Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Release Date: April 14, 2011
Pages: 357
Rating: 💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

When Lincoln comes across Beth and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained and captivated by their stories.
By time Lincoln realises he's falling for one of them, it's too late to introduce himself. What will he do?

I think this might be my favourite Rainbow Rowell book so far. As much as I loved Fangirl and Eleanor + Park, Attachments spoke to me in a different way.

At first I found it a little strange that Lincoln was reading their emails and not  doing anything about them; he was basically cyber-stalking them. He even began enjoying reading their emails and fantasising a life for them, at which point I was thinking "Okay Lincoln, you've had your fun, stop reading the emails now". However I was strangely captivated by the girls' lives and there were times throughout the story where I wanted to find out more about their lives, just like Lincoln.

Both the girls were hilarious, gossipy characters who seemed as obsessed with the internet as people are today. I loved reading their exchanges because they always seemed to make the best out of a bad situation. They added an extra bit of humour to this book which helped lighten some more serious times in Lincoln's life.

The writing style was slightly older that young adult I felt and was definitely more suited for new adult readers. All the characters were adults and talked about typical adult topics, which could get a little dull for me as a teenage reader. However the writing is light-hearted enough that I was rarely bored  and constantly laughing.

This was a funny, romantic book; it definitely falls under the category 'romantic-comedy'. If you love Rainbow Rowell or romantic comedies definitely give this book a chance!

Halloween Book Tag

Halloween is next week! (Just think about that for a minute)
I adore Halloween purely because I get to dress up in whatever outfit I want and see everyone dressing up as their favourite characters.

This tag was created by Naomi the Book Lover so please go check out her video.

Carving pumpkins: 

Which book would you like to carve up and light on fire?

I'm usually very careful with my books but if I had to burn any book it  would have to be Champion by Marie Lu. (If you know me you know my anger about this book)

Trick or Treat:

Which character is a treat and which character is a trick?

Treat: Peter Kavinsky from TATBILB. He is the sweetest boyfriend ever and Lara Jean is lucky to have him.
Trick: So she isn't really a trickster but Bellatrix Lestrange is the best villain I have ever read about and honestly I adore her.

Candy Corn:

Which book is always sweet?

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell.
This book is tiny (96 pages!) but it is the sweetest story ever. I wish it had been a little longer because I loved all the characters she created!

Ghost:

Which character would you like to visit you as a ghost?

Tessa from The Infernal Devices. I don't know if she does die in the book series but she would definitely be dead by now.

Dressing up in costume:

What character would you like to be for a day?

I think I'm going to say Luna because I would love to be able to life through her eyes.

Wizards and Witches:

What is your favourite Harry Potter moment?

One of my favourite moments is when Mrs Weasley sends Harry a Christmas jumper in the first book because it shows that she immediately considered Harry to be one of the Weasleys.

Blood and Gore:
What was a book that was so creepy that you had to take a break from it for a little while?

I'm not a very squeamish person and it takes a lot to make me have to take a break from a gory book. I had to take several breaks whilst reading Asylum by Madeline Roux because I was so scared, but it wasn't very gory.

Do you like Halloween? What are you dressing up as this year? Have you done this tag?
Let me know in the comments below!

And until next time, keep reading!

Countless by Karen Gregory

Countless by Karen Gregory
Release Date: May 4, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating:💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

 17 weeks, 119 days, 357 meals.
When Hedda discovers she is pregnant, she doesn’t believe it. The numbers just don’t add up. She is young, and still in the grip of an eating disorder that controls every aspect of how she goes about her daily life. Hedda comes to a decision: she and Nia will call a truce, just until the baby is born.


This should be pretty obvious, but trigger warning for people who have or are suffering from an eating disorder. I didn't realise how bad this book was until I started reading it, but Hedda is still deep in the eating disorder and has a lot of triggering thoughts.

This book is a YA contemporary with a difference. There is little romance, few happily ever afters, and more tears than smiles. After all the other contemporaries I've read, this one was like a breath of fresh air. The premise was so different, so unlike anything I'd ever read before. It had that unique spark.

Karen Gregory is very good at making you feel sorry for people. Every single new character she introduced me to immediately had me rooting for them. There wasn't a single character I didn't love in this book, no matter how hard I tried. I loved Hedda, and really wanted everything to work out for her. I loved and his crazy baking skills, as well as his ways of making Hedda smile. I sympathised with Hedda's parents and desperately wanted them to reconnect with her. All of the characters were just perfect.

