Ice Kissed by Amanda Hocking

After reading Frostfire in the summer last year, I finally picked up the second installment to the series, Ice Kissed, in December.  But due to it being so close to Christmas and having a lot of other things happening, I never got round to writing a review for this one, and so I decided that now was the time to do so before I read the last one, Crystal Kingdom, hopefully as soon as possible.  

This one continued on with the mysterious threat facing both the Kanin and Skojare kingdoms as they continue to search for the truth behind the kidnappings.  For me, the story really improved in this book, particularly with the conspiracy and politics within the kingdom.  Although alot of it didn't seem to relate majorly to the main mystery presented in the first one, I actually found this one to be a lot more interesting and found it to be alot more deceiving as to who was behind it.  I constantly found myself suspecting different people throughout the entirety of it and really liked not knowing where the story would go next.  

The characters were another aspect of this book that I prefered hugely to the first one.  I continued to like all of the ones I loved in Frostfire, such as Tilda and Ember, as well as loving some of the new characters such as Kasper and Prince Kennet  I also strangely found myself really warming to Ridley so much so that I actually found myself rooting for him as a love interest half way through this one.  I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that changed my mind on him, but I just found him to be alot less irritating and more considerate of other things in this one.  

However, I would have liked to have seen some more romance in this one, as we still only got snippets of moments between Bryn and Ridley.  I really enjoyed what we got and definitely would have liked to have seen more of it.  I would also have liked to have seen more of Konstantin in this as he was absent for almost the entirety of the book, so much so that I almost forgot of his involvement in the storyline.  

But I couldn't end this review without talking about that ending.  I think I'm still in shock from it.  Everything just happened so quickly but at just the right pace that I couldn't read it fast enough.  So many plot twists came flying at me that it took me a moment to take them all in, and I have to admit, I still have to get over one of the main things that happened amidst the action.  

So overall, I really enjoyed this sequel and found this to be series that, so far, definitely gets better as it goes along.  I can't wait to read the final installment and find out exactly what has been going on in these books! 

Favourite:

Character(s):  Kasper 

Scene(s): Kenneth, Kasper and Bryn in the Kanin Palace (the ending) 

Relate a:

Song: Control - Halsey
Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy

Other Book: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo 

Rating:

4/5

Top Ten Tuesday Forty

Top Ten Books I enjoyed recently that weren't from my typical genre

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This week's topic was one I found quite hard as alot of the books I read are from genres I often read from, and so I only had a small number to pick from.  Nonetheless, here are some of my favourite books from genres I normally don't read from - enjoy! 

1) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - Sci-fi and alien- post-apocalyptic books are not normally my thing at all, but thought I give this one a go after the summary drew me in straight away, and ended up absolutely loving it.  I have now read the sequel and have recommended it to anyone who would listen, and I can't wait for the final one to be released later this year! 

*

2) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - It's safe to say that almost all of the books I read are YA, so when it was definitely a change when I picked this one up early last year.  I still have very mixed views on this one but all in all I did enjoy it and know that at the least it has made me curious to try out more adult literature soon.  

3) Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo -  Another genre I hardly ever read is fantasy, and so when I saw this one around I was instantly intrigued and so decided to pick it up anyway.  And, I am so glad I did, as it ended up being one of favourites of last year, and has made me seriously excited to pick up some more fantasy very soon. 

*

4) Wonder by R. J. Palacio - I'm unsure as to whether this counts as a children's book as I have heard it called YA, but I am counting it as it did feel like one to me.  Nonetheless, this is one I did not expect to be picking up last summer but I am so happy I did as it was such a heartwarming story that I thoroughly enjoyed.  

5) Across the Universe by Beth Revis - I read very little sci-fi and so I actually picked this one up as an attempt to read more of it, especially after reading The 5th Wave earlier on in the year.  I really enjoyed this one, and can't wait to carry on, and so I'm glad I left my reading comfort zone to pick it up! 

*

6)  Half Bad by Sally Green -  Finally, this is one I didn't expect to like in the slightest after DNFing it once before, and so was at the point of giving up when I decided to give this one last try.  It was so different to what I normally read with witches being something I had never really encountered before, and so I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up really enjoying this one.

7) The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough - This was my favourite book of last year, which is incredibly surprising considering it is a historical fiction novel, a genre I rarely dip into but always love when I do.  It's such a beautiful book and has quickly become one of my all time favourites, so hopefully I will try some more historical fiction soon.  

Winter Wrap Up

To go along with my recent attempt at TBR's for each season or couple of months, I decided that I would also try to recap my reads for each few months as I often forget to write reviews for many of the books that I read and so many of them I don't get to share or more get forgotten as the months go by.  These first two months weren't great for how much I read, especially February, but almost everything I did read I thoroughly enjoyed, and so to me they were pretty good months purely for that.  And so, here is my first wrap up for the months of January and February - enjoy! 

