Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

    Title: The Iron King
    Author: Julie Kagawa
    Publisher: Harlequin Teen
    Published: February 1st 2010
    Pages: 384
    Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart."

REVIEW

I was quite surprised by how much I liked this book. Prior to reading this book I had read Holly Black's Tithe. I love Holly Black but I was really disappointed with the book and it pretty much turned me off faery books. This was the first Fay story I had read in a long time, so instead of giving up on them I decided to pick up the only other Fay story on my shelf: The Iron King. I am really glad that I did as I found this to be an enjoyable read. This wouldn't be one of my favourite books but if you liked The Chronicles of Narnia stories, you should enjoy this book too.

There were two books that came to mind while I was reading this story, the first has already been mentioned, The Chronicles of Narnia, and also Alice in Wonderland. The character of Grimalkin the cat was very similar to the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. 

The Fay in these stories are the darker more disturbing Faeries who play tricks and are devious and cold. The characters in this story are all well known Fay from faery legends such as Puck and Oberon. The research into Fay legend was really quite impressive and on point. I much prefer the more sinister Faeries of legends then the twinkling tinkerbell types.

The main female character in the story Meaghan was quite your typical YA character, she was unpopular, wore ugly clothes (why must all female YA characters wear combat trousers?) and had one friend. I thought I would really hate her character but as the book went on she started to grow on me. One thing that did really bother me about her is the fact that she jumps into danger without any thought for herself or those around her. Yes, ok, her brother is in danger and she is trying to help him, but there is no need to put everyone else in danger in order to save him. She puts herself into debt with a new faery every five minutes when she knows how bad this is. *Face-palm* every time she agreed to a deal.

My favourite character by far was Puck. One word for this guy is: hilarious. Sarcasm is my thing you see, I think it may be an Irish thing actually but sarcasm is how I communicate with my nearest and dearest. Puck is the definition of sarcasm. 

I also really like the character of Ash up until a certain part. This was the part where I fell in love with Ash:

 "War?...What will happen then?" Ash stepped closer. His fingers came up to brush the hair from my face, sending an electric shock through me from my spine to my toes. His cool breath tickled my ears as he leaned in."I'll kill you", he whispered...

But then of course there is a romance and he becomes all soppy. I liked him again at the end though so it's all good.

Seeming as I have just touched on the romance I may as well continue. Ugh, romance...if you don't know already, I am not a huge fan, especially not the kind of romance where the once brooding bad boy turns good for the totally plain and ordinary female main character. The romance was not completely like this and there is a slight love triangle but because the love story wasn't the focal point, I really didn't mind it too much, especially when the love interest says he will kill you, that makes things a little more interesting.

The plot itself wasn't anything too complicated or complex but it was enjoyable enough. This is a much lighter and fluffier read than Tithe which was quite dark, I think that may be what this was lacking, a little more dark and twisted goodness.

All-in-all this was an enjoyable read with some interesting characters and as I have heard that the books only get better in this series I will be continuing on with the second book.

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie Week - My Top Ten Fictional Crushes

So this week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday by the Broke and the Bookish is: FREEBIE week. Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list  and everyone is welcome to join. All you have to do is link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Today I chose to write my list on my Top Ten Fictional Characters because who doesn't love gushing about the men in their lives ;)

Just to make this more fun I picked someone famous who I think looks something similar to the fictional character, so for fun, let me know what celeb you think they look like.

***Side-note: This was so much harder than I thought it would be. No one here perfectly fit but they were the best I could find***

1. Sevro from Red Rising by Pierce Brown: 

So, this was probably the hardest one for me to find. Sevro is described in a slightly unpleasant way a lot but he is still a gold so I guess he is still good-looking but I feel like this actor is a bit too good-looking for Sevro and I think Sevro would be a lot more unruly. Can anyone think of someone better?

2. Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare:

This is pretty much a perfect match to how I imagined Jace.

3. Will Herondale from the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare:

So this is Douglas Booth as Pippin from Great Expectations, how perfect right? I never really try to imagine a character as a celebrity unless I know the book is being turned into a movie so all of these are hard. I know EVERYONE loves Will though so have you thought of who would play him in a movie role?

4: Kelsier from The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson:

Everyone needs an older man in their life...Kelsier is mine. Also, found this one really difficult :/

5. Alex Sheathes from Delirium by Lauren Oliver:

I really did not like who they chose for Alex in the Delirium TV pilot. Everything was wrong with that pilot. The actor wasn't...rugged enough, or tall enough either haha But then I am 5'8" so I imagine all the guys as at least 6 foot. Anyone have a better celebrity for Alex?

6. Carswell Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer:

Right, so obviously this isn't a celebrity but I found this illustration and really thought it was perfect, which then led me onto a whole biography of Thorne and the other characters of the Lunar Chronicles. It was pretty cool and you can check it out here. 

7. Noah Shaw from the Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin:

Ah Nico Tortorella...this isn't the best picture of him but I thought it fitting with the shirt and tie.

