Day 002: The seductive flicker (Challenge100)

The fire was getting closer, licking away at the fuse, creeping closer to the stores of explosives bottled nearby.

The crowd rallied, they had been waiting for the moment of explosion for months. They had rallied and screamed, and they had organised everything, all we practically did was turn up.

Some members panicked last minute and hadn’t stayed to see it through, giving one excuse or another why they didn’t want to be here.

Of course it was a big thing but that’s what we wanted really, something big… something to remember.

Seconds passed, the damp autumnal air had slowed the fuse; the usual fast flick of light now crawled along the line, seducing the damp concrete as it danced towards the dirt.

The flame disappeared; a breath was all we had to wait until the sound of the drum-splitting explosion escaped through the clinging air. We watched.

Partners grabbed each other’s arms.

Parents held their children close.

A chorus of gasps, orchestrated by the dance of the colours overhead.

Once the colours stopped, the crowd erupted for more.

A bonfire night to remember.

Are we addicted to buying books?

As a psychology student I have studied psychological addiction and although addiction can bring images of drug and alcohol abuse, it is important to remember that you can be addicted to just about anything... and something I have found crossing my mind more and more over the last few months is whether we are becoming a community addicted to buying books? Lets have a closer look at addiction and see whether the patterns can be found in some of our book buying habits (as noted from the 'booktube' community and other reading related blogs- no specific people or persons).

 

Firstly many people will be wondering what I mean by addiction? Definitions alter depending where you are from, whether you are looking at medical definitions, psychological definitions or general knowledge definition...

 

 

As you can see from the definition above, there are levels to addiction and some book buying habits can easily fit these; when comparing some book buying habits in the booktube community it is clear that they are enthusiastically devoted to buying books (rooms dedicated to books... buying multiples of the same book... not being able to stop buying books).

Now some members of our growing community buy books when they need to read them, reading the books they own and then buying more; can we classify these as addicts? In comparison to those who buy books when they have hundreds left to read, we cannot; they buy with perceptive 'necessity' and not for the sake of buying books. Those who buy books when they have many left to read can be classified as hoarding, collecting and becoming emotionally attached to objects;  buying books when they have little or no room, financial supplies, because 'its a good buy' or because its an author that you have loved before.

So my question is, are the book buying habits of those we idolise online damaging our ideas  on how many books we should own? This question first crossed my mind when I wanted to post my first book haul and felt really bad and stupid for only having three books to haul; comparing that to the 20+ that those in the booktube community haul on a regular basis made my haul feel un-necessary and pointless.

 

Above is a commonly accepted breakdown of how addiction is kept 'alive' within sufferers, known as the 'cycle of addiction'. Although it is difficult to determine where the cycle begins, 'fantasizing' is often an accepted started point; each stage can be seen across the many participant of  booktube and also the book blogging world.

 

1. Fantasizing: We compare our own book buying to others and wish we had the amount they did (unhealthy comparison).
2. Obsessing: We watch constantly, know what they are buying and how often, where they are buying and as much information as possible.
3. Substance abuse: We snap and begin buying more books that we would originally.
4. Loss of control: Find yourself buying books daily, browsing for constant deals and find this becomes an automatic element of your shopping life (mainly online but less often can be within bookstores).
5. Guilt: This usually happens when the books have arrived and you look back at how much money you have spent on them.
6. Cessation of use: The well-known book buying ban, people placing themselves on harsh controls of no book buying for either a period of time or until they reach a specific goal (usually to read a certain percentage of their tbr).
7. Passage of time: During the book buying ban, attempting to avoid books, usually done buy avoiding the internet or certain websites.
8. Internal frustration: This is often found on a forced book buying ban, where you add books to wishlists and wait for the book buying ban to end.
9. And we return to fanaticising but about the end of the book buying ban...