Numbers 3: Infinity by Rachel Ward -

This was my first read of the 2016 and was the final book to the Numbers trilogy which I had loved up to that point, so I was really anticipating reading this.  This final book, however, was more than a bit disappointing for me as it went in a very different direction to the first two and just fell very flat for me.  It just didn't live up to the rest of the series but I am still glad I read it as I now know exactly how everything ends, even if it didn't do so in exactly the way I wanted it to.  
Rating - 3/5

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak - 

After that, I decided to pick up one that has been sitting on my shelf for far too long, and so I am the Messenger became my second read of the month.  Before I even started this one, I had high hopes as The Book Thief is one of my favourites, and so I knew I adored Zusak's writing already.  But somehow this one still surprised me and surpassed my expectations withs its amazing story and equally as great characters.  It became my first five star book of 2016 and I am so glad I finally got round to it.  
Rating - 5/5

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling -

Next up I decided to finally pick up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets after reading the first one around a year ago.  I am a huge fan of the movies but have never actually read the books, and so one of my resolutions last year was to read the entire series, but for whatever reason I only ever got round to picking up the first one, and so I knew I had to continue on before I lost interest and just gave up, especially as I already know the general story.  However, I am so glad I didn't as I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment even more than the first and am now extremely excited to read the third, this time before the end of the year.  
Rating - 5/5

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - 
The Raven Boys is one I have said I wanted to read for so long now that at the beginning of this month I decided that it was time I actually picked it up, especially considering the last book in the series comes out later this year.  I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally read this, as it was such a unique story and book with characters that I can't wait to return to.  It was so creepy and magical and I am already contemplating picking up the sequel as soon as possible - which for someone who almost always prefers a break between books in a series, is rare!
Rating - 4.5/5

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 

Finally, for my most recent read I decided that I would attempt to read a classic as I have yet to read one outside of school.  After trying to read Jane Eyre last year and giving up on it after around a hundred pages, it's safe to say I was a little scared and so chose to give Wuthering Heights a go instead.  I actually have yet to finish this one, with about a quarter of it left at the moment, but so far I am really enjoying the beautiful writing of this as well as the story itself.
Rating (so far): 4.5/5

Top Ten Tuesday Thirty Nine

Top Ten Songs I wish were books 

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This week's topic is one I've been looking forward to for a while now as many will know that I love music and so grab any opportunity to combine it with my love of books.  I was especially excited when I saw this suggestion as it's such a unique idea but one I was really anticipating trying out.  And so, enjoy! 

1) Manhattan - Sara Bareilles -

This song just breaks my heart everytime, and I can just imagine a beautifully tragic story about these two people who are in love fitting so perfectly with it.

2) How to Say Goodbye - Paul Tiernan -

Another here where I would just love to see how things got to this point and be able to watch things from the very start rather than just hearing about the ending.

3) Make It Right - The Mowgli's - 

I just love the idea in this song of an almost wrong love and am so interested in the story of what it makes it such that I'd love to explore it more and find out more about how it came to be.  

4) On a Lonely Night - A Rocket To The Moon feat. Larkin Poe -

I already love the story told in this song, but I would love to delve deeper into how they met both for the first time and again and what happens in the years between their encounters.

5) Photograph - Ed Sheeran -

I can really imagine this being such a beautiful tale that keeps switching between the present and the past so that slowly the whole story of how they got to where they are is revealed.

6) Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls -

Not only is this one of my favourite songs, but it is also one where I would love to know more about the story behind it and whether or not things work out eventually.

7) Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde -

I can't tell you how many stories and characters this song already reminds me of, but I'd still love to see a story actually fully relate to this song as I can just imagine it being such a dark and intense one about such morally grey characters.  

8) Avalanche - Walk The Moon -

This song just feels like it has such a story behind it, with the idea of these two people who keep meeting and falling in love in different lives having just one shot left at it.  I just need to know what happened between them and why this is their last chance at things.

9) Out On The Town - Fun. -

For me, this would just make such a great, quirky little story about someone struggling to get over a relationship and how things slowly but surely get better for them.

10) Warriors - Imagine Dragons -

I would just love to see development of this one and how the story has progressed and climaxed at this point.  I can just see it being such an action-packed, fast-paced book that not only has great fight scenes but amazing growth that tells you how they built things up 'from dust'.

11) Starlight - Taylor Swift -

I just need this to be a beautiful love story with some kind of historical World War II element as I need to know more about this story than just the one night described in the song.

A Reader Recommends - Romance

This week, I was really struggling to come up with an idea for this post, as I'm currently in the middle of a book and so had nothing new to review and no other ideas ready and waiting.  But after watching a recommendations video and the latest TTT, I decided to use the fact that today is Valentine's Day and give some suggestions on romantic books to read, whether you want to read them particularly for this time or if you're just in the mood for some kind of love story.  And so, enjoy! 

1) Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - I feel as though I have said this so many times before, but I love this book!  Not only does it include one of my favourite romances, but it has some great characters and is just an all round amazing story. 

2) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - This the perfect book if you're looking for a quick read with a great whirlwind romance.  It follows Hadley as she meets Oliver after missing her flight, and takes place over just 24 hours, so is the perfect book if you want a short but incredibly sweet story.  

3) Looking For Alaska by John Green - If you're looking for a more tragic, unique kind of romance, this is the one for you.  It is by far my favourite of his books, and although it not by any means the most romantic book, it is definitely still one to read.  

4) How They Met by David Levithan - This one is perfect if you don't have a lot of time or are already in the middle of a book but still want some romance, as this is a collection of short stories.  It's a perfect one to keep diving into and you'll soon find your favourites as it includes something for everyone. 

5) Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Finally, a perfect one for both romance and friendship, this follows Emily as she tries to come out of her shell after her best friend disappears, leaving behind only a list that needs to be completed.  Not only am I fan of the romance in this one, but I also loved watching Emily slowly find herself along the way.