March Book Haul

Here we are again...

With me trying to figure out how I managed to get so many books.

I really don't know how I do it.

I hate this part... when I have type out all the names... SO MUCH WORK UGH. Well, we have: Sherlock Holmes The Compete Illustrated Novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Urban Dog: The Adventures of Parker by Will Chou; Missing Me and Sister, Missing both by Sophie McKenzie; Gone by Michael Grant; The Luxe by Anna Godbersen; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy; A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly; Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? By Jeanette Winterson; A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan; Holes By Louis Sachar; Mansfield Park and Persuasion by Jane Austen; and finally (thank god) And Then There Were None by Agathe Christie. 

Sherlock Holmes The Compete Illustrated Novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mansfield Park and Persuasion by Jane Austen, And Then There Were None by Agathe Christie. 

Now I don't read many classics and I should start to really (I've always been put off them because of school, they do ruin classics and Shakespeare.. I can't pick up a Shakespeare sonnet or play now). So naturally, I picked up The Sherlock Holmes book thing from the book swap along with two little Jane Austen novels, and my brother threw out his brand new Agathe Christie novel so I saved it... just.

The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? By Jeanette Winterson, A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

I also picked these three up from the book swap and they all looked like cute, fluffy, quick reads so I managed to struggle these home with my other books. And one of them is an old World Book Night Book for 2013 so I'm quite excited about that (I've heard these are usually great reads). I'm afraid I have no idea what any of these are about because I can't remember and I'm too lazy to check for you (sorry).

 Missing Me and Sister, Missing both by Sophie McKenzie, Gone by Michael Grant,  Holes By Louis Sachar.

These are the books I got from Amazon this month, and I probably won't be buying from there again this month due to shipping costs (it's getting ridiculous Amazon, pull yourself together.) I read the Sister, Missing and Missing Me so you can find the reviews there and here (they were okay). I decideD to pick Gone up due to the talk I've heard about it, and because I really wanted to try something new; I then picked up Holes because I remembering covering it at school once and loving it, so here we are I guess.

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly, Urban Dog: The Adventures of Parker by Will Chou, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. 

So yes again, I picked up three of these from my local book swap (I am naughty... I may have to ban myself); I will admit, I purely picked up The Lovely Bones due to all the hype, but can you really blame me? And then I found The Luxe in a charity shop, because honestly they are probably the best place for good quality but cheap books, and I picked that up because I wanted to pay for something (I feel guilty if I leave empty handed). 

So yeah, that was my not so big (maybe) book haul. I hope you like seeing what I got and I will try reading some of these soon, and I hope you may have some good book recommendations for me? 

Till next time!

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

The inner stereotypical girl in me is awing constantly...

This was honestly so cute.

But at the same time strangely insightful?

So, this is the first Non-Fiction book I've read in a long time and now I'm kinda regretting I don't do it that very often... Because I think some can be really underrated (especially this and Marley and Me... don't cry, don't cry). This was about the story of James Bowen, a recovering drug addict and his companionship with a past and what seems to be abandoned street cat he calls Bob. We get to explore their ups and downs, and their relationship over a two year period, which is beautifully told by James himself.

Now this book was so cute and sweet and ughhhh... I just want to cuddle Bob and knit James a hat to wear on the London Streets when it gets cold. Their relationship will make your teeth fall out from all the sweetness, it's just something that makes you want to put the book down and go cuddle all your pets (even your Goldfish, uh huh, that's how good it is). Even though the book just briefly told their story over their first two years together, I actually have started to care about what's happened to them and what they were like on the streets.

I even looked up two yotube videos James mentioned, here and there.

Despite being mind-numbingly sweet, this book was massively insightful about buskers trying to make their way off the streets and the destructive lives of Street Cats. This book changed my whole perspective with: beggars, magazine sellers, street cats/dogs, and buskers. I am ashamed to admit that before I never gave them a second glance or look, I never really cared where they ended up and never considered it my problem, and I was wrong; this book helped to show me how I need to help sometimes, obviously I can't give money to everyone, but the next time I see a busker I need to toss in a couple of quid for them, or tip a Big Issue or other magazine sellers. I need to do my bit to help get them off the street, because even though a lot of the time it may be their fault they got there, they can recognise that and want to get out of their situation, but they can't do it alone.

Overall, I really liked reading this book not because of the story (don't get me wrong I loved the story), but as I just mentioned, the insight it gave me, which can be so hard to find in a book some time. Thank you James Bowen, you've shown me a completely different side to the capitol of this country and I won't look at people trying to get off the streets in the same way again. I recommend that people go out and find this book, you won't regret it.

See you all soon!

Rating: 4/5 cookies

Age: YA/A

Missing Me by Sophie Mckenzie (Girl, Missing #3)

Okay, that was better Sophie.

Much better.

Well done.

So yep, the final instalment in this trilogy was so much better, well done Sophie - you kinda saved it to be honest. I mean, it wasn't as great as the first one, but it was far better than the second one.

The thing that saved this book for me that it was totally flipped on it's head, we no longer follow around Lauren (whose still whiny by the way) but her sister, Madison who I adored to pieces as a small, cute, innocent little girl. This really improved this whole book as it gave us a chance to look at the family/situations in a different way, and it gave us a break from Lauren who was kinda old news in the last one.

So Madison was actually okay, I was really scared when I started off she would be too much like teenager Lauren - but she's not. Even though they share some traits, they are a lot of little things about Madison that are more relatable: self confidence and self esteem being low, and the anxiety of social situations - which a lot of teenagers go through, trust me. Also, it was kinda nice to see an new introduction of characters in this series, it kinda refreshed the whole thing. I actually quite like having Wolf and Esme around a looking at their relationship and different personalties in detail (no matter how small or minor); and I know I should hate Esme for what she did, but... I don't blame her. As much as I like Madison, I would have done the same thing after learning she had used me.

Also, the plot kinda made more sense in this book again, it wasn't as stupid or as silly and what happened after each event was understandable and not a completely daft move or jump in conclusion. It was quite smart really, and I like the way Allan played into the whole of it (still not sure about him to be honest). It was a interesting mystery guys (although I'm still unsure whether it was illegal or not, do you know if it was?)

The thing that let this down was... guess what? Yep. Lauren. In this book Lauren is pregnant and 23 and she's still as whiny and awful as she was in the second book. What happened to impulsive, cool Lauren we saw in Girl Missing? And I mean, she was awful to Madison about Allan... Out of all people she should have understood! Ugh Lauren! I don't like the way you matured... Oh! And one other thing, the thing with Madison and Wolf happened far too quickly for me, it doesn't work like that! You don't fall in love that quickly. I hate it when authors do that...

So overall, this book was okay again, I'm still mad over the last book in the series so this was slightly tinted by that; but it was so much better. I still recommend this series, but only as a filler and to young readers (may be okay to some YA readers - can be slightly childish at times).

Age: 13+

Rating: 3/5 cookies

Sister, Missing by Sophie McKenzie (Girl, Missing #2)

Hmmm...

I don't know.

This book has confused my feelings. 

I don't like that.

So, to start off with this book started with a sudden plot twist... You know how sometimes there's a sudden death and you throw the book away from you, because where the hell did that come from? Yeah, the first page had one of those. THE FIRST FREAKIN' PAGE. NO SOPHIE. NO. Yeah, so that didn't start off well for me, it took me ten minutes to read the first page because I kept re-reading it in denial. So yep, I was really conflicted when started this book, it felt like I had been punched...

I can't be the only one, but, I always feel like the second book in a trilogy/series is the worst (don't lie, you know you feel the same way), and this one was no exception. There was no way I like this as much as the first one, it wasn't terrible and it was still fast paced and exciting, but boy did it drag on sometimes and bore me in some scenes.

And what happened to Lauren? Smart, brave, resourceful and independent Lauren, who kept getting distracted at the thought of James no longer liking her when she was trying to save her younger sister; SNAP OUT OF IT GIRL. Oh, and since when was she such a bitch anyway? All she did was snap at Shelby, and then hate her for defending herself, and put everyone she 'loved' around her in danger; yeah, smart move girl. UGH. NO. And don't even get me started on James, he was no better in this book with his lack of character.

Yet, Madison was still a cutie pie, and I still adore her to bits; and let me tell you, she is one heck of a brave and smart eight year old, jesus christ, I probably would have died if I was her by now. And then there's Shelby, who I actually started to sympathise with in this books since Lauren is such a moody cow, who was actually smart and right from the start.

The plot was okay - not as smart as the first book, but not bad. It did drag on a bit at the end and it got a bit ridiculous, but at the same time it kept you interested with all these small little plot twists (thank the lord.) It was also slightly darker than the last one, with a lot of characters deaths, which was fine, because I actually like character deaths sometimes... Is that bad?

Overall, I didn't mind this book and didn't think the plot was terrible, even though I wanted to punch Lauren throughout the whole of it. It was a disappointment, but I will read the next book in hope it picks up.

Have any of you read it? And what were your thoughts?

Age: 13+
Rating: 2.5/5

Gravity (Movie Review)

Oh wow look!

I'm doing a review that isn't about books.

That's kind of a surprise.

Now, this film is phenomenal. You would think it was boring, but oh no, I was on the edge of having a heart attack over half the time... not kidding.