 So its clear from the stages of addiction that many book buying habits can be seen as addicting, however, we can argue that the industry wants us to be addicted to buying books (money... money... money) and so they release ways to combat the common reasons people put themselves on book buying bans... space. Generally guilt starts to appear when a person realises that they are surrounded by unread books, so a great way to combat this is to place them all inside a small portable device which takes up less space than a single book and can hold more books that the British Library. Ask yourself, do you feel the same when you see your kindle with 300+ books and when you look at your bookshelves and see 100 unread books? No not really do you.

 

From the comparison to the library, it is clear that book buying habits can easily be associated with the demise of the library; people would prefer to buy books online and get them delivered to their house or kindle than order from the library and have to return it after. We are a materialistic society that values possession over knowledge, and that fact is becoming depressing.

 

So, should we stop buying books? Should we all get rid of our kindle-like devices and only read out of the library? No I don't believe that we should, I believe that we should break the cycle of addiction found within the book buying community, that we should invest more into our libraries but at the same time, without buyers the book industry as a whole will collapse.

 

As many betting adverts advice...

 

When it stops being fun... stop!

Running shoes

No one suspected that the bees would leave, well that’s a lie really; the really smart people noticed that they were leaving, but they were the people everyone else ignored because it wasn’t cool to listen to them. I mean since when is a high school jock going to listen to a scientist locked in a chemistry lab surrounded by books, nope they would be out drinking, partying and generally ruining their lives with horrendous one-night stands, that’s exactly what I was like… ‘was’ being the operative word.

I was dumb, you have to admit it from time to time or you just get arrogant, and trust me when I say that an arrogant jock isn’t exactly a pleasant experience for anyone. My dad once told me that I had one of two choices, work hard in class and get into an ivy league college, or be exceptional at football and get a free pass… okay it wasn’t the best advice in the world but let’s face it, I’m crap at math. So football became my life, training, pep rallies and all the cool stuff that comes from being scouted. After each great performance on the field was the after party, after the after party, well that’s when I would have my head in a toilet and coach would scream something along the lines of “Your ruining your god damn life!” or “Get yourself together or I swear you’ll never kick another football!” Excellent motivation right there…

Okay, I admit that when the world started to die I didn’t notice; I mean it was all over the T.V. but since when did I have time to sit and watch something that wasn’t football? Apparently it started with the flowers, crops started to fail and generally nature was screwed; ironic really, vegans were always preaching about one thing or another, saying they were going to save the world… and they were the first to starve. Man, I have a screwed up mind sometimes.

Well you can imagine the uproar when supermarkets couldn’t get stock because… well the stock was dead. People were panic buying left right and centre; even the church… that reminds me… no maybe another time… right now I’m being chased… why can I not focus today?

I had to get out of the high street, I should know better than to gather here anyway; too many hunters, too dangerous and the others needed me. There were a few shops left and then I could take a sharp right and scale the alley to higher ground, they couldn’t scale like I could.

Their footsteps were a few paces behind me, stumbling left and right carelessly as they tried to keep up. The sound of bare feet hitting the floor wasn’t the nicest sound, the rough pavement ate at the feet worse than the hunters do.

That reminds me, I need new shoes; if the gang expect me to run for the last scraps of food they need to provide better gear. Oh maybe now is a good time to mention the problem? Your probably wondering what they hell is chasing me bare-foot through this ghost town. Yeah sounds about good right here, I’ll scale this, and you catch up with what happened to this god-forsaken world.

See people change when they are hungry, a friend becomes an enemy and a loved one becomes your next meal. Everyone was talking about it at school, we all knew that cannibals existed but there were like four across the whole of the United States, right? But somewhere in Texas a farmer killed his wife; apparently he went a bit crazy and ate her because the last of his cattle died. The teachers said he was a one off, but then more people started doing it; people were too weak to fight them off and soon they were hunting each other. Wonderful.

Well, then everyone started getting the idea, but the hunters were changing; they were like wild animals. One came into the school on the last day they let us in; he went from room to room tearing people to pieces. Running came in useful that day, I climbed out of the window as he came crashing through our classroom door; I managed to get four more people out of the room. I only looked at him once that day, the colour of his eyes were weird; like they had leaked into the white.

