Off on Holiday!

 

I'm off on holiday for 10 days and I'm not sure how often I'll have access to the internet so there won't be any posts for a while.

Anyway have a good few weeks and I will catch you up on what's been going on after the 9th August!

 

J x

Review - To the Fifth Power (The Powers Trilogy #1) by Shirin Dubbin

Blurb from Goodreads:

Three years ago, Zola Noite's nemesis killed her sidekick and forced her to watch. The guilt drove her to hang up her cape. Zola knows one thing for certain. She will never be a superhero again.

Psychologist Dr. Arturo "Fort" Forte specializes in super-powered mental health. He’s the only reason Zola can once again call herself sane—although, truth be told, the heat between them is slowly driving her back to mad.

When three mega-villains escape the prison Fort oversees, all Zola's best laid plans go up in flames. Fort asks her for help, and she can't turn down the man she's secretly come to love. As battles ensue and clues add up, the one thing Zola trusts is called into question: Fort's true agenda and which side he’s on.

Goodreads

Amazon UK



My review:

*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Entangled Publishing and Shirin Dubbin*


 2.5/5 stars

I love superheroes so I was really excited to receive a copy of this book to review. It's an 85 page long book about Zola, a retired superhero, whose sidekick was brutally murdered in front of her. The story takes place three years later when Zola is forced to return to her superhero ways when three villains escape from an asylum and come after her.

I don't know whether it was the writing style or the characters but I didn't really connect to this story. I liked Zola who was broken after what had happened. I also liked the other superheroes that featured in the book. I didn't really like Fort the love interest. Some of the things that happened were a bit confusing and weren't explained that well. So overall I found this book to be a bit disappointing.



My Week in Books 22nd-28th July

Read:

Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

5/5 stars.

Review can be found in an earlier post.

Losing Lila (Lila #2) by Sarah Alderson

4/5 stars.

Double Clutch (Brenna Blixen #1) by Liz Reinhardt

3.5/5 stars.

Review can be seen in an earlier post.

Borrowed:

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

Star Trek Into Darkness (Star Trek: Movie Novelisations #2) by Alan Dean Foster

Bought:

Nowhere by Jon Robinson (paperback copy)

Splintered (Splintered #1) by A.G. Howard (paperback copy)

Been wanting to read this for ages!

The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1) by Aimee Carter (paperback copy)

What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles, #1) by Kat Zhang (paperback copy)

Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1) by Yelena Black (Kindle copy, £0.99)

Love this cover.

My Favourite Mistake (My Favourite Mistake #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron (Kindle copy, £0.99)

Invisible by Cecily Anne Paterson (Kindle freebie)

Lost (Lost and Found #1) by Nadia Simonenko (Kindle freebie)

Currently Reading:

To the Fifth Power (Powers #1) by Shirin Dubbin

Pics taken from Goodreads.

So I had a busy week book wise!

I've been editing Would You Like Brains With That? and had two more story ideas (which I have no lack of at the moment).

I saw The World's End earlier but can't decide if I enjoyed it or not.

Hope you all had a good week!

J x



Review - Double Clutch (Brenna Blixen #1) by Liz Reinhardt

Blurb from Goodreads:

Who to choose . . .?

Thrust back into school life after a year in Denmark, Brenna Blixen is soon making new friends and catching the eye of two boys with bad reputations. There’s the dark and mysterious Saxon, and the gorgeous and sexy Jake.

They’re both totally hot and totally into Brenna.

But Saxon and Jake have unresolved history and Brenna’s caught in the middle.

It’s time to make some tough choices, fast.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US



My review:

*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random House Children's Publishers UK and Liz Reinhardt*

3.5/5 stars.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Brenna, the protagonist, was relatable and direct.
One thing that did concern me was that she was only fifteen (but that could be because my sister recently turned fifteen).
I felt for Brenna as she struggled to control her feelings for both Jake, who was sweet and caring, and Saxon who was sexy and a complete jerk.
I was proud of Brenna when she told Jake about her encounters with Saxon and when she told her mum, who was against her having a boyfriend, about Jake.
Even though this book didn't wow me I would still recommend it and I liked it enough to want to read the sequels.