The writing style in this book was what blew me away. Slow-paced as it was, it really got into Hedda's eating disorder. It was so dark and twisted that I could feel Nia's voice in my head as I was reading. There were points where it got pretty intense, and I actually had to put the book down which is why I would recommend avoiding this book if you have ever suffered from an eating disorder.

I would recommend this book to people who love Sarah Crossan books as they definitely have a similar vibe. It was also a very educational insight in to an eating disorder, so if you want to learn a little more about what that is like I would highly recommend this book!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Pages: 484
Rating:💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Trained as an assassin by the god of death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself underprepared- not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will has stolen her heart?

I feel like recently I've read a lot of amazing books that have become my favourites. First 'Lola and the Boy Next Door', then 'The Night Circus', and now this. So today I've decided to share with you the top five reasons why I loved this book. And begin!

1. Killer Nuns: Need I say more? This book literally revolves around a group of nuns who train young girls to become deadly assassins, trained in almost any skill you could think of.
2. Actual Assassinations: So I've been disappointed by assassin books before because there was barely any assassinating, but this book was full of assassination. Okay, Ismae was a little crazy and wanted to kill every man who disrespected her, but after the childhood she had can you blame her?
3. The political aspect: This book focuses quite heavily on the politics that are occurring throughout the story, but you can expect that when Ismae is placed into the heart of the court. As a history lover the details of the court and the way it ran was a major turn-on for me, but I can understand that some people might not want to sit through long explains of current politics.
4. The characters: I could talk forever about how much I loved each and everyone of the characters, but I'm not going to bore you like that. Each character had the chance to grow and improve, each character had a time to fight, and each character stood up for what they believed in. Even the side characters felt important and developed, instead of hidden away.
5. The ending: Naturally I'm not going to spoil the ending, but holy cheeseballs was it intense. When I finished this book I just had to stop everything for a few minutes to think about it, because it was so well written.

There you have it: my five reasons why people should read this book. Of course I could go on into the finer details but I'll that for you to discover. My only recommendation is that you don't read this book if you don't like reading about historical politics as that is the main focus of this book!

October TBR

My theme for this month is Spooky reads...for obvious reasons.

Surprisingly I couldn't find many scary books on my bookshelf even though I love horror films. However I did manage to pull four books together which have some pretty spooky vibes.

1- The Haunting by Alex Bell

2- The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick

3- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

4- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

5- Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

I'm really excited for all the books I'm reading this month; most of them have been on my TBR for over a year! It will be so relieving when I finish them because I'll finally feel like I'm cutting back my TBR!

What books are you reading this month? Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments below!

And until next time, keep reading!

The Pastry Book Tag

I don't know if it's just me but Autumn always makes me think of pastries. Maybe it's just the Austrian inside of me but I have been craving an apple strudel since September began.

To celebrate Autumn I'm going to do this tag that was created by Aine and I'll leave a link to her original post here.

Croissant: 

A popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves.

So the obvious answer here would be Harry Potter, but I'm going to go with The Mortal Instruments series because I am yet to find a person who did not enjoy this series.

Macaron:

A book that is hard to get through but is worth it in the end.

I'm going to go with 1984 by George Orwell. I adored this book once I'd got into it but the writing style is very hard to get sucked into.

Vol-au-vent:

A book you thought would be amazing but fell flat.

Unpopular opinion, but Champion by Marie Lu. 

Full review here.

Pain au chocolat:

A book you thought would be one thing but turned out to be another thing.

I wasn't expecting how fantastical The Night Circus was going to turn out. And the synopsis is a lie because it is so much more than just a battle between magicians.

Profiterole:
A book or series that doesn't get enough attention.

Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel.  This book is one of my absolute favourites and I tell literally everyone I know to read it. I have to convince myself every day not to read it again because I love it that much.

Croquembouche:
A book or series that is extremely complex.

The Cassandra Clare extravaganza is the most complex book series out there, and you can't convince me otherwise. There are now 11 books and 2 novellas in this series as well as a movie and tv show. Although it isn't the most complex writing style there is so much depth to this series that it takes forever to catch up!

Napoleon:
A movie or TV show that you liked more than the book.

The Sword of Sharanna Chronicles. So I technically haven't read this series but I read the first three chapters and got bored. The TV series was much better as it kept me gripped and got rid of all the long, boring sections of the books.

Empanda: 
A book that was very bittersweet.

Pfft...I'm going to go with Clockwork Prince for this one. Don't get me wrong, I adored this book and can't wait to read Clockwork Princess but I was so annoyed at the ending. Nothing went the way I wanted it to and I am not happy with Cassandra Clare!