From the roof of Maccies I recognised all of the eyes staring up at me, swirls of green and blue blurring in with the white; their mouths frothing and snapping at me, wild dogs had a more pleasant appearance. None of them could climb, I had ran into these twats before; they’ve been hunters’ for a while now and each time they got a little slower, their eyes lost a little more white… they lost a little bit of human each day… and we get a little bit closer to being able to kill em.

Charity book haul... because it was for a good cause

I         am         terrible...

I         need       help!

 

Let's face it... I'm not getting any help with this!

So my wonderful readers I bring you my small charitable book haul; now I know that I am technically on a book buying ban *cries* but who can resist a newly stocked charity shops with bookshelves crammed with new and old books alike... and did I mention the buy one get one free sale... I swear I did :-)

 

So I have bought several books from my library sale case and from a local charity shop that had a wonderful sale... and no one can be angry for me giving money to charity... so no one be angry. Lets have a look at these books!

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

 

Now I believe that this is a non-fiction about a culture I know very little about... Geisha... and I am fascinated! This feels like a book to settle down with when you don't want a heavy paranormal romance or dystopian... and little to say I might actually learn something from this.

 

Abhorsen & Across the wall by Garth Nix

Books #3 and #4 of the 'Old Kindgoms Series'

 

Now I already own 'Sabriel' which is book one but I am yet to start this series... but I have heard nothing but amazing things! Booktubers have been raving about this series for God knows how long and its about time I settled into it! Now to just find the second book in a charity shop and I'll be set!

 

Fire after dark by Sadie Matthews

 

Now this is definitely not a young adult book... especially when the sticker on the front asks if 'Fifty shades left you wanting more'; now I am a huge fan of Fifty shade and have reviewed the entire series *I'll link below!* and I have read several other 'erotic' based novels before and this one sounds amazing!! I will be posting a review about this book as soon as its read because I'm starting to believe that after Fifty shades everyone is writing erotic based novels but they make it totally about the sex and struggle to find a storyline... hopefully the 'fire after dark' will show a different path!

 

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Book #2 of 'The Immortals' Series

 

Okay I own 'Evermore' but have never read it and frankly I don't know much about it; I know that it is a paranormal romance style of book and lets face it... I am on a paranormal romance hype right now... so we all know that these will be read soon!

 

World Ward Z by Max Brooks

 

We have all seen the wonderful Brad Pitt in the movie adaption of this book and that was before even knowing it was a book to start with! Now everyone knows that the books are always better than the movies... but this has a lot to live up to. With 'World War Z' being one of my favourite zombie movies of all time I am hoping the book will really knock me off my feet!

REVIEW: 'Marked' sent me to another world

'Marked' by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Book 1# House of Night Series
Pages: 348 pages
Star rating: 5 stars

'So the bad news was that I'd have to move into the House of Night, a private boarding school, known by all my friends as the vampyre finishing school, where I would spent the next four years going through bizarre and annumable physical changes, as well as a total and permanent life shake-up. And that's on if the whole process doesn't kill me.

But the good news was that I wouldn't have to take the geometry test tomorrow.'

 

So this was an amazing book... first of all... scrap the crappy view of vampyres we've been fed in the past and think new, funny and absolutely fear-removing teenagers. Now add to that image a group of teenagers... a lost girl who has just been thrown into this strange and deadly world... a country girl with a twang in everything from her sayings to her clothes... twins who are the total physical opposite *one white one African America* who are soul sisters... a young gay boy who speaks like a dictionary and a 'hag from hell'... do you have that image in your head? Are you laughing at some of the conversations that could possibly arise? Good!

 

Now this books isn't all it says on the back... yes Zoey Redbird gets taken out of her overbearing 'People of Faith' family and thrown into the vampyre world full force... when Nyx *The vampyre Goddess* decides not only to Mark (the process at which the change into becoming a vampyre begins) but also to gift Zoey with some extra ordinary powers which doesn't always work out the best for Zoey.

