BOOKS AND GOOFY

A Curse So Dark and Lonely  by  Brigid Kemmerer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Prince Rhen, heir of Emberfall, is cursed to repeat the autumn of his 18th birthday until a girl falls in love with him. This is however made difficult by the fact that, towards the end of each season, he turns into a beast/monster with no control of who he is and often hell-bent on destroying everything/person around him. Harper is a girl from Washington D.C. Her mother is dying; her brother is in with a bad bunch of people as he tries to make good on his father's debts and look after the family. Harper is often underestimated because she has cerebral palsy, often judged by her physical limitations rather than by what she can do. One day, her life changes as a mysterious man transport her into a magical world. My Thoughts I have to admit I am a sucker for fairytale retellings.  A Curse So Dark and Lonely  is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. The storyline and the cast o...

***Preface before the actual post*** I actually wrote this post, hmmm..., maybe 2 years ago now. I (obviously) I fell off the blogging bandwagon. But lately I have been thinking that maybe I need to do something  ... resurrect an old hobby or start something new. And then I started thinking of this blog. Maybe I'll start this up again? I might be more "freestyle" going forwards. Not so formal in reviewing books but still be book-related. We shall see...! -------------------------- Title: Strange the Dreamer Author: Laini Taylor Genre:  YA Fantasy Synopsis The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around - and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the...

And just like that, it is nearly the end of 2017 and the start of a new year! I haven't written a blog post in ages but with work, life and reading, I just never got around to drafting one.  Back to my favourite topic... I have been on quite the reading marathon this year! Mainly YA fantasy, which to be honest, can be a lot faster to read. There are however so many wonderful and exciting YA fantasy series available and constantly being released, it's a wonder why I haven't run out of books to read. So I thought I would pull together my thoughts on some of my favourite books or series I have read in 2017. Here is instalment 1. The Shades of Magic Series Author: V.E. Schwab Genre: Fantasy I started A Darker Shade of Magic  last year. While I enjoyed the first book, I didn't quite love it. I felt Schwab spent a lot of this book building the world(s) and maybe the characters got lost a bit in it. I loved the concept of the different Londons and how magic h...

Book cover from Goodreads Blurb (from Goodreads ): The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves", and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from t...

Blurb (adapted from Amazon): Avicenna Crowe's mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing. The police are called, but they're not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid. But Avicenna has inherited her mother's gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne's disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city's dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger. My say: This review will be a little disjointed. I read The Astrologer's Daughter a while ago but haven't had the time to write this but here goes… "Only the strong-willed can change what's in the stars. It's always, and only ever, up to you". I liked thi...

Book 1 of the A Song of Ice and Fire  series down and onto the second volume! My rating:  5/5 My say : This really was a surprise. With all the hype behind the tv series, I thought I would read the books before I watched the series. I always feel a little apprehensive reading a hugely popular series. One part of me is so keen to jump onto the band wagon while the other me is very critical. Just because it is so popular, doesn't mean it's for me... The first book however didn't disappoint! It was well written and not too difficult to follow, despite the complex and layered storyline and the many characters. The characterisation itself was wonderful. There's a character for everyone - someone to hate, someone to love, someone to admire. Personally I loved young Arya Stark, who is feisty and strong-willed, and her step-brother Jon Snow, a strong character who is an outsider despite being of Stark descent. Also can't help liking Tyrion Lannister. A warning to...