April Wrap Up

I can't believe April's already over!  Despite setting myself some pretty high goals this month for reading and being really motivated to stick to them at the start of April, it wasn't a great reading month for me as I only managed to read three books once again, a number I really want to improve upon next month.  Nonetheless, here are the three books I did read, as well as the book I am currently reading.  And so, enjoy!

1) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - 

As I said in my March Wrap up, I actually started this at the very end of March, but I managed to finish it quite early on in the month.  I was really excited to continue on with this series as it had been a while since I read the fourth one, and the recent Shadowhunter Tv show had really got me in the mood to return to the world.  I really enjoyed continuing on with the series, and actually found I prefered this book to the last one, something I really wasn't expecting to happen. As always, I loved the characters, the storyline (even if it was slightly slow to get started) and I can't tell you how excited I now am to read the final book.  

2) The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig - 

My second book of the month was quite an impromptu one, but one I'm really glad I did end up picking up.  It was one I'd heard only a bit about beforehand, so I was quite excited to go into without the hype and high expectations that often comes with some of the books I read.  Fortunately, I ended up loving this one with all its time travel and pirate adventures, and I really enjoyed reading about and watching the storyline and plot that this followed slowly unravel throughout the book.  I also adored so many of the characters in this, especially members of the crew, and I'm so glad I decided to give this one a go.  

3) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - 

My third read ended up acutally being my last full read of the month unfortunately, despite the first two books taking me only a week or so to get through.  Ever since the adaptation of this one came out last year, I've been interested in reading it before seeing the film, and so I finally decided to pick it up last month.  Unfortunately though, I wasn't much of a fan of this one and considering giving up on it at quite a few points.  I just didn't like the lack of plot and found the humour to sometimes go a little over the top and too far, although I will admit that at times it wasn't too bad.  However, overall it just wasn't a book for me and I'm not sure whether or not the film will be something I'll be watching anytime soon.

4) The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa (currently reading) - 

Finally, I haven't managed to get a ton of reading done the rest of the month as I've had barely any time and so I am barely 150 pages through this one at present.  So far I am enjoying it, but I'm just not loving it enough to actually make time to read it.  Hopefully soon I will be able to find time to read again!

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Top Ten Tuesday Forty Nine

Top Ten Bookworm Delights

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  I can't tell you how excited I was for this weeks topic, as its so unique and such a fun one to have a go at!  However, I only managed to come up with seven as I haven't had as much time as usual, even if I would have loved to have done ten.  And so, enjoy!  

1) Reading outside in the summer - 

This may be one of the key reasons why I am currently extremely excited for summer, especially as this year I will have even more time to read.  I just love getting home in the afternoon and going to sit in my back garden and read with the sun still high in the sky.

2) Finding a beautiful quote in a book - 

This is kind of a given for me, as I absolutely adore a good quote.  The only thing better than the quote itself is the moment when you find it hidden in one of your favourites. 

3) Finding amazing books at the library - 

If I had made this list even a month ago or so, then I probably wouldn't have put this on here.  But recently, I can't tell you how much I've been loving going to the library and finding a book I otherwise never would have picked up.

4) Meeting someone who loves one of your favourites as much as you (especially if its an underrated book) - 

I can't tell you how happy I am when I find out that someone else has not only read, but also loved a book I adore.  Not only do I now have someone to share my emotions and feelings about the book with, but I also have someone who I give and share book recommendations with!

5) Books with stunning covers - 

As much as I try not to, I do sometimes judge a book by its cover.  But as much as this may seem like a bad thing, it sometimes isn't actually too bad as it means me picking up and giving a book ago I wouldn't be interested in otherwise.  Plus, books with covers that are like works of art are just too pretty to ignore.

6) When I discover a sequel I didn't know about - 

Okay, this might sound strange, but I can't tell you how often I have read a book and only months or so later discovered it had a sequel - I literally spent the entirety of the Numbers series like this.  And after months of thinking that a story I loved has not only ended, but sometimes ended a little open endedly (obviously if its clear nothing's been resolved I figure out there's a sequel), I can't tell you how exciting it is to discover that you get another book! 

7) When your OTP finally get together - 

I think this a moment everyone can relate to, and everyone loves.  When the two people you've been shipping from the start, after going back and forth for so long finally get together.  It's just great.  

