Book Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

    Title: Ruby Red
    Author: Kerstin Gier
    Publisher: Henry Holt
    Published: May 10th 2011
    Pages: 336
    Rating: 1 Star

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.

 

Before I delve into this review I first want to point something out - I should NEVER have picked up this book. Why you may ask? Well, because this does not even remotely sound like a book I would enjoy. The blurb alone would be evidence enough of that, two particular sentences stand out the most:

 "can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesley, watching movies and talking about boys."

 Oh and it gets worse...

"He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century..."

So, from this blurb you can easily gather that the romance is going to pretty central to the plot and if you have to happen to like that, that is great and you may well just enjoy this book. I, however, HATE plot lines driven by romance so I should have known better than to read this book, but guess what?...I didn't even read the synopsis. I purely bought this book due to all the hype surrounding it, something I did quite a lot when I described the book blogging/booktubing communities.

So that is just pretty much just a disclaimer to say that while I had strong feeling of dislike towards this book it is not because the book promised to be something more, I was just too silly to read the synopsis and know not to read it.

Now, onto the less than glowing review.

One of the worst things about this book, for me, was how it read. Words and sentences did not flow together like they should, their were several typos in the first page alone and it felt like I was reading a book aimed at children rather than young adults in the sheer simplicity of the language. Now, don't get me wrong sometimes simple language is a great deal better than the convoluted overly metaphorical language used by some authors but this was too simplistic. Now I feel a bit harsh commenting on the writing style and language as this is a translated book, so do bear that in mind if you plan on reading it.

It was not only the writing style that appeared to be aimed more towards pre-teens but the plot as well. The protagonist of the story Gwen was supposed to be a sixteen year old girl, but read more as a twelve year old. For example her discussion of "kissing boys"...

"Kissing, said Lesley, ought really to be taught as a school subject...We often discussed what the ideal kiss would be like, and there were any number of films we'd watched over and over again just because of the good kissing scenes in them."

 

 A twelve year old talking like that...okay fair enough but SIXTEEN...no. 

Not only is Gwen really immature but she also really dense. Okay harsh I know but she genuinely knows nothing, and can't even remember a password that she has heard like ten times, 

"The password?" Quark edit bisquitis. Or something like that. "Qua redit nescitis." Well, i'd had it almost right.". 

There are plenty more incidents just like this that make Gwen out to be a total ditz. My favourite line of all had to be this, 

"When we had come in, someone had risen from a chair at the desk , nodded to Mr. George, and left the room without a word. "Was that man mute?" I asked. It was the first thing that came into my head."

Oh, but of course he is mute because what other explanation could there possibly be...

   

 Gwen's best friend isn't much better(again, more twelve than sixteen), she was the most flat and pointless character. She had no personality except to be the friend who googled everything and finds out loads of information and is soooo excited for her friend. Booooring.

There was not one character in this story that I actually liked. Gideon was, of course, the most beautiful specimen to ever grace the earth and also a complete chauvinist along with every other male in the story. Every character was just so unoriginal - you had the crazy great aunt, the snobby aunt, the self-righteous cousin, the worried mother, the excited friend and the handsome love interest...need I say more.

Aside from all of that, the most annoying thing about this book was the complete and utter lack of a plot line. I mean, nothing happened...NOTHING. After 100 pages in I thought, okay something is going to happen now...nope...200...nope...then towards the end something happens...just nothing exciting.

I am not even going to discuss the romance...

I want to finish on a positive note so I will say I liked the idea of time-travel... 

I will not be continuing this series for very obvious reasons...

Stacking the Shelves #5 and the Sunday Post #2

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 

I had a very quiet week this week. Now that I am back to Uni I pretty much spend my weekdays reading, attempting to study (but in reality I just get distracted by youtube videos) and blogging, which really isn't the worst way to spend my days, except that I haven't left the house since Monday! I only have college one day a week and I then only work weekends so my weekdays end up being pretty boring. I am currently working on (well SUPPOSED to be working on) my Masters thesis proposal, a Marketing plan and a Management essay...as someone who has a background in English and History, the Marketing and Management modules I have this semester are quite difficult and I am really delaying getting started on my assignments. Next week I will be better.

In other news my Uncle came over to our house just yesterday to show off his new puppy and I just have to share these photos with you guys:

Is he not the cutest?