 

Of course everything doesn't always go as smoothly as planned at the House of Night, when her human ex-boyfriend Heath turns up high and drunk with her ex-bestfriend to break her out of the House of Night true vampyresque behaviours ensue and leads to some pretty dire outcomes.

 

Although I have rated this instalment 5 stars there was a problem of insta-love... okay a guy walks in the room takes one look at you and suddenly your in love and by the end of the book your together and playing happy families... if that was only half the story!?!? Meet Erik Night... the usual fall in love guy in these sort of novels... tall, broad and very handsome... okay he has some extra features of course... he's an actor who wins some major kick ass competitions... of and he's 'hag from hell's' ex-boyfriend... which makes everyone's life a total cliché... *sigh*.

 

Although there were elements of problem with the book I loved the genuine knowledge P.C. and Kristin Cast demonstrated when describing some of the rituals and beliefs of other religious factions; especially the Cherokee elements of Lavender and other herbs involved in cleansing. It made me smile deep down in my well-read heart to know that for once the authors did their homework and looked up the small details that really pull a book together.

 

Overall the writing is utterly hilarious... there are moments of pure delight and then moments of raw emotion. You can tell that it is designed to be a long winded serious because there is a lot of set up however its needed for a 10+ book series not including the vast number of novellas and companion novels.

 

 

Now if you like the sound of this book then you should definitely pick it up:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marked-Number-1-House-Night/dp/034900112X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425516832&sr=1-4&keywords=marked

The book depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Marked-Cast/9780312360269

If you decide to read this book and like it... or generally want to read books that are similar to this then I'd definitely check out the rest of the series.

Another series which you may want to check out is Vampire Diaries; although this is aimed at slightly older reading that the first book of the House of Night Series still a delightful read.



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REVIEW: In the grip of the Iron Trial

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Pages: 295 pages
Star rating: 4 stars

'Never trust a magician...

Most kids Callum's age dream of having the natural talent for magic needed to get into the Magisterium- that's where they will learn to hone their skills and control their power in order to pass the first year's Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. Call has been told his entire life that he should never trust a magician. And so he tries his best to do his worst- but fails at failing.

Now he must enter the magisterium. Its a place that's both sensational and sinister. And Call realises it has dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just beginning.

Call's biggest test is still to come...'

This book was amazing... okay not 5 star amazing but definitely a 4 star... I mean like wow!

Now I read the entirety of this book in one sitting... that's surrounded by children and moaning adults... but still this book kept me hooked! If I had to sum up this book it would definitely be... 'A new darker Harry Potter where the best of it doesn't happen to the main character.'

Lets introduce Callum Hunt... because of Callum's freakishly cold and surreal past he was left disabled and struggles to use his legs... he thinks this a draw back especially when he goes to take his entry test for the Magisterium... playing on this he doesn't realise that this becomes one of this greatest strengths!

Now in this world magic is somewhat known... well elements of it is...the dark war that has been raging is still a secret and the great battles are hidden in mountains. As you can imagine; the magic world isn't all its meant to be... there is a dark side to magic and when the hunt for a student that could turn the tides in a war comes to light... you automatically believe Callum will be the one. He is showing all the signs... power... control and a curious inquisition that doesn't believe in following the rules. So when it comes to announcing the student the book takes a delightful and quite funny turn of events and in my humble opinion you need to read it!

Okay lets face it... its not just because its a magical school that this book is similar to Harry Potter! There had to be a famous trio that happened to cause trouble together and become the greatest of friends... and so it is true for the Iron Trial. Now Harry's representative here is Callum Hunt, described in a too-similar way to Harry Potter in the Prisoner of Askaban. Now Hermione is replaced with the Tamara... the know-it-all girl with experiences of her own. And Ron replaced with Aaron... although Aaron is in no way just there for comic relief they all have their moments. Its a shame that they were so closely resembled to the Harry Potter trio as I would have enjoyed the start of this series even more if it wasn't so closely linked.

Now what really drew me to the book was the Authors... I have read from both Holly Black's and Cassandra Clare epic array of writings and I must admit you can tell the difference in their writing styles. One is more fast paced and one more detail heavy... but I think they compliment each other well in this book and hopefully it will be less obvious the more they write together!