My Top 10 Book Boyfriends (as of 25th July 2013)

These book boyfriends are ones that have tugged at my heart strings.

So in descending order...

10. Erik from Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen

9. Daniel from the Hope series by Frankie Rose

8. Cole from Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

7. Alex from the Lila series by Sarah Alderson

6. Jared from Bully by Penelope Douglas

5. Ryka from Raksha by Frankie Rose

4. Shane from the Mad World series by Christine Zolendz

3. Asher from Flight by Lindsay Leggett

2. Finnick from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

And number one is . . .

Patch from the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick!

I've probably forgotten some but these are the main ones!

J x



Review - Deeper We Fall by Chelsea M. Cameron

Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

Blurb from Goodreads:

Two years after her best friend was involved in a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury, Lottie Anders is ready to start her freshman year of college. Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart.

Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again.

Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face.

Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves "To Kill a Mockingbird" as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen.

The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My review:

*I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. Thanks to All Night Reads and Chelsea M. Cameron*

5/5 stars

Where to start? I adore this book. It's one of my favourites and is my favourite New Adult book so far.

I loved that it was told from Lottie and Zan's point of views.

I really felt for Lottie as she struggled with her guilt as she developed feelings for Zan. I loved that she talked too much as well as Lottie's love of Star Wars, Harry Potter and books.

I felt so sorry for Zan having to put up with his jackass brother.

The supporting characters were brilliant and I can't wait to find out more about them in the sequels.

I never got bored and there were several surprises.

Can't wait to read more by Chelsea M. Cameron! She is definitely one to watch!



My Week in Books 15th-21st July

Read:

Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

4/5 stars!

My review can be seen in the previous post.

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

3/5 stars.

Netgalley Approved:

Double Clutch (Brenna Blixen, #1) by Liz Reinhardt

To the Fifth Power (Powers, #1) by Shirin Dubbin

Bought:

Undeclared (The Woodlands) by Jen Frederick

(Kindle copy, £0.73)

I've been wanting to read this for ages so when I saw that it was on sale I had to get it!

Parallel by Lauren Miller (paperback copy)

Nocturnal (The Noctalis Chronicles, Book One) by Chelsea M. Cameron

(Kindle copy, £0.73)

Faster We Burn (Fall and Rise #2) by Chelsea M. Cameron

(Kindle copy, £2.68)

I'm reading the first book Deeper We Fall and am enjoying it so much that I HAD to buy the sequel.

Currently Reading:

Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

All pics taken from Goodreads.

This week I wrote some of Dark Longing which is now over 30,000 words.

I also saw Monsters University which I loved.

It was my sister's birthday on Monday so I made her a cake...

Hope you all had a good week! J x



Review - Ink by Amanda Sun

Review - Ink by Amanda Sun:

4/5 stars!

*I received a copy of this book for an honest review via Netgalley. Thanks to Harlequin UK*

After Katie Greene's mum dies she moves to Japan to live with her aunt.
Katie soon falls for the handsome Tomohiro whose drawings seem to come to life when she's near. Soon people start asking questions and both Katie and Tomohiro are in danger.

First of all can I just say that I LOVE the cover! It's so pretty! There were also drawings in the book which I thought was a good touch.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that it was set in Japan and it was great to learn about the culture. I really want to learn Japanese now!

Katie was a likeable protagonist and I found her relatable.

Katie and Tomohiro's relationship was sweet and I really felt for Tomohiro as he struggled to control himself. One thing that did bother me though was that Katie and Tomohiro fell in love very quickly.

Overall a very good book. I would definitely recommend it!

My Week in Books 8th-14th July

Read:

Clarity (Clarity #1) by Kim Harrington

3/5 stars.

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

3/5 stars.

Netgalley Approved:

I only just discovered Netgalley and I've been approved two books!