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

• Graphic Novel Review: Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

• Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Fictional Crushes

• Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

• Book Review: Golden Son by Pierce Brown

• Feature and Follow Friday

• My Weekly Reading Recap in a GIFfy

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

• Book Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Would Love to Read with My Bookclub

• Waiting on Wednesday

• Book Review: Tithe by Holly Black

• Feature and Follow Friday

• Sunday Post + Stacking the Shelves

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK

This week I really did not get much read as one of the books I read/currently reading is 781 pages. I put down last week that I read Ruby Red but I didn't actually finish until Monday as it was painfully boring to read and I just could not finish it Sunday. I have read 1 full book, 1 graphic novel and I am 600 pages through with another book.

• Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

• Saga Volume Two by Brian K. Vaughan

• The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (600+ pages read so far)

FAVOURITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"A man was not defined by his flaws, but how he overcame them." ― Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

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 had absolutely no excuse for buying these books other than the fact that I was bored and wandered into a Waterstones...bad idea. I have three Graphic novels and three books and one novella to share with you today, so 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.

Weekly Reading Recap in a (GIF)fy #2

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.

Tuesday 20th January:

   

Title: Ruby Red
Author: Kerstin Gier    

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.

I will have a full review on this book coming in the next couple of days, but I think this GIF sums up my feelings quite nicely:

This is GIF perfection

Wednesday 21st January:

Title: Saga Volume Two
Author: Brian K. Vaughan    

Goodreads Synopsis:

From award-winning writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN (Pride of Baghdad, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (Mystery Society, Done to Death), SAGA is sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the universe. Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet... grandparents.

I will let the Weasley twins take over from here:

Currently Reading: 

   

Title: Mistborn Series Book Two: The Well of Ascension
Author: Brandon Sanderson    

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.

I had two very differing opinions on this book and as it is easily the length of two books I am allowing myself to break my opinion into two, one for the first quarter of the book and one for the nesxt two quarters (I am currently on page 600).

For the first at least 200 pages I was like:

But now I'm like...

I don't know yet how I will feel about this one but I am sure you will find out in next weeks Reading Recap in GIFfy.

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.

Feature and Follow Friday #3

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 POST YOUR REVIEWS ANYWHERE BESIDES YOUR BLOG? WHERE ELSE DO YOU POST YOUR REVIEWS? -SUGGESTED BY: A Great Read 

Before, when I first started blogging, I used to post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and, of course, my blog. Since coming back to my blog I haven't yet posted any of my reviews to Amazon but I ALWAYS post reviews to Goodreads. I actually post my reviews there first. After I read a book, I give myself a day or two, but certainly no more as I have a brain like a sieve and would forget everything, then I go to Goodreads and write up my review and post it. I then may go straight to my blog and create a post on my review and schedule it or save it, but I usually wait awhile to put it on my blog. 

I am currently ahead of my self with reviews and have several ready to be posted including: Tithe by Holly Black, Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord by Sarah J. Maas and will hopefully have Saga Volume Two ready also. This is great for me at the moment as I am currently reading Brandon Sanderson's Well of Ascension which is 781 pages long, so, as you can imagine I will be reading it for awhile. Having several reviews ready though means there wont be a huge gap between reviews on my blog. I like to have between 2-3 (preferably 3) reviews up a week.

I recently have slowly started adding my reviews to Edelweiss. I have never actually requested ARC as I feel my blog is too new and I am quite happy reading the books on my TBR shelf at the moment, but, if the time comes when I do want to request an ARC I think it would be a good idea for publishers to be able to see my reviews on the site.

So that was a long winded response, wouldn't be like me to go off on a tangent...As I side-note I love to discuss books with people on Goodreads so if you wish to friend me there just click here. 

If you have taken part in this meme do leave a link to your post below and I will be sure to check it out...If not just let me know in the comments where you post reviews and what your process is when you write them, I would love to know.

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Book Review and Discussion: Golden Son by Pierce Brown *Spoiler-Free*

    Title: Golden Son (Red Rising #2)
    Author: Pierce Brown
    Publisher: Del Ray (Random House)
    Published: January 6th 2014
    Pages: 464
    Rating: 5 Stars

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.

Just know that writing this review was not easy. Again, I have gone off on one of my usual rambles so apologies for the length. It also spoiler free as always.

