Monday, February 28, 2011

Review: The Goddess Test - Aimee Carter



4/5

I managed to get a ARC of the book, and I am so glad that I did!!

This book has so many levels to it, first of it is a typical YA PR book with the usual twists, it is also a book about Greek mythology, a murder mystery, it raises opinions about what is morally right and wrong and at it's core a book about good vs evil.

What a great debut for Aimee Carter, I'm sure this book will have people hooked like I was!
I absolutely loved the ending to this book, and cannot wait to read the next instalment of the series!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Review: Butterface - Gwen Hayes



3/5

I really liked this book, although it was really short the message within it still gets across.

The book is about a girl named Beth, who was born with hemifacial microsomia, which effects the development of the bottom half of the face, Beth has has surgery, and it it not too noticeable now, but she is still insecure about.

It is a short and sweet romance story, and I am looking forward to seeing more from Gwen Hayes in the future.

Review: Before I Die - Jenny Downham




4/5

This book is about Tessa, a 16 year old girl who has terminal cancer.
Tessa creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies, and the book takes the reader through her list, and her little amendments to it.

As the story unfolds we see Tessa's true nature, her family dynamics and get to see her experience love for the first time.

I really enjoyed this book it took you into Tessa's world and showed the reader the brutal truth about living with cancer and how it effects everyone around her in different ways.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Lots of book news!

I have lots of book news for you all!
First of all, I got a Kindle today! Hurrah! I am still playing around with it and adding books...when I am supposed to be letting it charge! Apparently the battery will last 1 month if I keep the 3G off!

Apart from that, I have also got my hands on a e-book copy of a The Goddess Test - Aimée Carter to read and review, which is due for release in April.

I also finished a couple of books last night, so reviews will be up for those soon!

Until then,
Emma
x x x

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Weekly Additions

Weekly Additions #1



Every Thursday I plan of showing off some of my newest books added to the collection!
Here are some of my most recent books which are all to be read.
Some are from the library, some bought on Amazon or Ebay and some received in swaps

Enjoy!
Emma
x x x

Review: Gone - Michael Grant



3/5

I have been loving YA dystopian thememed books recently, and when I heard about this series I reserved them from the library straight away!


I wanted to fall in love with this book.
With all the great reviews of it, I thought it would be great.

Sadly, I was disappointed, the story itself is brilliant, what an original idea for a dystopian themed book! But right from the start I found myself getting annoyed with the characters, thinking why had no one done this already. I am aware that the characters in this book are younger than in books I generally read, therefore their first thought wouldn't be going house to house to check for babies and young kids, although it is done after a while, but by then they are too late for some.

About halfway though the book, I started to get really annoyed with the same old story - yes I know all the adults are gone, and I know there are some strange things happening, does this need to be repeated all the time? Again this is probably because the characters in the book are all under 15 so I don't think I can really relate to them.

I did like the ending, and will probably read the rest of the series just to find out what happens, but it will not be classed as one of my favourite reads of 2011.

Monday, February 21, 2011

A little more about me...

So after showing the world my bookcases, I think I should tell you a little more about me!

My name is Emma, I am 24 and currently in my final year at university, studying tourism with Spanish. I have always loved foreign languages and choose Spanish and French all the way through school. I have also done a year of basic business Italian, and have picked up a few Japanese words here and there through watching animé.
I still live at home with my mum, step-dad and 14 year old brother, it's cheap, and I get my dinner cooked for me! Although I do plan on getting my own flat when I finish uni and get a full-time job. At the moment I work part-time in Morrisons, I don't really like it, but it's near my house, I have good friends I work with, and most importantly it gives me money!

Now for the important stuff!

I have always been an avid reader since I was young. Infact my mum has a funny story she likes to tell, she was pretty good friends with one of my nursery teachers, and she was in the house one night with my mum. I must have been about 3 at the time, and I wanted to read my nursery teacher my favourite book, which I did, and my nursery teacher was so impressed! Of course I couldn't read yet, I'd had the story read to me so many times I had it memorised, and even knew the exact times to turn the pages to make it look like I was reading. My mum let her go on thinking that I could read before finally telling her the truth. Looking back, I think that is when my love of books started.

I read all through my childhood, and when my step-dad first came into my life I was about 8. I remember him giving me a copy of The Hobbit, which was a bit too difficult for me at the time. I was upset because I couldn't understand a lot of the words in it, and it seemed like such a big book to get through at that age. A few years after that I was given The Northern Lights trilogy for Christmas, and I devoured them! And that was about the time I started to read fantasy books.

During my teens I developed a very unhealthy obsession with Virginia Andrews novels, I think I've read almost every single one of her books, with the exception of some of the newer series. Then after that I discovered Harry Potter, which brought me back to fantasy books again.

Harry Potter will always be my favourite series, the books themselves mean so much to me, they got me through a really hard time in my life when my gran died and I suffered from depression and self harming. I still love the books, and do go back to them every now and again. I love the movies as well, and I especially love pointing out the mistakes in the movies! I remember going to the midnight release for The Deathly Hallows in Borders, wearing a Griffindor Scarf and drawing a lightning bolt on my forehead! Last year I got a Harry Potter tattoo on my foot, it is a quote from the first book, The Philosophers Stone. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." I love the meaning behind the quote, as well as the fact that it from Harry Potter, and that series means so much to me in my own personal way.

Harry Potter then lead onto Twilight. I remember being out shopping with my mum one day, and there is a little indoor market every Thursday and Friday in my area, so we went along. I remember seeing Twilight at a book stall and it was the cover that caught my eye and I bought it without even knowing what it was about. Of course after that I was sucked into the whole Twilight saga. I will always love the Twilight saga for sparking my interest in Paranormal Romance and Young Adult books, without that I highly doubt that I would be here typing this blog at all! Since then I have delved head first into Young Adult PR books, and am now slowly starting to explore the world of Adult PR books.

Well I certainly did not intent to write this much about myself, but thats what happens when you get me started on books! I am hoping to update this blog as often as I can with reviews and my recent book buys or library finds, and hopefully someone will find it useful to them.

Until next time
Emma x

Book Blog!

So this has been along time coming, i've been thinking about starting a book blog for a while.
This will be my own little space to talk about books i've read, what i'm currently reading, what it's my TBR pile, pictures of recent book hauls, and of course most importantly reviews!

So I think it's only fair to start by showing the world my current bookcases, these pictures were taken a few weeks ago and I have added to the ever expanding book collection since then!


So this is my first bookcase, it's part of the Billy range from Ikea, and it was a limited edition William Shakespeare one, it's white and covered in black quotes from him. Only the first three shelves are used for books, the rest hold dvds, xbox games, my small animé collection and uni coursework.






The second bookcase is fairly new, and i built it all by myself! Again it is from the Billy range at Ikea, but it about half the size of my other one.







 
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