Yet again, Sandra Bullock has out done herself (seriously though she is a perfect actress), why don't we talk about Sandra Bullock more? We should talk about her more. For about half the film (maybe less? I don't know, I didn't count the hours...) she was on her own on the screen, only with voices but no other visual people, and yet... it wasn't boring. What? How did she do that you ask? By being a kick-ass actress, yep, that's how she did it. 

She was just fabulous, she was so realistic and made me want to cry half the time when she was talking about Earth and her past life down here. Also, the way she played off with the limited characters we saw was great, like George Clooney's character, Matt Kowalski, it was so witty, genuine, light-hearted and gave some of the film a nice feel to it - when you didn't want to rip out your hair in tension.

Besides George and Sandra making me want to cry and yell my swears in frustrations at the screen, there was no plot for this film (which was kinda weird but good). But even though there was no plot this film was so intersting, it kept you on the edge of your seat, and kinda made you want to strangle the director (Alfonso Cuaron), but at the sound time just feed him lots of cakes in reward for being so brilliant. 

Overall, this movie is amazing, and you never get bored - it keeps you on the edge of your seat constantly. I probably won't watch it again in the near future, but that doesn't mean never.

Rating: 4.5/5 cookies

Girl, Missing by Sophie Mckenzie (Girl, Missing #1)

Whoa, long time no see, right?
Yeah, sorry about that...
I had loads of tests, I would have preferred reading, trust me...
But I'm here now!

So again, I'm not going to lie, I picked this up for it's cover... again... I think I may have a problem by judging a book by it's cover, but this one is so clever! So admittedly, I wasn't sure when I started off with this book, I mean, it had an interesting concept and plot; but, the first interaction the main character (Lauren) had with anyone else was texting her best friend this: 'I texted my friend Jam. hw u dng w/ stpd 'who i am thng?'. On the first page. THE FIRST PAGE. That is not how us teenagers text, thank you very much; but it did make me laugh for all the wrong reasons.

Despite the cringey texting, I actually quite like the main character, sure Lauren was whiny and moaned a lot but it was understandable and she was quite smart and resourceful. You could say she depended on James a lot, but at the same time you depend on you best friend/boyfriend in everyday life (sometimes I feel like we're too harsh on female characters being weak and strong and stuff); and besides, she did a lot on the boat before he arrived. In a way, they both rely on each other, but can be independent. So yeah, I really like Lauren and James, they were both kinda relatable and funny, AND THEY WERE SO CUTE TOGETHER.

And I have to mention another cutie: Madison, she is just adorable and so smart and gah... I want one, where can I buy one? Obviously, I hold a bit of resentment to Shelby like Lauren does, but then again, we only see one side of the story like that. I didn't really feel anything else for the other characters (didn't meet them often enough) apart from Glane, who was a nice little shock and quite a sweet, wise man.

Even though the characters helped me to like this, the main thing that did it for me was the plot. It was very fast-paced and a quick read, which I really like in a book because it means I can move onto the sequel or a new book quickly. It was also quite interesting too, to see the mystery of where Lauren comes from and how she was taken away as a toddler; I love a good old mystery.

So overall, I enjoyed the book. It wasn't brilliant, but it was a lovely, quick, relaxing read and I'll definitely be carrying on with the series.

Rating: 3.5/5 cookies
Age: 13+/YA

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

The one liners in this book.

Like, seriously...
Beth is a genius.

I really like the idea of this book, that you can fall in love with someone by just reading their personal emails; which sounds creepy, but honestly, Lincoln is such a sweetheart, he's not like that....

The whole plot of this book is really interesting because: there's no love triangles, the girl isn't totally obsessed over the guy, there's actually proper friendship, couple struggles, and all the drama about moving on and out. I know that sounds weird, but it's actually really good, it's realistic instead of something that sounds all silly and you really have to stretch the imagination to understand. With this, you don't have to imagine, you can see exactly how the characters end up in their predicaments. 

Also, I really liked the characters, each of them had their own little cute quirks and I really loved that, instead of seeing the same old characters repeated over and over again in some novels. There was a real mix, I mean Beth and Jennifer were almost complete opposites but that was nice to see, because a lot of best friends are like that; and then there's Lincoln who I kinda just want to protect from the world (despite the fact he's a massive hunk).

And the humour in this was brilliant, it would just kinda sneak up on you in these brilliant one-liners and would leave you smiling and laughing, and a lot of it was in the form of teasing which was great; not many characters do teasing that well these days, but Beth and Jennifer do.

Overall, I actually loved this book, it was so much fun to read and invest myself in all the characters (including Justin and Dena who are adorable together, and it was nice to see them not meet in the stereotypical way). Attachments was a nice change from the kind of books I read and I just loved it so much.