8. Gavriel from the Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black:

Okay, so I was searching for images for Gavriel and I saw this and was like YES! This is exactly how I imagined Gavriel, except with red eyes and super pale skin. Then I clicked into the website and found out that this is who Holly black herself would imagine Gavriel if she had to choose an actor.

9. Cole Stewart from Never Fade/In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken:

Okay, so Colton Hayes isn't blonde but this is as close as I could find to the perfection that is Cole Stewart. Why do I like Cole? Possibly because he doesn't turn into a swooning fool like nearly every male character I read. No swooning please, I like my men manly.

10. Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (DON'T JUDGE):

Okay, I told you not to judge so stop. All I can say is that Tom Felton grew up, got hot and then all of a sudden I fancy Draco and think he is just being mysterious and coy not a total psycho d**khead...still weird??

Woah, that was way harder than I thought it would be. These would be the actors I think might look ost like what I imagined the characters to look like but they obviously are not prefect. I can't wait to hear who ye would pick and if you like any of these characters as well. It appears that I have a type....haha

Graphic Novel Review: Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

    Title: Saga (Volume #1)
    Author: Brian K. Vaughan
    Publisher: Image Comics
    Published: October 23rd 2012
    Pages: 160
    Rating: 4.5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. 

From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

This specially priced volume collects the first six issues of the smash-hit series The Onion A.V. Club calls "the emotional epic Hollywood wishes it could make."

REVIEW

This is my first ever graphic novel and WOW. How have I not read a graphic novel before? I love art and I love reading, it is only logical that I would enjoy graphic novels. This is a really fun read. I particularly enjoyed the part where Alana says "This is what I get for marrying a vegetarian. Even the plants want to eat us". I happen to be a vegetarian so I got a good giggle out of this. This is the perfect read if you have been bogged down with some intense reads and just want something quick to read, but still fun and exciting. 

I adore Marko and think he is such a sweetheart. He also seems to be totally kick-ass, which is great. Both him and Alana have great banter and are incredibly sarcastic, which I love.

I also really enjoyed how the story was told. There was a mixture of Marko and Alana's dialogue, interwoven with Hazel's narration, the present and the future coming together.

And we can't possibly talk about this novel without discussing the art. Wow. It is amazing. I found myself just staring at the pages for ages trying to take it all in. 

I can't wait to get volume two and pick up where I left off.

Weekly Reading Recap in a (GIF)fy

I was inspired to create this feature by the wonderful ladies over at The Starry-Eyed Revue where they have a feature that consists of GIF only reviews. They have this feature for certain books such as, ones that they intend to write full reviews of later or just ones that are hard to put into words. You have to go check out their GIF only reviews, they are hilarious and just so entertaining.

I thought this was such a fantastic idea but I wanted to do it in a slightly different format. At the end of every week, on a Saturday, I will be posting a weekly review of the books I have read. The catch is that I will only be able to use one GIF per book to describe all the FEELS and no words...yes this will be difficult but I also think it will be a lot of fun and a great weekly wrap up. If you would like to join me in this just leave a link below in the comments and I will be sure to check it out.

So, lets get this started.

Monday 12th January 

       

Goodreads Synopsis:
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. 

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

To summarise my feelings for this book in one GIF:

Thursday 15th January 

    

Goodreads Synopsis:

With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. 

Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within. 

A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.

The ending of this book had me like:

Currently Reading:

Goodreads Synopsis:


Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! 

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. 

Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

It is early days yet with this one, but so far I am like:

Hope you liked this way of recapping my reading week. Sometimes it is so much easier to understand a person's opinion on a book with just GIFs - no need to read through all my ramblings.
However, if you are interested in finding out more about Red Rising and Golden Son you can find my reviews here and here..

Stacking the Shelves #4 and Sunday Post #1

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. To find out more just follow the link: Sunday Post Meme 

This week I came back from a wonderful holiday in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, Scotland. The weather was atrocious but the city was beautiful. I love sightseeing and I went to see various different attractions including several museums (I am a museums studies student after all), a castle, a palace, an extinct volcano, a gallery, a science centre and a parliament. Plus, I managed to do some shopping - one pair of jeans and six books - typical. Those books will be featured in my Stacking the Shelves meme below.

Here are some photos of my trip:

View from Edinburgh Castle

It snowed...heavily!

Holyrood Palace where the Queen of England stays during her visits

A quote from Inverness by Gerard Manly Hopkins outside new Scottish Parliament

Quaint little cafe

Those are just some of the photos I have from my trip but I won't bore you with anymore ;) Anyway after coming back from my holiday Sunday evening, I was slapped back into reality with class at 9 o' clock Monday morning. The Christmas holidays are truly over.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

• Top Ten 2014 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To

• Book Discussion: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

• Waiting on Wednesday - Morning Star

• Mini Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

• Feature and Follow Friday

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

• Graphic Novel Review: Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

• Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie Week

• Waiting on Wednesday

• Book Discussion: Golden Son by Pierce Brown

• Feature and Follow Friday

• Sunday Post + Stacking the Shelves

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK

This was certainly a slow reading week for me. I was recuperating after coming back from holidays and trying to catch up on some sleep. I also start back to Uni so I now have a lot less time for reading. I read three books and one graphic novel this week, including:

• Red Rising by Pierce Brown

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

• Golden Son by Pierce Brown

• Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

FAVOURITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I will die. You will die. We will all die and the universe will carry on without care. All that we have is that shout into the wind - how we live. How we go. And how we stand before we fall." ― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

Stacking The Shelves is a meme created by Tynga's Reviews. It is "all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks". If you would like to find out more about this meme click here. 

