Book Haul: December 2015

I received a Kindle this Christmas, as well as an Amazon voucher so I thought I would treat myself to a few books on the Kindle. Here are the books that I bought, and as a whole they came in under £15.

The Final Empire: Mistborn Book One by Brandon Sanderson

This is a fantasy novel that I have heard so much about on the book blogging universe, so I had to give it a go, seeing as fantasy is one of my favourite genres (not that you'd know if from this haul). From what I know, this novel is set in a world of magic that is ruled by some sort of evil. I don't know much more than that, so I'm looking forward to this.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

I'm getting into mystery novels recently, and this is a sort of young adult version which I thought would be a good introduction.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

This is a young adult contemporary novel about two best friends and the film they make for a dying girl that they befriend. Although this focusses a lot on depth, I've heard that it's actually pretty funny.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

I don't know much about this book, but I think that's the point. It tells the story of one man's descent into mental illness, something that is often ignored in fiction, particularly fiction aimed at a younger adult audience.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Once again, I don't know a whole lot about this one. It's a historical novel with aspects of magical realism. It isn't anything like what I've read before, so I thought I would give it a go after hearing some good things.

Book Series I Wont Finish

I hate not finishing series, but there are so many books that I want to read, that some books just get forgotten about. For many of these, I've read the first book and then never gotten around the rest of the series, so lost interest. So here are the book series that I wont continue...

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I've read the first three and I liked the ending, so I'm just going to give the rest away. I liked them, but not enough to force myself through the rest of the series. I don't think I'm going to read The Infernal Devices either, and will probably just donate them.

Magisterium by Casandra Clare and Holly Black

I heard so miuch hype about this book, but it turned out to be a sort of crappy copy of Harry Potter and I just wasn't feeling it.

Legend by Marie Lu

I loved this first book so much but for some reason I haven't picked up the sequel in the two years that its been sat on my bookshelf.

Study/Soulfinders by Maris V. Snyder

I've read the first two of the study trilogy and want to read the third book, but don't plan on reading the Soulfinder companion series. I don't know much about this series, and don't really care to find out.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

My Review: 5/5 Stars

Goodreads Average Review: 4.04/5 Stars

"I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still."

Firstly, I loved the concept of this book. The idea of their being three separate London's, our being the only one without magic, was so interesting and unique, at least as far as the books that I've encountered. The characters are also very original, and the character development is great while still leaving questions about them that I hoping will be answered in the sequels.

Schwab's writing is truly addicting, meaning that this is one of those books that you just can't put down. She adds elements of fantasy, political implications, and a new language system which all work together to make this book so great and so believable, despite the less than real content.

I recommend that everyone go read this book as soon as possible, as well as other works by Schwab (Vicious in particular), and you wont be disappointed.

~Kayleigh

The Bedtime Book Tag

I found this tag on My Little Book Blog, so I thought I would give it a go for myself.

1. What book kept you up all night reading?

Vicious by V. E. Schwab

I loved this book so much, and it made me fall in love with V. E. Schwab. Her writing was just so amazing that I stayed up all night without realising.

2. What book made you scared to go to sleep?

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

I've never actually read anything that made me too scared to sleep, but the killings in this book were very graphic so this probably brought me closest to not being able to sleep.

3. What book almost put you to sleep?

Zofloya, or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre

A lot of books could fall into this category, generally books I have had to read for studying purposes, but this is the most recent. I just found the writing so fanciful and over the top while not much happened. I never actually finished this, because I kept falling asleep.

4. What book has you tossing and turning in anticipation for its release?

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This was a difficult one to decide on because there are so many (which I will write a post on soon), but I think is definitely the ones I'm most looking forward to.

5. What book has your dream boyfriend/girlfriend?

Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

There are lots of fictional guys that I'm a fan of, but the most recent ones that I've found myself loving is Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series.

6. What book would be your worst nightmare to live in?

The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson

In theory, this is meant to be a 'perfect' world. But it's really just a world where pretty much everyone is lazy, stupid and materialistic. For me, that's my nightmare world. The scary thing is, we're already heading towards a world like this.

7. What book has a nightmarish cliffhanger?

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Yes, I know that's the point. But it's still a massive cliffhanger that will never be resolved.

8. What book cover reminds you of night time?

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

This book is so pretty, and the stars always remind me of night time.

9. What books have you actually dreamed about?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I once dreamed that everyone in my school was put into the hunger games. After about half of the people had died, we were told that if we went to the cornucopia, we would be saved. Then I realised it was a trick and there would be a bomb, so I ran away and only my best friend at the time went with me. I woke up with the explosion. 

10. What book monster would you not want to find under your bed?

Aragog from Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

I think it's obvious why.

Winter Break TBR

In a week, my Christmas holiday begins and I will be back home for about a month before university starts up again. Over that time, I want to get through several both, both for my studies and just for my own reading pleasure. So here are what I am going to try and get through.

1. Great Expctations by Charles Dickens

Part of my study of Victorian novels at university, this is a book that I've been wanting to read for ages but just haven't gotten round to it, so I'm glad to finally have something that will force me to read it.

2. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

I heard so many good things about this book so I broke my book buying ban to purchase it, so this will be my Christmas read this year.

3. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I'm also studying post-modernism at university, which is what this falls under. I don't know much about this, I think it has something to do with WWII but I'm not sure.

4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Another of my university reads for a unit on science fiction and dystopia, The Road is a book that I have already tried to read and despised. It took me three weeks to get to about 100 pages, at which point I gave up, but I really need to finish it now.

5. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I bought this a while ago when there was a lot of hype surrounding it, but then I head from various people that it wasn't worth the hype and so that put me off, but I have decided to give it a go for myself.

6. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Another Victorian novel, this is a bloody long book. I'm trying to listen to an audio book of this, but that also takes a long time.

7. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

I love Throne of Glass from the beginning, preordered Crown of Midnight, and then just haven't gotten round to reading this somehow. I want to catch up though, which is why I ahve put this on my TBR.

What books are on your TBR this festive season?

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

My Review: 4/5 Stars

Goodreads Average Review: 3.47/5 Stars

"They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But what if death came back to try again?"

The Shining Girls is a novel by South African author Lauren Beukes and tells the story of a 1930s American drifter who travels throughout time in search of his "shining girls". Harper stalks and kills each of these girls, leaving trinkets on the bodies that link each girl together. They are objects of his obsession, his need to make his murders perfect.

Kirby is one of these shining girls, the only one to survive the brutal attack, and she demands answers. What she finds, however, is impossible.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My Review: 4/5 Stars

Goodreads Average Review: 3.79/5 Stars

“Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.”

Never Let Me Go is generally described as a distopic novel, though I would say that it is an alternate world, coming of age, semi-romance novel. As you can tell by that description, this novel doesn't really fit into one category, and that it was I found so deeply interesting about this novel.While the skewed version of our world is a large part of this novel, this isn't science fiction. This focusses on the protagonist, Kathy, her friends Ruth and Tommy, and her memories of their time together. Generally, I prefer to know everything about a world such as this one, but I found Ishiguro's writing so hauntingly beautiful that I found myself more engrossed in Kathy's story. For me, this novel tells a story of mortality and morality. When your life expectancy is dramatically reduced, what actually remains important in the grand scheme of your life? What does it mean to be human, to have a soul?