8) When one of your most anticipated releases comes out - 

Now I'm not usually one to be completely up to date with new releases, and it normally takes me a while to pick one up, but even I can agree that the moment you pick up a book you have been waiting for forever is a pretty great moment.  After all that anticipation, its finally in your hands.

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The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

This is one I recently picked up completely spontaneously from the library a few weeks ago.  I hadn't heard a ton about it before I picked it up, but I did know bits and pieces and so was excited to get straight into.  I ended up reading in 4 days, which is pretty impressive for me, and absolutely loving it!

This books follows Nix as she and the rest of the crew on her father's ship attempt to gain a map back to a place from his past.  As you can probably tell, this book includes time-travel, something I don't think I have ever read about in a book before, and certainly never like this.  I loved the whole idea of this ship that navigates through time using maps from that specific point in history, especially as this allowed myths and legends to suddenly become real as well.  Even though a lot of this book does happen in one single place, I still really enjoyed seeing where they would travel to next and what adventures they would come across.

I also loved the centre idea in this as Nix's father attempts to find her mother, who he lost many years ago.  I liked how this created a family dynamic in this book, and, although I sometimes found Slate's manner towards his daughter a bit too distant, I did like how this allowed for there to be tension between them that changed as the story progressed.  I also liked how many different topics were all woven into one story so seamlessly that they were noticeable but never at the forefront.

Throughout the book, we meet many different characters, including both those on the ship and those we meet in Hawaii.  I loved the diversity in the cast of characters, with all of them so unique with different ethnicities.  In general, I have to say I liked pretty much all the characters, especially some of the members of the crew, who I found to be a great relief from the key plot.  I also loved Nix as a character, and found she grew alot in this book, allowing her to know exactly what she wanted by the end of this book.  I also thought she was just a really great, strong female character who thinks for herself, particularly towards the end of this.  But my favourite character of all had to be Kashmir, her best friend on the ship.  He was just such a fun yet dynamic character who could both provide some comic relief as well as some more serious issues.

The only character that really annoyed me was Blake, as I just didn't really see the motives behind alot of his actions.  I didn't really understand why he played a part in a story that could have survived without him, and why he suddenly kept popping up everywhere just to create an unnecessary problem.  On top of this, I just wasn't a fan of his character and found him to be annoying from the offset.

Sticking with characters, I have to say that I really enjoyed the romance in this.  I loved how it wasn't anything near insta-love and how even by the end it was still developing.  I found it to be quite realistic due to how slow-burning it was, my only problem coming from the addition of a love triangle.

And, as always, I can't write a review without discussing the writing style.  Although there wasn't anything amazingly unique or different about the writing in this book, I did still find it extremely engaging once I got into it.  It was very easy to follow and helped the plot to move at a fast but reasonable pace and just overall made the story that much better for me.

I couldn't end this review without talking about the amazing settings that appear in this story.  One of the huge benefits of time travel is getting to see so many different and beautiful places, such as Hawaii and India.  I love book which includes travel, so I loved this aspect, as well as being able to see the history behind these places, an added bonus for me.  I really enjoyed taking a glimpse into the past, and although I don't know how accurate it all was, I did like the idea of it being based off actual events rather than being completely fictitious.

Favourite:

Character(s): Kashmir, Bee

Scene: The party

Quote: Sometimes a person has to let go of something to take hold of something else. 

Relate a:

Song: We Come Running  - Youngblood Hawke
Trees - Twenty One Pilots

Other Book: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Rating:

4/5

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Top Ten Tuesday Forty Eight

I'm Top Ten Books that will make you laugh

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This week's topic was one I was really unsure about, as I'm definitely not one for straight up, laugh out loud books, but more one for perhaps subtler humour in books.  So, I did manage to come up with a list of books that definitely made me at least chuckle, and hopefully they might make you laugh a little too!  And so, enjoy! 

1) Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan - 
I think alot of people know by now how much I enjoyed this one, alot of this down to the humour that was intertwined into it.  Although it wasn't always front and centre, it definitely did play a role and really broke down some of the more serious sections of this pretty funny book.  

2) The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan -
 I can imagine this series making quite a few peoples list this week, as it is just full of witty remarks and comments left, right and centre.  Who doesn't laugh at some of things Percy comes out with?  

3) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - 
Although I wasn't a fan of this book as a whole, I did think that the humour in it worked and did make me laugh, something which definitely saved this book for me

4) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan - 
As is the case with pretty much all of Levithan's books, this one is great for some hilarious and sometimes pretty unique humour (if that's even a thing!) and will have you laughing along with so many of the characters and some of the things that happen throughout this book.  

5) It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini -
 Although this book does deal with quite a serious topic, it also takes quite a humourous, more cynical approach to the whole situation that I couldn't help but love.  

6) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - 
Yes, so this isn't one known for its humour or anything, but I honestly can't help but laugh at some of the things these characters come out with, even if it is never a focus of any kind. 

7) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - 
Finally, not only is this a great book on its own, it also has some of the funniest lines and banter that I've read in awhile.  I always loved the conversations between the characters and AIDAN, and honestly couldn't help laughing at so many different things.  

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25 Bookish Facts About Me

Recently, I have seen this tag everywhere, and have now seen so many people do it that I thought I'd give it a little go in an attempt to perhaps tell you a little more about my reading habits and just general bookish facts you might not have known about me.  And so, enjoy!  

1) My absolute favourite book of all time is The Book Thief - its such a beautiful story and if you haven't read it yet, I urge you to go and do so now! 

2) I much prefer paperbacks and so consequently I own very few hardbacks as not only are they more expensive but I also find them harder to read.  I only ever normally by a book in hardback if it is not yet out in paperback or if its 100x prettier than the paperback.

3) Not only do I prefer paperbacks, I also love the really floppy paperbacks that make it almost impossible to break the spine.  I love not having that extra thing to worry about whilst reading!

4)I have yet to read Harry Potter ( I know, I know, I am trying to change this), but I am a huge fan of the movies, and I'm currently on book 3 of the series

5) My most read genre is contemporary but I am slowly reading and loving more and more fantasy books.

6) Despite this, many of my favourite books, including The Book Thief, The Game of Love and Death and The Midnight Palace are all historical fiction novels. 

7) My most read author and likely my favourite author is Amanda Hocking.  So far, I have read 3 of her series and am currently halfway through the Kanin trilogy, which as soon as I finish will make it 4.

8) I love short story compilations, although I only currently own two, My True Love Gave to Me and How They Met by David Levithan.

9) I have only read one classic outside of school (Wuthering Heights) but I did make it half way through Jane Eyre, and am planning to read Pride and Prejudice very soon! 

10) My favourite book to movie adaptation is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  

11) I have a total of five bookshelves scattered across my room, but only three of them are currently completely full. 

12) I used to always reread my favourites when I was younger but now I rarely do.  Its definitely something I hope to start doing again soon. 

13) I am Ravenclaw and proud!

14) I actually tend to really enjoy book to movie adaptations everyone else hates, even if I have read the book it is meant to be based on and is only loosely based off the books.  For example, I really like the Percy Jackson films even if they are completely unfaithful of the book, and I adore The Host movie as well. 

20) I don't use actual bookmarks, as I find they fall out too easily, and so instead I simply use a paperclip so that I can still keep my place without folding over the corner.

15) I currently don't have some of my favourite series as they all lent out such as The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, out of which I only currently have Mockingjay.  

16) I do own an e reader, but I only have one book and one series currently on it, despite owning it a number of years.

17)  It tends to take me around a week to read a book, but so far this year I have been reading at a slightly slower pace than this, and so am slightly behind on my reading challenge - hopefully this can change soon!

18) I am currently halfway through about 10 series at this point in time.

19) I actually really like the shadowhunters TV show even if it isn't too faithful to the book. 

21) Despite using a paperclip to mark my place, I do still dog-ear books, just not to mark where I am currently up to in the book.  Instead, if I find a quote I like then I will dog-ear the bottom of the page, whereas if I find a really good scene or section, then I will fold over the corner at the top of the page on which it starts.

22) I really like old, battered books - the scruffier, the better loved!  

23)  I tend to read alot more in the summer when I have more time to read, with the winter never being too productive with my reading. 

24) I have never tried an audiobook, as I'm unsure about whether or not I will be able to remember everything that happens when I am simply listening it, but I do hope to try one very soon to see if this is true.

25) I currently have 27 unread books on my bookshelf 

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