jordan is Logan's brother from Ssh! so we get to see both him, and Liv again which is exciting. We know a little about Jordan's past from Ssh! but we really get to find out who he is and why he decided to do nursing rather than another course and why he seemingly drawn to Hex. First night of college and Hex is known as the party girl, not really caring about being at university in the first place she is really getting into O-Week.

Hex reminds Jordan of everything that his sister was and fears that she is heading down the same path as her. The overbearingness that Jordan has towards Hex really keeps them apart from each other as Hex doesn't want to know that she reminds him of his dead sister. While Hex manages to get Jordan having some fun instead of being so serious all the time and Jordan manages to get Hex to see that there is something that she enjoys and can do. I loved the continuous dare game they had going on which really added to the story.

I haven't said this in a long time to say that I related to the male character more than the female might be because Jordan and I have a lot in common, swimming, not huge partiers/drinkers and both study a health field. Hex on the other hand is a wild child or at least she is for most of the book. The minor characters were fantastic and I kind of want them to have their own story but still they added more to the story.

Nash has managed to create a realistic view of Australian college and university life which I haven't seen in any Australian YA/NA which is kind of sad but still the details about where they are and what is happening are fantastic and I could imagine exactly where they are. The story of Jordan and Hex isn't about romance (not completely) but about getting past the bad things and learning to move on from past. 

Thankyou so much Stacey for the ARC copy!

Rating: 5/5

Keely xx

Paradise City Blog Tour + GIVEAWAY!

Paradise City by CJ Duggan

There's bound to be trouble in Paradise . . .

When her parents decide a change will be good for her, seventeen-year-old Lexie Atkinson never expected they'd send her all the way to Paradise City. Coming from a predictable life of home schooling on a rural Australian property, she's sure that Paradise will be amazing. But when she's thrust into a public school without a friendly face in sight, and forced to share a room with her insipid, hateful cousin Amanda, Lexie's not so sure. 

Hanging out with the self-proclaimed beach bums of the city, sneaking out, late night parties and parking with boys are all things Lexie's never experienced, but all that's about to change. It's new, terrifying . . . and exciting. But when she meets Luke Ballantine, exciting doesn't even come close to describing her new life. Trouble with a capital T, Luke is impulsive, charming and answers to no one. The resident bad-boy leader of the group, he's sexier than any boy Lexie has ever known. 

Amidst the stolen moments of knowing looks and heated touches, Lexie can't help but wonder if Luke is going to be good for her . . . or very, very bad?

I loved CJ Duggan's Summer series and I was super excited to hear about Paradise City at SAE in November. I really enjoy how she sets her books in the late 90's in Aus and her writing style.

Meet Lexie, from outback Victoria in a town with 3 pubs but no high school. Lexie has always wanted to go to high school with her cousin Amanda in Paradise City but never actually thought her parent's would send her. A surfer town (kind of like my hometown actually) to finish her final year of high school. However, when she gets there she isn't warmly welcome by her cousin Amanda. Amanda thinks that with Lexie around she won't be able to sneak out and meet the guys after curfew. 

First night staying with her cousin Amanda and Lexie runs into Ballantine, whom she wakes up to find him and Boon staring at her while Amanda was sneaking out with. Ballantine and Boon surfer and Kirkland guys who are seemingly who every girl wants. After becoming friends with Laura, Boon's sister, Lexie soon learns everything she needs to know about the Kirkland boys. However, getting detention on the second day of school really wasn't the best thing for Lexie even though she spent detention with Ballantine and Boon.

The sneaking out, late night beach walks and swims, late night make out sessions and secret telling is what the nights hold for Lexie after Amanda leaves her with Ballantine while she sneaks off to make out with Boon. They were doing the sort of things that teenagers did when they had their drivers license (I will admit to some of these). Dean however is a complication. Dean who is Ballentine's older brother whom Ballentine thinks is with or was with Lexie.

I really loved all the characters and how they were written and developed. I could really connect with Lexie surprisingly, while I didn't come from a country town I do come from a surfer/coastal town and now I am a country university, living in a country town for the past three years. The new experiences that come with being in a new place is what I could really connect with. Amanda once she got over the fact that Lexie wasn't going to stop her from sneaking out was actually a really good character and had Lexie's back when she needed it. Laura was a great best friend who knows how to get the guys to think what she wants them to think. The boys are well surfers, good looking and have a bit of a jealous streak with them.

If you loved Duggan's Summer series I am sure that you will enjoy Paradise City. With tales of sneaking out, night swimming, romance and Australian NA this is a book for you!

Thankyou to Hachette Australia for the review copy!

Rating: 4.5/5


Keely xx


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