Okay lets give the artist some recognition here... Alexander Chauret  designed the front cover and the beautiful chapter headings throughout the book and they were stunning... although some elements of the front still allude me (I.E. the giant cloaked man doesn't really get a mention in the book).

Now if you like the sound of this book then there are others that I would greatly recommend!

The Harry Potter Series *Obviously*; although the beginning is less dark than the Iron Trial I would definitely recommend this entire series to anyone!

The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan; although this is set in entirely different setting *Greek Mythology and not magic* it still reads in a similar way and has the same feeling of growing into a new world!



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my unholy march tbr pile

So as you can imagine... I am severely far behind on my Goodreads challenge; so my plan is to read a lot of shorter books next month to pull back my number to at least 15 books so far this year!
 

https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/3082-2015-reading-challenge

 

I plan on doing this by completing the following books/ series:

 

The lunar chronicles by Merissa Meyer

These fairy tale retellings are based in the future and start by introducing Cinder... the cyborg version of Cinderella... if that doesn't get you excited for a series I don't know what will!

I plan on completing the first three books of the series (and the prequel 'Winter' if I can get it in time), Cinder, Scarlet and Cress; these are the retellings of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel but with a Sci-fi twist. These have been on my shelf for way too long and I have heard nothing by utterly amazing things about them... and they only get better!
 

The star-crossed trilogy by Josophine Angelini


I must admit that this trilogy was a complete impulse buy, when I was younger I read a lot about different goddess' and mythology and this reminded me of a story *that I have been searching for since I misplaced my copy- but cant remember the name*. So I bought the entire series and then looked at a few review... my god have I stumbled onto an utterly loved series and its about time I get caught up with my TBR and get it read!

 

The hunger games trilogy by Susan Collins

Now I have attempted to read this series before and struggled with the way it was written, but I am determined to complete this series before the final instalment of Mockingjay is released in November... I also want to do a book to movie review of all the movies as I read/ watch them!


House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kritisin Cast

Now half of this series is a complete reread because I read the first 6 books 5 years ago at school! This is a series based on a finishing school for vampires where shizzaz happens and pure awesomeness ensues. This is definitely a series for older teenagers (16+ because there is some minor adult scenes). I have completed 'Marked' (Book #1) and I plan on completing the next two/ three books in March!

 

 

 

Heart of Steel by Elizabeth Einspanier
 
I have been requested to review this novel and just by looking at the synopsis I already know it right down my alley... the best way I can describe this sci-fi romance is a futuristic beauty and the beast. I cannot wait to delve into the book!


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REVIEW: 'warm bodies' held my heart in 'R's' hand...

Warm bodies by Isaac Marion
Page Count: 240 pages
Star Rating: 5 stars
Movie conversion rating: 4 stars

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...'

 

'R' is a zombie... but not the face eating fear inducing monsters we are used to... 'R' is changing. 'R' meets Julie... while eating the brains of her boyfriend Perry... but that's a whole different story! He doesn't know how long he's been dead; he just knows that while all the other zombies are slowly rotting and turning into 'bonies' 'R' is coming back to life... thanks to Julie!

Now this story is the classic Romeo and Juliet with some epic twists... instead of two warring families, you have the last of the humans against the Zombies (a pretty epic interpretation in my opinion)... a forbidden love and finally life (obviously opposite to the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet... how can the dead die after all?).

This heartfelt story shows the struggle and importance of communication between partners at any point in the relationship... since 'R' is monosyllable in his language he learns to communicate in different ways... which really pulls on those heartstrings!

When you look at the story properly, its not just the story of 'R' rebuilding his existence but also Perry's story... shown through the digestion of his brain by 'R'... sounds totally gross but you learn so much more about the characters and you see and feel a whole host more emotions and memories... especially when 'R' begins to dream! Oh so good!