So, I already mentioned that I bought 6 books while in Edinburgh. Trust me, I would have bought more only that I barely fit these in my hand luggage as it was! I, also, came home to a book depository order waiting for me so I have a total of 10 books to share with you this week. Without further ado, here they are:

If you are interested in any of the books above just click on the picture and you will be brought to their Goodreads page.

If you have a joined in on either of these two memes this week, leave a comment below and I will be sure to check out your post.

Feature and Follow Friday (2)

This meme is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee , just click on their names and follow the links. The point of this meme is to make new friends and gain new followers. There are a few rules to follow when participating in this meme so just click here to find out more.

Today's feature and follow question is:
DO YOU OWN ANY DOUBLES OF YOUR BOOKS? WHAT LED TO GETTING THAT SECOND...OR THIRD...OR FOURTH COPY? -SUGGESTED BY: A Great Read 

Only one or two of my books have duplicates. If I really love a book I will often buy it in hardback but I tend to give away my old copy to friends or charities or second bookstores. At this moment in time I think I have one book on my shelf twice. I bout Magic Study from a second hand book shop but the spine was completely damaged and it didn't have the nicest cover. When I was in Edinburgh The Works were having a liquidation sales and I found a brand new copy of Magic Study with a much nicer cover for only a £1. Other books that I have had two at the one time is The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I had bought Never Fade and In the Afterlight in hardcover and I wanted to have all the books in the series matching so I gave my paperback copy to my cousin and got myself a hardcover to match the others. I am also planning on buying another copy of Red Rising as I ADORE that book and I bought the second one in hardcover, so again I want my books matching on my shelves.

Oh, I nearly forgot about my two Harry Potter collections. I have a really old and battered HP collection and also recently bought the new Jonny Duddle illustrated covers because they are pretty and I really needed a new less battered collection.

That's pretty much it.

Does anyone else buy duplicates just to have their books matching? If you have participated in this meme do feel free to leave a comment below and I will be sure to check it out. 

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Mini Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Title: The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Published: March 1st 2006
Pages: 377

Goodreads Synopsis:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him.

When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea.

Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

This was a really fun read for me. I am so used to reading really heavy, intense stories so I really enjoyed this easy, fun, yet action packed read. I was quite worried that I would be really bored with this because 1. I had seen the film and really didn't like it all that much and 2. It is a book aimed at 9+ boys. Turns out I was very wrong. I had this book read in a couple of hours; I just couldn't put it down. This was a real fast paced story with back-to-back action scenes from beginning to end. The narrator, Percy, is a really likable character, he is loving, kind and a bit of a goofball. His side-kick Grover is even more hilarious and provides the perfect amount of comic relief. I am not Annabeth's biggest fan at the moment but I feel like she will grow on me as the series continues.

I can't really say much more about this book as I did watch the movie before reading the book. While I did notice some differences between the two, I was spoiled for the plot twist so I can't really say if I would have seen it coming or not. In saying that, when watching the film I wasn't really expected it, so I can only assume it would have been the same for the book.  

Everyone and their mother seems to have read this series but I am really late on the bandwagon. I will definitely be continuing on with this series and highly recommend this series no matter what age you are (for reference I am 24!). One piece of advise I have is don't go into this expecting Harry Potter. I think the reason I enjoyed this one so much is that I really didn't have very high expectations for it.  

Waiting on Wednesday: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick for this week is Morning Star by Pierce Brown.

So for the book I have chosen this week I cannot really give you the synopsis, because well, for one, it is the third book in a series so I don't want to ruin the series for you, and, secondly, I couldn't ruin it for you even if I wanted to because there is no synopsis on Goodreads yet. That's probably because the second book has just been released and this does not come out until 2016....TWENTY SIXTEEN!!! But I want it NOW! Yup, I know I cheated, it's technically meant to be soon-to-be-released books but I want it right now so that counts right?

Okay, okay, I know, I admit it, I am 100% obsessed with this series. I never really considered myself a fan girl...UNTIL NOW. This series has everything I look for in a book: non-stop action, complex world building, unique and dynamic characters, clever battle strategies AND a romance that is very believable and very background to the story (okay, mostly non-existent, but that's how I like it).

Below you will find a synopsis for the first book in the series Red Rising and you can read my spoiler-free review here. If you have not heard about the pure awesomeness of this book, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Trust me, you need to check this one out.

   

     Title: Red Rising

     Author: Pierce Brown

     Publisher: Del Ray (Random House)

     Published: January 28th 2014

     Pages: 380

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. 

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

Anyone else totally obsessed with this series? What book are you most anticipating? If you have participated in this meme, leave a link below and I will be sure to check it out.