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Sunday 29 June 2014

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) - Cassandra Clare

Oh boy was that a series. I read this out of obligation, basically because I felt like I needed to finish out the series since I'd dedicated so much time to it already. See what I thought about it! It was definitely a surprise.



Saturday 21 June 2014

[Series Review] Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan

I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this series because it was so fun! Check out my full review below:



Rating: 5/5 (as a whole series)

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Winter TBR Plans

I'm in the midst of my exam period, but after that, it's a whole entire month to read, read and yep, do some more reading. This list is clearly, very ambitious, but you never know until you try right? Right?!



Thursday 12 June 2014

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer Trilogy #2) - Michele Hodkin

Read: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer Trilogy #1) Review

Plot:


Mara's learnt that she might not actually be insane. Except now everyone around her thinks she actually is. The only person who believes her is Noah, and while he promises to help and protect her, she can't seem to escape the frightening scenes that unfold before her.

Trying to juggle being normal amongst her family isn't easy when constant visions and creepy coincidences threaten to endanger Mara's life.

Review:

If you guys have read my review for the first book or watched any of my videos, you would know that I loved The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It was my favourite read last year, a solid 5/5. I can now report that The Evolution of Mara Dyer is a massive hit as well. I'm going to try and keep this as spoiler free as I can, just in case you guys haven't read the first book but want to know if the series is worth reading.

What I loved in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer transferred right into this sequel. Michele Hodkin used her writing to create a tense and creepy atmosphere, that did not let off until the very end. It's hard not to be emotionally attached to this book because of how much time and thought I invest while reading. I feel like I'm an actual character in the book that Mara is trying to mess with, because of how uncertain situations are. I learn to trust her before that trust cracks because something happens that make me think she actually is insane. I love that I can connect on such an intimate level with the plot - there seriously is no way of reading this book in a detached manner. You become so involved in deducing the mystery and what is going on with Mara.

Hodkin makes reading so much easier as well. The pacing is fast but not rushed. It's set at a perfect pace to keep readers on edge. The intensity builds slowly at first but changes momentum at the right moments, and all I can do is mentally scream "WHAT". I'm being serious about that. I literally flew right through the book and my heart was pounding so hard by the end because of how intense the entire final scene was. Her visual descriptions are yet again gory, but it enhances the creepiness of the story.

The plot was as solid as it could be. I wasn't confused with what was happening, and it wasn't predictable either. Hodkin does well in that she develops layers and layers of depth that adds to the mystery, but can somehow unpick it without losing the complete structure.Mara and Noah's relationship continues to develop although this time it's a lot more realistic. They work to understand each other both their characters begin to show more depth. I enjoyed the romance (and Noah) a lot because it didn't overshadow the main point of the story. A lot more characters are introduced this time, but they actually serve some type of purpose, however small or large. I found though, that I didn't like or care for majority of them.

The ending definitely made the book. The mystery began to unravel and I got some but not all the answers. The intensity mounts in these final scenes and I finished it before even realising I had reached the end. I am definitely, absolutely and positively will be reading the third and final book because of the insane cliff hanger. I didn't even think it could be possible to torture me like this, but she has and it's killing me. I feel like maybe I should've read this closer to The Retribution of Mara Dyer's release date because the anticipation is not okay. This is what this series will do to you. Mara is struggling to understand how her brain is functioning, and I'm going insane because of the wait.

If I had to recommend any series at all, this would be the one. I love how it messes with my brain and keeps me on edge, because in the end it is all worth it.

Rating: 5/5

Tuesday 3 June 2014

May Wrap Up

I tried to take advantage of the two readathons that took place this month, but I guess I didn't do as well as I wanted. Aside from the usual #AYearAThon readathon, I also participated in the Bout of Books 10.0. Wraps up to them down below:

#AYearAThon Wrap Up -



Bout of Books Wrap Up

Also, I finally managed to film a review for The Fault In Our Stars movie, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. I was lucky enough to be able to watch the film a month in advanced, so see how I faired in trying to coherently talk about it. It was a tearjerker!



Oh look, another book haul. This time it's more the books I accumulated from April to May so there are a few. Seriously that thumbnail for my video does not accurately represent how many books I got.



Overall, I had an average reading month. A total of 8 books, all of which I rated 4/5 for. Wrap up down below along with any reviews that I've done.



Reviews:

Mash Up: The Summer I Turned PrettyThrone of Glass and Boundless

REV Girl - Leigh Hutton

Revived - Cat Patrick

Let me know how many books you read this month, and which you enjoyed the most!

Monday 2 June 2014

[Review] The Summer I Turned Pretty, Throne of Glass & Boundless

If you guys didn't know, other than reviews on this blog I also do mash up reviews occasionally on my channel. This time around I wanted to talk about the books that I read for the #AYearAThon and Bout of Books 10.0 Readathon.



Books Mentioned:

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han (0:36)

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) - Sarah J. Maas (4:42)

Boundless (Unearthly #3) - Cynthia Hand (9:31)

If you've read any of them tell me what you thought of it below!