I watched the movie adaptation before I even knew it was a book; so when I realised I search amazon for the copy I wanted and then delved into 'R's' world... and my god I couldn't put that book down! I read it in a matter of hours and in my honest opinion I think the movie was actually a good interpretation. The major things they kept *but did move a few minor scenes around- but hey its Hollywood* except one huge plot twist at the end... which I think would have been exceptional in the movie- not going to spoil it though... so go read the book!


Now I think they got the casting half right for the movie... 'R' was cast perfectly; I don't think anyone other than Nicholas Hoult could have played the heartfelt zombie! However I think the casting of Julie was off... Julie was described as having short blonde hair and a bubble of emotional expression when in fact they cast a Kristen Stewart look-a-like who failed to show the expressions the books demonstrated so well. I think they were aiming for a zombie version of Twilight and didn't quite make it... which is sad really because this is nothing like Twilight and I really wished the industry would stop comparing every paranormal romance to Twilight!

I cannot wait for Marion's prequel coming out soon!

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REVIEW: Why the 'Red Queen' had me gripped...

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Page count: 383
Stars... 4 stars!

'This is a world divided by blood- red or silver.

 

Reds a commoners, ruled by a silver elite in possession of God-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen year old Red girl from the poverty stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.'

 

 

Let me introduce you to this awesome, well written and exceptionally alluring world; where your not only divided by the money in your pocket but by the colour of your blood... one colour leads you to richness, safety and a well-rounded good life... the other leads to slavery, sublimation and a painful death... remind anyone of a particularly hideous part of our history? Thought so! I this twist on the idea of slavery, one race dominating another has been told countless times... and I believe will be told for eons to come; because these are the lessons that need to be learnt! Now I could go on for hours talking about the symbolism between the different aspects of the book and slavery but lets face it, not many people will want to read an analytical breakdown (which will almost certainly contain huge-ass spoilers!).

 

Lets talk about this book; I am going to attempt to stay spoiler free because this has not long been released (10th Feb 2015) but let me tell you... if you love kickass female leads... a Royal family with more kinks than a well used suit of armour... amazing super-powers and a story of climbing from the bottom to the top... then run to the shop! Now!

 

So our main character is Mare Molly Barrow; a thief from a run down hopeless Red city... who picks the wrong persons pocket...when she gets taken to the 'arena' to witness the 'Silvers' fight when she discovers her own superhuman ability that; as a red, she shouldn't have! That's when everything gets tipped on its head and she is thrown into a world of rebellion and royalty.

 

Now these themes may sound a little similar to some of you? Red rising come to mind? The legend trilogy? X-men? Oh its clear in this epic first instalment that all of these amazing elements were used for inspiration!

 

Oh the emotions! Now after you've read a few fantasy novels... or even a handful of decent YA... you get to know that the protagonist always gets betrayed! So when your sat wondering who of the amazing other characters will be the one to betray her you know your onto a good book!

 

Although some of the plot twists were pretty predicable... Mare being special... Mare being key a to rebellion... Mare ending up where she does *these spoilers are getting harder and harder to avoid!*. The book was written exceptionally, and I mean that today is my 21st birthday and I spent the day reading this book! (And of course writing this review) It dragged me in after about 50 pages *hence no 5 stars!*... if the book had pulled me in from the get go it would be flat out 5 star but it seemed to drag until she discovered her ability; after that your spiralled through a dangerous and exciting world.

 

There are quotes from every book that sticks with the reader... and this is no different... I think this quote sums up Mare better than any explanation than I can ever possibly give:

 

'His touch feels like betrayal. "Mare, you don't have to keep trying to save me."

"I will as long as you wont."

 

Now if you liked this book... or just the sound of this book then I highly recommend the Legend Trilogy *which I have reviewed- check down the right hand side there* and Red Rising!






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REVIEW: Why 'Sweet Venom' didnt keep its bite...

Book: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs
Number of pages:
Book status: Not complete!
Star rating: 1 stars

The premise of this book is simple; triples (separated at birth) are the decedents of Medusa, the guardian of the gate between our world and the prison of the evil beings. When Medusa was killed the only people left to guard the gate were her children; however these children are not aware of their abilities until they are faced with hideous monsters. Its only then that they find out they have fangs and death defying abilities! Anyone else see a potential danger in this set up?

