Jane Austen Challenge

Fan of Jane Austen, Modern Classics or Chick lit? Or do you just want to challenge yourself this year? Challenge yourself with my Jane Austen Challenge!

Book of the Month: March

Every month I pick a book that was my favourite. My favourite book for March was: Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincy.

2012 Reading Challenge: #2

Keeping track of my progress during my 2012 goodreads reading challenge!

In My Mailbox

My first In My Mailbox post, otherwise known as a Book Haul.

Diary: I'm a Volunteer for The British Lung Foundation!

As of March 2012 I have become a volunteer for The British Lung Foundation :)

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Book Review: Julia Karr's "XVI"


Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world - even the most predatory of men - that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past - one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.
This book was suggested to me by a follower on Novel Nerds and took me a while to figure out if it was worth buying. I read the synopsis online on Amazon and whilst it seemed interesting, nothing really grabbed me enough to want to buy it really badly.

I did eventually end up buying it as a side purchase, but as my initial thoughts suggest I didn't fall irrevocably in love. The synopsis pretty much tells you what happens in 70% of the book, which is a shame because I had hoped for a lot more but on the other hand the book is definitely a quick read at 272 pages.

I enjoyed the romance aspect of the novel - first loves are always adorable to read! It was especially interesting since as you can tell from the synopsis; any non-family relationship between a teenage girl and boy is an extremely big deal in the world of XVI; especially for Nina who is completely against turning into a traditional sex-obsessed sixteen year old girl. I also liked the use of "media" and "advertisements" as brain washing instruments used by the Government. It's not something unique since a lot of writer's use the media as a form of control in dystopian fiction, but I felt like it worked really well here.

On the other hand, I felt like there were too many coincidences in the book. The problems in the book all got solved ridiculously easily and because of this the events in the book all happened rapidly. I guess rapid pacing should be seen as a good thing, but it annoyed me because I felt like the author could have spent time on telling us more about the other characters. I was also surprised by the ending - which I hated. Everything happened in a matter of pages and whilst I just found out that XVI will have a sequel called Truth (which will be released January 19th) I'm still not happy. Most of the loose ends were tied in the ending, leaving nothing for your imagination whatsoever. I'm guessing the author will be introducing brand new problems into the sequel but I don't really see the need for it considering the ending.

All in all, I'd recommend the book if you're bored and want to kill a few hours without thinking too much. I'd also suggest buying it from Amazon because in no way would I have been happy to pay full price for it.

Rating:   

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Win a copy of Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You!


To celebrate the release of JoJo Moyes’ latest novel, Me Before You, Penguin have teamed up with The Biscuiteers and we have 5 copies of Me Before You to giveaway PLUS an exclusive Me Before You biscuit tin.
'I was spellbound by the love of two unlikely people. A real tear inducing romance. Wonderful!' Zailia, Assistant Production Manager, The Biscuiteers
'Jojo Moyes definitely knows the recipe for a first-class novel. Love, tears and laughter, Me Before You is the perfect mixture' Johanna, Ecommerce Assistant, The Biscuiteers
'A modern and truly believable love story, I couldn't put it down' Cassie, Marketing Coordinator
To enter in this lovely giveaway, head over to the Penguin Competition Page and enter your details in the form! Make sure to read the terms and conditions before participating. The competition ends on January 31st!

Woohoo a free book and biscuits! All you need is a nice cup of tea and you're set for a lovely evening! ^^

Sunday 8 January 2012

Book of the Month: December

Interestingly, according to my Goodreads account I only managed to read and finished during December. Deadlines got the better of me last month, but all is not lost since I can always make up for it this month! 

So what's my book?

Kathleen Morgan's "Child of the Mist (These Highland Hills, #1)"


In the harsh Scottish highlands of 1564, superstitions threaten a truce . . . a traitor plans his attack . . and a new love is born.
An arranged betrothal was never the course Anne MacGregor imagined her life would take. Yet when her father explains that her cooperation is the only hope for peace, Anne sees no other choice. Even one year of commitment to Niall Campbell, after all, would win a long-sought truce between the feuding families.
But as Anne soon discovers, peace is not so easily achieved. Before she even arrives at her new home, rumors about her abound and her safety is threatened. Meanwhile, Niall's ascension as leader of his clan is in jeopardy, as a traitor works to bring about his downfall.
As Niall and Anne begin to see beyond each other's defenses, love takes them by surprise. But will it be enough to defeat their foes? Or will the truce be broken, their lives forfeit, and war return to their beloved land?

The book seems a bit daunting at first considering it is set in Scotland during the 1500s and is not written in modern day English. But I found myself able to quickly adapt to Morgan's style to the extent that once invested in the book; I hardly noticed it.

I had no expectations at all when I first started reading this and I was left pleasantly surprised. I downloaded it after noticing that it was on Amazon's Top 100 Kindle books and also happened to free for download. In retrospect though, the book is worth so much more. I'm happily planning to buy the other books currently available by Kathleen Morgan because I enjoyed her writing that much.

I will admit there were points in the book where I felt conflicted towards Anne (the female protagonist). There were moments where I loved her, moments I hated her and moments where I was worried about her well being. There was particularly controversial scene (no spoilers 'cause I'm feeling nice) which leaves me feeling a bit disappointed, but I took it with a pinch of salt and continued reading.

Whilst I enjoyed the book, I have to admit I wasn't completely satisfied with Anne. She started off as an independent woman with her own identity and slowly she lost her identity and became Niall's possession. The ending hinted that in the future she would gain her identity back somewhat, but I wish the author had made it more obvious.

Other than those couple of complaints, I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for something different to their usual romance books. :)

Rating:    

Tuesday 3 January 2012

My Favourite Books of 2011

Honestly, I wish I'd read more last year. I'm not going to bother to count the books I did read because I'm sure it comes up to less than 30. Yeah, pitiful for someone who hopes to get into the Publishing industry someday, but you can't change the past can you?

From what I did read there are only a handful which left a deep impression. So here they are, my favourite books of 2011!

1. Wicca: Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan

2. Wicca: The Coven by Cate Tiernan

3. Matched by Ally Condie

4. Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan

5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro