Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.
This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!
Recent Reviews
Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenPublished by Penguin Random House
Genres: Contemporary YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Thoughts: Everything there is to say about John Green has already been said. He’s one of those authors that (almost) everyone adores. He makes writing and reading YA fiction something an adult can be proud of, while simultaneously appealing to every teenager ever. It’s kind of ridiculous.
So, yeah, The Fault in Our Stars was amazing. Brilliant. Gorgeous. And, well, every other adjective along those lines. But if I hadn’t been sent it for review, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. Because, honestly, it’s a teenage cancer book. As if life weren’t miserable enough already.
I thought I’d list a few reasons for you to read this book in spite of the scary, depressing cancer. Reasons I would have liked to have known, for those of you who haven’t wanted to pick it up:
- It is a book about a book. This is one of those tropes usually seen in lit-fic, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it in The Fault in Our Stars. I love a good book about characters seeking out an author or obsessing about a sequel/ending that doesn’t exist. The Fault in Our Stars was rather like Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind… only, er, good.
- It’s funny. It probably shouldn’t be funny, but it is. The characters are snarky, witty and quick with their comebacks… I loved how their minds worked and highlighted every other line to add to my own repertoire of comments.
- It is THE cancer book. It’s the only one you ever need to read. Once you’ve read it, the obligation to read anything similar is gone. And despite the cancerous misery, it is also rather life affirming. So… it’s probably as good as cancer books get.
- You’ll finally understand all the friggin’ references. Alas, not reading this book has become like not reading The Hunger Games. Okay? Okay.
Bottom line? Yes, this book is emotionally manipulative. Yes, it will make you laugh. Yes, it will make you cry. So… just read it already so we can all stop talking about how much we loved it.
Review: World After by Susan Ee
World After by Susan EeSeries: Penryn & the End of Days #2
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Also in this series: Angelfall
SPOILER WARNING: I find this summary super-spoilery and would recommend skipping it!
When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.
Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
Thoughts: I devoured World After in a single day. Susan Ee has a style that lends itself to fast reading; her writing is engaging and set with quick chapters that make you feel like speeding ahead.
World After had a lot to live up to. Angelfall was such a knock-out success, I am sure there were worries that Ms. Ee may have been a one-hit-wonder. I am happy to say she is not. Although there is a two-year gap between the books, World After felt as though it was written just seconds after Angelfall. The style, characterisations, everything was exactly as she had last left it. That’s something I feel like most authors fail to achieve: even when you love a sequel, it won’t feel like the same book you read before.
So, in a way, I feel rather weird reviewing World After after reviewing Angelfall… because my comments are the same. World After is a fantastic continuation to an already brilliant series. Ms. Ee doesn’t mess around with my favourite characters and she doesn’t go around randomly adding in a romantic triangle. World After answered many of my “And now what?!” questions without introducing any “How could she do that?!” feelings. Thank friggin’ GOD.
That said, there were a few new additions to this book that I adored. For one, Raffe’s sword played a major role. In fact, it was rather a starring role! When I met Ms. Ee at an event hosted by her UK publishers, I told her that I’d be happy to read an entire spin-off narrated by this sword… and I really do still mean that. I probably sound crazy if you haven’t read the book, but just trust me. This sword is amazing.
I also appreciated how World After gave us a brand-new insight into Raffe’s character. Ms. Ee takes you into his head without resorting to any cliché POV switches (something I find a total cop-out). Raffe lovers are going to really, really happy with this book!
Bottom line? A fantastic sequel to a brilliant novel. There’s a reason Susan Ee is so popular!
End of the Year 2013 Readathon #ReadingCram
So, you might have heard that I am shooting for the near impossible: reading 18 books in December in order to complete my Goodreads challenge. I’m on track so far… but I can feel a lull coming on. Spotting the End of the Year 2013 Readathon hosted by Jenny from Juliababyjen’s Reading Room and Dana from Danasquare was just the motivation I needed!
They’ve got daily challenges and events scheduled – so there is plenty to keep me motivated. I am going to be using this post for daily updates and to post my challenge entries. It should be fun!