So the story follows three decedents, Grace, Gretchen and Greer (see a familiarity of the names?); Gretchen is a long standing monster hunter who has grown up with monsters around her, Grace moves to San Francisco to escape one world only to be hurled into another more dangerous one and Greer is a high class snobby girl that gets side-blowed by the others when they hunt her down. Grace and Gretchen are introduced from the get go, with a very Percy Jackson feel to the writing; however after reading two thirds of the book I had yet to be introduced to Greer... when I reached the first chapter with her in I instantly hated the character; everything about the character screamed close the book... so I did.
 

What made me pick up this book was the magical mythical element, I had just put down the Percy Jackson Series and was seriously craving more ancient mythology; so when I read the back of the book I fell in love. But love soon turned to despise as more and more flaws started appearing; the characters felt flat and the story seemed to drag... there was more pages dedicated to Grace's infatuation with her once mute little brother (that seems to miraculously start talking half way through the book but no-one notices or reacts in any way?!?); in over 200 pages I only read about 4 monster attacks (each attack from two points of view which got really boring really fast).
 

The overall plot lacked focus *in my humbled opinion*; it went from nothing to everything and then nothing again... for God's sake why spend so much time introducing the schools and other characters if nothing ever happens in the school or with those other characters? The plot jumped from one element to another and never really had any links... but this may be because of the number of viewpoints, working three viewpoints into one 350 page book isn't easy or really recommended because you don't et enough out of each character. I think that if Tera Lynn Childs had focused more on the overarching plot and less on the minor plots that seemed to have little to no relevance to the enhancement of the book I may have been more inclined to finish the book.
 

There were elements of the book that screamed Percy Jackson, the details of the Greek mythology were scarce and according to the book totally wrong anyway... stating that the changes to the current known Greek mythology were due to changes made by the Gods and therefore everything you go into the book knowing is pointless... why break rules that really don't need to be broken?!?
 

Although I rated this book a 1 star; please don't feel inclined not to ever read it, the book has amazing potential but I couldn't force myself to complete it.

However there are other books if you like the Greek Mythology aspect; I highly recommend the Percy Jackson Series; both the Olympian Series and the Heroes of Olympus Series. However Rick Riordan has a third mythological based series; The Kane Chronicles, however this is based on Egyptian Mythology but still highly recommend the read.

how to review like a pro!

Do you want to start a blog?

Maybe you want to get into the publishing business?

Do you want to review books?

 

High quality reviews and blog posts really draw your readers in and gives them what they want- the information! So here I'll go through a few different things you could include in your reviews that will make them stand out and really engage with your reader (or even the author if your able?!?)

 

If you can write roughly 100 words for each of these questions then you are in for an amazing review:

What drew you to the book?

Be honest... if you got the book as a gift and had never saw it before tell your readers that! If your brutally honest and only went for the book because of the cover admit it; give the graphic designers some credit (its not just a writer that makes the book you know!). The more honest your answer the more likely the readers are going to believe you!

Summarise the book:

Now this may be difficult in spoiler free reviews (but still possible; use the blurb for a starting point); but try your best. If you can show your reader that you actually understood what happened in the book then your one step closer to writing an amazing review!

Now if you couldn't understand the main storyline this is a great way to start evaluating the book; what's the point of the book if no-one can understand he main storyline?!?

Favourite character? Why!

I know that when we read these amazing books we adopt our own faces to the characters and create our fantasy boyfriends *totally not ashamed*. But what about them got you that attached? Was it a phrase they used? A part of their personality? What did the author do fantastically to make you really connect to the characters- more importantly what do they do different to other books?

Now if a character didn't change at all throughout a book what's the point?!? So ask yourself what has changed about the character? Don't just stick to 'they got stronger' or 'they started believing in themselves'; because that's what every character does (mostly), what did they learn about themselves (good or bad)? What didn't we see coming?