Kolompeh
A book or series that takes place somewhere other than your home country.

Literally every single book I read takes place in a country other than my home country but the most interesting answer is probably The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier (or The Martian).

Pate a choux:
A food from a book that you would like to try.

Chocolate Frogs from the HarryPotter series. I know they have created a chocolate frog but it isn't the same as having a real chocolate frog.

What is your favourite pastry? Which fictional food would you like to try? Have you done this tag? Let me know in the comments below!

And until next time, keep reading!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Pages: 388
Rating:💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why her touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone, no one really cares.
But now Juliette has to make a choice. Be a weapon or be a warrior.

I never thought I was going to read this book. The premise didn't interest me, I'd heard some mixed reviews and it was published quite a while ago. But boy am I glad I gave it a chance!

Juliette was a little bland in my opinion; she had very little personality outside of her fatal touch. She did start to have a bit more character towards the end of the book, so hopefully she will be more interesting in the next book. Adam was a sweetheart; I loved him from the start. He obviously really cared about Juliette, and was willing to sacrifice everything for her. Warner, on the other hand, was completely crazy. He forced Juliette to hurt people, he hunted her and he became obsessed with her. He was almost the polar opposite of Adam: the crazy to his calm.

The writing style was...different. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were times where I got bored of reading yet another metaphor for the colour of Adam's eyes or the way Juliette was feeling that day. It felt very personal; it was almost like reading a diary. There were parts that were scribbled out, parts that were repeated for emphasis, and parts that were underlined to drag your attention to them. It was like someone had opened Juliette's brain for us to look into, all her darkest secrets now spread across these pages.

I both loved and hated this book. It was a beautiful, poetic book which was basically just a romance. It had its ups and downs, like most books do, but it kept my interest long enough to make me finish it. And now that I'm done with it I can't wait to read Unravel Me!

If you are looking for a book full of description and with a slightly crazy cast of characters I would definitely recommend this book. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Release Date: September 11, 2011
Pages: 502
Rating: 💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it...
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.




I loved this book so much; it's one of my favourite books of 2017, if not all time. It is so whimsical and wonderful, which is exactly the sort of book I love!

I can see why people might not enjoy this book though. It is a slow burner of a book, the kind which you can read over a week to try and absorb every single little detail that is stored within the pages. It is most definitely not a plot-driven story; very little action happens in this book and if there is any action is always over quickly. The story takes place over 30 years so you can imagine how long this story takes. So if you are the kind of reader who needs action to keep you hooked this book is not for you.

This book is so magical and fantastical that it just pulled me in and wrapped me up in a magical blanket. I loved that the magic in this world could be taught with theory and logic instead of just being born into the magic bloodline. It was the sort of detail that sort of grounded this otherwise fantastical book, and made it seem more realistic. I can imagine this type of magic existing in our world, instead of being trapped in the confides of the book.

Just the premise of the Circus, the characters, the illusions, the romance, the mystery...It all just takes my breath away. I love circuses and have always felt they were slightly magical, so reading about this circus made me so happy. The magic was very discreet in this book, you would barely notice it was there. I think whimsical is a much better word to use when describing this book because that is exactly what this book is. A little slice of whimsical in a world of rational books.

Erin Morgenstern's writing style was perfect for this book; if anyone else had written this book I don't think it would have worked  as seamlessly. Her long metaphors and similes wove together the Night Circus and placed the picture in my head. Even though I've never to a place like this circus I could see each tent as if I'd already visited the circus.

There was such a big cast of characters but somehow I felt so attached to each of them. They all had different personalities and attitudes that I couldn't help but love them. Each person brought something to the circus; even the smaller side characters seemed important in this story. It was as if the circus was made up by every person's differences, as if that was what powered it.

As there were so many characters I was worried that the ending would leave me disappointed, because I was sure she wouldn't be able to wrap up everyone's story lines. But somehow all the things that needed resolving were resolved and I couldn't be happier. All of the characters had the right conclusion for them, even if it wasn't the happiest conclusion.

I think this is another book that will have to go in my re-read pile (which seems to growing with every book I read!), although this story is going to stick with me for a long time. It's a shame Erin Morgenstern hasn't written any other books, because I'm certain I would love them just as much as this one!

Autumn Reading Tag

Autumn is officially here in England. The leaves are turning red and falling all over the pavements, birds are flying to warmer countries and it is now socially acceptable for me to wear my Hufflepuff scarf to school. So what better way to celebrate Autumn than with a book tag?!

1- Are there any  book you are planning to read in the Autumn months?