Though I have also been declined some books but it's not the end of the world *wipes away tears*

So the two books I got approved are...

Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

I LOVE this cover! So pretty! I asked for this book for my birthday but didn't get it so it's perfect that I got approved it on Netgalley :)

Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

Borrowed:

Losing Lila (Lila #2) by Sarah Alderson

Can't wait to read this!

Bought:

Sepulchre (Languedoc #2) by Kate Mosse (paperback from a charity shop)

Acid by Emma Pass (got a paperback copy for my birthday!)

Currently Reading:

Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

All book cover pics taken from Goodreads.

I've had a pretty busy week.

Monday was my graduation and then Wednesday was my 23rd birthday.

I managed to write more of Dark Longing as well as a chapter of Spacenapped (both of which can be read on my Movellas and Jottify pages, links to which can be found in the Works In Progress page).

Hope you all had a fab week! J x



23 Things About Me

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday...

So I thought that I would tell you 23 things about myself!

1. I have two middle names - Elizabeth and Anna.

2. I have lived in England, New Zealand and France.

3. I started writing at 13 with a very bad The Lord of The Rings fanfiction which I am writing below. Fortunately my writing has improved a lot since then! Wow. I just realised that I've been writing for 10 years! Wow! So it would be kind of worrying if my writing hadn't improved in all that time!

Here we go...

Once upon a time there was an evil, evil witch named Sarah. She had placed an evil spell on Legolas to make him love her. But she was very ugly so he didn't like her. One day a beautiful elven princess came and killed Sarah. Then Jess the beautiful elven princess saved the day and kissed Legolas. Everybody thought that Jess the elven princess was beautiful and one day Sauron told Saruman to kidnap her. When he did, he took her to Isengard. Legolas did not know about this for Jess had been asleep so he had gone to get her flowers. When he got back he found a note saying that if he didn't take the one ring to Isengard then she would die. He loved her a lot so he didn't want her to die. He went to Gondor to see Aragorn and Charlotte to ask for a fake copy of the ring. He got one. Then he went to Rivendell to see Elrond and Emma. He asked Elrond to give him some good luck but he told him to go and see Galadriel and Gimli at Lothlorien. He did and went to Isengard. He got Jess back and gave then the fake ring. Jess was very happy to see Legolas because Saruman had been flirting with her and all the uruk hai and orcs had. They had locked her in Saruman's room and made her stay there with Saruman and never leave the room. He had been looking at her all day because he loved her. When Legolas came he didn't want her to go. So he hid her and was about to kiss her when Legolas found her and killed all of the uruk hai with one arrow. When they got home they got married.

Yeah I told you it was bad.

At the time I had a huge crush on Orlando Bloom.

4. I LOVE chocolate especially Milkybar!

5. I love Disney films but my all-time fave is Beauty and the Beast.

6. My fave band is Paramore but Thirty Seconds to Mars are a close second!

7. I am a huge geek and love anything to do with superheroes.

8. My fave TV shows are Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Firefly and Sherlock.

9. I have a MSci but my dream job is to be a full time author.

10. I have a German Shepherd who is cute but drives me crazy!

11. My latest crush is Henry Cavill.

12. In case you couldn't tell I like using gifs.

13. I actually wrote two books before Girl Meets Underworld but neither of them have been published. I'm planning on editing them soon hopefully.

14. I have over 200 books on my Kindle, most of which I haven't read.

15. I've been a vegetarian all my life.

16. I love Lego video games, especially Lego Star Wars, and even have a Lego Star Wars watch.

17. I have ten or so stories on the go but I haven't written half of them in nearly a year.

18. I have ideas for four stories that I am yet to start writing.

19. I'm running out of things to say because I'm really not that interesting.

20. Jennifer Lawrence is currently my fave actress. Loved her in Silver Linings Playbook.

 21. I cry at books and films. A lot.

22. Timothy Dalton is my fave James Bond but Daniel Craig is a close second.

23. I love skiing.

If you made it this far without falling asleep congrats! :)

Have a great week! J x