Now do the same for the character you really didn't like (not always the one you weren't meant to like- that's just a really good antagonist!); what was different between this character and the last? What would have made you like this character more?


Long term effects?

Were you still thinking about the book days... weeks later? Did the book touch on something controversial? Did it change the way you think about this? Was the controversy obvious or was it abstract? Use this controversy to discuss how the book has influenced you... because they always do! Every book you have ever read has changed a minute detail about your thought process *some more than others* but what has this specific book changed... did you find another book did the same thing?

The plot...

The plot is never perfect... we as well read people see patterns in behaviours and can almost predict the entire plot after the first few chapters... but could you talk about a plot twist that you saw coming from a mile away? Can you remember what made you think it was coming?

Now consider the twists that you didn't see coming *think back* were there any hints that were that well intertwined with the story that they were obvious in hindsight but totally invisible when you first read it? Work with it!

To the author...

Now as readers we have no right to tell a writer they should have done this and not this *unless of course you are an editor and then kudos to you*; but you can explain what the author did that was amazing and what wasn't so amazing... please do not insult or slate the author... be polite or people will not come back! By all means be critical but don't go on a rampage about the author; try and aim for the sandwich effect

-Good point

-Bad Point

- Good point



Book comparison:

 

Did the book make you think of another book? Maybe a specific character made you think of another? If so talk about it! have a book suggestion section 'if you liked this book- check out these'; it shows that your not only considering the book that your reading but also the other books you have read.

 

Rating the book:

 

Now some people don't believe a book should be rated; I am one of those that thrive on a rating system! Try and find a system that isn't just 'good book/ bad book'; maybe a scale or percentile system. Just make sure that your readers now which scale your using and what it means *handy-dandy text space down the side of your blog is good for this!*.

 

Overall you need to speak the truth in a book review; don't ever take a payment or bribe for a good review! You have to show integrity and honour in the book reviewing world! However these points aren't just for book reviews; you could adapt the questions for movie or product reviews, so knock yourself out!

Please don't forget to follow, share, +1 this post and leave a comment below; have I missed a tip that you would give people who are reviewing books? Which tip do you think is the best?

Cryptic musings of a wanna be writer

Holding my breath seemed to sap the life from my muscles, each second getting closer to the burn building in my chest and the sudden gasp that will inevitability follow... but I must hold still... they must think I'm dead... so I hold still; deadly still.

Their smoky essence drifted over me as they searched my body, thinking im a victim of an ever raging war they loot the little money from my pockets and begin to move towards the others; only they weren't holding their breaths anymore.

Their footsteps faded, the muscles in my chest and throat relaxed but the first tears reached my cheek before my lungs were full of air once more. Screams filled my mind but could never reach my lips, they were frozen together knowing they... whatever they are, would hear me... I had to be silent.

My eyes scanned the body-littered alley before my legs would dare to work, memories of my childhood flashing before me as I look into the sparkless eyes of my best friends. My knees cracked as I knelt by Joe's side, his skin was still warm but the blood pooling on his chest was seeping the warmth from him... he was the first person to ever hug me and mean it... first person to love me and mean it... the bottom of my world shattered as the first sobs escaped my lips.

It was hours until they found us...

I need some research help

Hi all,

I know this is nothing really to do with what this blog is about, however as part of my degree I must conduct a research project. My closest friend Theresa Summerfield is also conducting a piecefor which she is struggling to get participants. The project is based on the concept of catfishing, which we all know is getting more and more prevelant on the interent; her questionnaire is based around what makes a person misrepresent themselves in any form online.

So I implore you, if you or anyone you know has misrepresented any part of who you are, whether its using a different picture, manipulating a picture of yourself or changing the information you give about yourself, would you please take the time to fill out this research. Please we are trying to make the internet a safer more friendly environment for everyone.

This is totally anonymous and you can fear no backlash from any of the answers given so please, please, please help.

http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=c39dbd90-2e83-4d30-8193-015f55900959

Many thanks,

Helen x