    This month I'm planning to read lots of spooky, Halloween-themed books but next month I don't have too much of a plan.

2- September brings back school memories. Which required reading books did you love the most?

Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Phantom Tollbooth

3- October means Halloween! Name your favourite scary book and film.

For book I would have to go with Asylum by Madeline LaRoux. I'm not really a fan of scary movies but I'm always slightly scared when watching Stardust or Monster House.

4-With November it's time for Bonfire Night and fireworks. Name a book which kept you gripped.

This question confuses me so much because surely all books should keep you gripped. However one book that I read especially fast is Lola and the Boy next door (which I finished in about 4 hours).

5-What is your favourite cosy comfort read?

Harry Potter or Malory Towers

6-What hot drink do you choose when curling up a good book?

Throughout Autumn and Winter I drink hot chocolate and throughout Spring and Summer I drink tea.

Do you like scary books and films? Which one is favourite? Have you done this tag? 

Let me know in the comments below!

And until next time, keep reading!

The Heir by Kiera Cass

The Heir by Kiera Cass
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Pages: 356
Rating: 💜💜💜
Buy it:  Amazon | Book Depository

Eighteen years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon's heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn't expect her Selection to be anything like her parents' fairy-tale love story...but as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.


I'm still can't decide if I want to give 2 or 3 stars. The further from the day I read this book the more I want to rate it down, so I guess we'll see!

I really didn't enjoy this book for the sole reason that Eadlyn was the most bland and insufferable character I've read about for a while. She was constantly reminding everyone she was better than them, she was shocked when people didn't like her and she acted like a brat most of the time. She didn't even want to do this Selection and was determined to make it fail. She was absolutely horrible in every single respect.

However there were three things that rescued this book:

1. The Selected: So some of them were stupid, but after they'd been eliminated the remaining boys were  adorable. There was Henri who was so sweet, Ean who was intriguing and Kile who I want to win so bad.
2. The old characters: America, Maxon and all their friends were my favourite part of this book. I loved that they were all still close to each other and that they supported each other, no matter what had happened in the past. I loved seeing the characters that made me fall for this series, even though they are much older now.
3. The family: So obviously America and Maxon are my babies but I also loved the other family members. Kaden was about ten times smarter than Eadlyn will ever be; Ahren was incredible and actually followed his heart and Osten was an incredibly loyal little rascal.

It's safe to say I won't be reading The Crown after reading this book. I don't think I'll survive another 300+ pages of Eadlyn; I even found out who she ends up with and I'm not surprised (although I'm a little annoyed). I now understand why everyone wishes this series stopped at book 3, because this book definitely ruined it for me.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: August 14, 2014
Pages: 375
Rating:💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on Josh since their first year. And, after a chance encounter in Manhattan over summer break, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they start their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to face the possibility of being apart.


What a disappointing ending to this trilogy. Okay, so it wasn't terrible but was definitely worse than Anna and far worse than Isla. It had a completely different feeling from the first two books, as if someone else had written it.

I've always felt like I could connect to the main girl in some way but I just couldn't relate to Isla. The first time we see her she is so drugged that her personality is completely changed. She goes 'Hey, love me, I'm quirky' for a chapter and then that personality disappears for the rest of the book. I also found it hard to connect with her because she couldn't speak without a hundred other words coming out of her mouth. I know that some people suffer from this (myself included) but I've never met anyone who couldn't have a single conversation without word-vomiting.

Isla's friendship with Kurt was a also a major disappointment for me. I loved Kurt, and it was great that he represented people with autism. However Isla didn't really seem to understand him at all and even ditched him when she got close enough to Josh which was not cool Isla! However Kurt was one of the things that saved this book for me because he was so innocently sweet and deserved better than Isla.

The romance in this book was not my cup of tea. Isla was obsessive, crushing on Josh for so long that I felt like it had gone from being a crush to being an obsession. Then, when she did get with Josh, she was clingy and had no life outside him. I wasn't too happy with Josh either; he wasn't mush better that Isla as a character. I was really disappointed with his character because I loved him in Anna and the French Kiss.

The thing that saved this book for me was the descriptions of all the places Isla and Josh went. I loved the chapters that Isla and Josh spent in Barcelona; the writing was so vibrant and descriptive that it made me want to jump on a plane and fly straight there. That trip was the highlight of this book, although I also loved the parts which Isla spent in the 'Treehouse'.

I know this review made it sound this book was terrible, but trust me it wasn't. There were parts that made me happy and other parts that made me want to go travel the world. Unfortunately I couldn't get along with the characters, and because they are the driving point of this book I couldn't get along this book.