The Plot:

Right up until the end of this book I was planning on giving this book a 4.5, half a star lower than Red Rising. Red Rising was action-packed, like non-stop, edge of your seat, scheming, fighting, fleeing, butchering and murdering, hiding in dead horses bellies action. So you know the good kind. Golden Son was a lot slower to get into the action, but when it did it was fantastic, I just wish there was more of the fighting rather than moments leading up to the fight. This is by no means to say that the action was lacking, it just wasn't as strong as the first book. My favourite action scene by far was the Iron Rain, there was something so beautiful yet so tragic about it. Oh, and if you thought you left the plot twists in Red Rising, get ready for plot twist after plot twist that you will NEVER see coming.

That leads me onto the Writing:

Brown's writing is just absolutely beautiful. The Iron Rain scene alone is proof of his talent. While this book and Red Rising were not all that long, they did take me quite a long time to read them; they were a slow read. To some this would sound as if I wasn't enjoying it and it was a struggle to read but it was quite the opposite. It is so beautifully written that I wanted to absorb every word on the page. So much is condensed into so few pages, you may only read a couple of pages but you take so much more away from those few pages then you would from reading several chapters of most books. One of many quotes that stood out to me was this:

"Then comes a gravPit, which pulls them back toward the source of the explosion like a vacuum collecting flies; and then comes the third - pure kinetics - to destroy armor and bone and flesh, blowing the warriors outward, into the air, scattering their pieces in the low gravity like breath scatters the seeds of a dandelion."

I am not normal a huge fan of metaphors as it is so easily to overdo them and many are haphazardly thrown in among the narrative. Brown, however, uses them beautifully.

The terminology in this book is still as complex as Red Rising and, at times, utterly baffling. However, Brown's descriptive techniques are utterly compelling and have you absorbed right into the story. You feel what Darrow feels, his pain, his happiness, his fear, everything is so vivid.

The Characters:

Oh boy, just when you think you know a character, Brown flips everything around. TRUST NO BITCH (I refer to man and woman cause hey sexism is for losers). One thing I will say about Brown is that he really does know how to create great, unique and vividly real characters.

Darrow:

Darrow is not the most lovable character but I think, as a person with the weight of the world on his shoulders, he is a great leader, but certainly incredibly flawed. Just like I did in Red Rising I found myself *facepalming* some of Darrow's decisions. Darrow continues to develop in this story and it is clear how his relationships with other characters in the story has shaped into the person he is.

Mustang:

I didn't really like Mustang in Red Rising, I felt there was something really lacking in her characterization and I just couldn't warm to her, or feel really anything for her. As this story progressed I felt myself enjoying her character a great deal more. The turning point in my attitude toward her came after this statement:

"He said he always had his eye on me." She reaches into her pocket, pulls something out, and drops it onto the floor. "So I took one of his."

Okay Mustang, I like you now.

Sevro:

Ya, I still love him, even with his bionic eye, that's true love people. BUT, I have to say, I think Sevro's character has immatured (not a word, but it is now kay?) rather than grown. In Red Rising I loved him because he was a fearsome warrior and leader of the Howler's. He was clever and sneaky but also full of banter. In Golden Son he is ALL banter and jokes. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE that about Sevro. I still swoon every time I see his name. Sevro is bae. No but really, his character had some serious, WHUUUT moments and you learn a lot more about his past in this book. I just wish I saw more of the wolfish warrior from Red Rising though.

World-Building:

And I thought the world-building in Red Rising was good... Brown surpassed himself in Golden Son. We learn more and more about the world but what I loved most about the world-building was not how vivid, unique and compelling it was, but how we learn about it so naturally. Bulks of information aren't shoved into our faces, Brown cleverly shows us the world bit-by-bit through the eyes of Darrow, he is as clueless about the world outside the mines as the reader is. The more contact he has with the colours of society the more we, as the reader, learn about them. I learnt so much more about the other colours, especially the Blues and Obsidians. We are not immediately told Obsidians are this and the Stained are this, we find this information out slowly as we meet each of these new characters. Everyone knows the importance of showing, not telling, in descriptive writing, but not everyone can do it as well as Brown. 

The Ending:

I am not going to spoil this for anyone so I will instead leave you with a GIF expressing my feelings on that ending:

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..