Rating: 4/5 cookies
Age: YA

That seemed like a really short review (sorry), any recommendations on what to buy and read next? 

Thirteen by Tom Hoyle

This is scary.

Like really scary.

Don't get me wrong, I liked it.

But it was scary.

Thirteen by Tom Hoyle is a new release for this year, and I've committed a huge book reading sin: I picked it up for it's cover, but the spine is soooo cool guys. 

This book is about a cult called 'The People' and how they believe they need to kill thirteen boys born on the new millennium before they turn fourteen, to bring around the new reign of The Master in Heaven; they've already killed twelve, and guess whose next? Adam. 

Admittedly, when I first started reading this I had my doubts - I knew nothing of the story line so I was going in blind, and I found the plot and writing a little... silly? Bit then, after that I've had a hard time putting it down and neglected Eragon for it (sorry, I WILL read it, promise.) 

It wasn't like I cried or laughed a lot with this book, but the plot was just so interesting and there were all these little twists that kept me hanging on and biting my nails. I mean, there was the PC and Simon, then everything at the end with Megan and Adam, and not to mention the damn epilogue; honestly, I really want to know where he's going with that because the author gives you no clues. God dammit.

The characters were likeable, but that might just be because I'm a couple of years older than them.... That's a bit weird actually, I'm usually younger than book characters... Both Megan and Adam are great because they're smart teenagers (and so obviously meant for each other), they rely on each other, but it's two-sided.  *SPOLIER ALERT* Parts of London would have been blown up and Adam scarificed if it wasn't for Megan, and Megan would be dead weeks before that without Adam. It was nice to see two strong characters, who both succeeded and failed at times.

The only character that was a disappointment to me was Simon; I really liked him at first. But what he did at Dorm 13 was plain stupid, honestly, he's spent maybe years on the run from them and he's tricked that easily? Get it together Simon. God.

 Told you the spine was cool....

Overall, I really like the book even though the plot and idea of it is really scary. That there are people out there killing innocent boys younger than thirteen for 'The Master', and I haven't even mentioned Dorm 13... I can't wait for the sequel to this and will be caring it on because it's actually a really short, fast-paced, and exciting book to read.

Age: 13+

 Rating: 3.5/5 cookies

February Book Haul!

So you know how I thought collecting 11 books in January was bad?

Well...

This time I have 17 books.

I was able to get 17 books in the space of 28 days.

How did I even manage that?

So I guess I should name everything now *distant sobbing*: A Study in Scarlet; The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, His Last Bow, and The Hounds of The Baskervilles all by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern; Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie; One Day by David Nicholls; A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen; My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; Attatchements by Rainbow Rowell; Thirteen by Tom Hoyle; Double Cross by Malorie Blackman; You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi Mcfarlane; Stravaganze: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman; and finally, Switched by Amanda Hocking *phew*

A Study in Scarlet, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, His Last Bow, and The Hounds of the Baskervilles all by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

So being the Sherlockian I am I figured it was time to start buying these: I found two of my lovely novels at HMV for £2.99 and couldn't resist (especially with their gorgeous faces on it); and then the others I received from The Radio Times, I ordered these back in January for free when Sherlock returned to our screens (and they finally arrived, I can not possibly tell you how excited I was).

The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern, Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie, One Day by David Nicholls, and Stravaganze: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman.

I actually received these for free from our village book swap when I took up a few old books, I think I may have taken more than appropriate, but it was becoming crowded in that Telephone Box so I can justify it (just). I have actually read my mother's copy of One Day but I wanted my own so I got the free one, but I haven't read the others so I'm extremely excited to.

Thirteen by Tom Hoyle, Double Cross by Malorie Blackman, You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi Mcfarlane, and lastly, Switched by Amanda Hocking.

I recieved Switched and You had Me at Hello as gifts as the previous owners didn't want them anymore, I really want to read You Had Me at Hello because I have heard good things, and you can read my review on Switched here. I bought both Double Cross (which completes my Noughts and Crosses series - which I haven't read yet but will soon) and Thirteen at a standard book store at their standard price.

 A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, Attatchements by Rainbow Rowell.

I bought all these on offer on Amazon and was very frustrated when I waited for them because I honestly really love Contemporary Novels like these at the moment. I have already read My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; that was a lot of 'and's wasn't it? You can read my reviews here and here please. I have started Attatchements and I'm a few chapters in and laughing already, I can tell this is going to be a good book, and my sister is reading A Street Cat Named Bob at the moment so I'll have to wait a while for that.

So, that's everything I got, too much right? I thought so. Well I hope you enjoy seeing what I got, and let me know what you think I should buy and review next!

I need to go rest my typing hands now, before they fall off (they really hurt from that).