Progress
5/12 read!
I’ve got to get through 18 books before January 1st, and 12 books during this readathon.
December 9 – The TBR Pile
My TBR Pile for this challenge is based off my December TBR posted a few days ago:
- The Sign of Four by ACD – 3 stars
- Endgame by Ann Aguirre – 5 stars
- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
- The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
- I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – 3.5 stars
- Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
- Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
- Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead
- Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
- Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
- The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
- Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas – 3 stars
- Letters from Santa Claus by J.R.R. Tolkien
– 4 stars
December 10 – Teaser Challenge
All you have to do is open the current book you are reading to a random page and post 2 sentences. – Book Loving Hippo
So, I am cheating on this challenge a bit! But this quote is too funny to select just two sentences from…
“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Probably not. It is possible, however, that in five hundred turns, neural decay will set in, and I will no longer recall how hilarious this is.”
“You’re an evil, evil Bug.”– Endgame by Ann Aguirre
December 13 – Favorite Book-to-Movie Release in 2013
Today’s challenge is hosted by Falling for YA.
Quite predictably, my favourite Book-to-Movie adaptation of the year is Catching Fire. Surprise, Surprise. BUT, if TV Shows counted, I’d say my favourite adaptation is the TV show Elementary. That show is beyond fantastic and probably edging out Sherlock (BBC) as my favourite Sherlock Holmes adaptation!
December 14 – Seasonal Challenge
This challenge is hosted by Book Briefs. We’ve got to choose books we’ve read in 2013 to fit these categories…
Recommend a book good for a snow day:
Letters from Santa Claus by J.R.R. Tolkien
Recommend a book good for a rainy day:
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
Recommend a book good for a beach day:
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Recommend a book good for a spooky night:
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
December 2013 Book Haul!
Another month, another book haul. This month, you’ll notice a larger than average number of books by a certain science fiction author… my all-time favourite, Ann Aguirre. 🙂
- I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – Having lurved her Heist Society series, I am hoping this one will be just as awesome!
- Rotten by Michael Northrop – Basically, if you put a dog on the cover I will buy your book.
- The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge – As I suspected, this book is even more gorgeous in real life.
- Perdition by Ann Aguirre – Her new series! *happy dance*
- Horde by Ann Aguirre – Final book in the series… *sad dance*
- Twinmaker by Sean Williams – This is my second copy of this book (sent for review), so…. giveaway!
That’s it for now! I have a few more I am waiting to receive, but all in all I am happy with my lovely new hardcovers. 🙂
December TBR: The really, really big one.
Last month, I committed to completing by goodreads challenge before the end of the year. This meant reading a staggering 28 books before the year’s end – a number which I have since cut down to 18. Not bad for a single month, right? Still, it means I’ve got to get through 18 books this month! Gah!
- Bite Club by Rachel Caine – This is a carry-over from my November TBR. I’m almost finished with it and am happy to report I liked it!
- Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
- The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
- Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott – This is out in January so I FINALLY have an excuse to read it! Have wanted to since picking it up at BEA, but other books seemed more important… sigh.
- The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason – This one is about a female Stoker and Holmes: LOVE the concept!
- The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
- Endgame by Ann Aguirre – As God is my witness, I will not go one more year without reading this book!
- Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead – This is another carry-over from last month’s TBR… I really need to finish this series before I forget everything!
- Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston – Yup, I’m one of the weirdos who hasn’t read this series. No idea what happened there….
- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins – As above :0
- Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell – I’ll admit, I’m kinda choosing this one because of the length. Hopefully 192 pages won’t take me too long to get through!
- I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – Having already ready Ally’s Heist Society series, I KNOW I am going to love this one!
- Horde by Ann Aguirre – The last in the trilogy. *sniffles*
The ebooks
- Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – This one is part of my Christmas Books challenge. It is supposed to be the perfect Christmas read!
- Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas – This one is also for my Xmas challenge 🙂
Yup, I DO realise the total here is only 15. I still need to pick out 3 more books… I am thinking maybe something else Christmassy? Let me know if you have any recs!