Becky's June Reads

So apparently I beat my monthly record in June and read twelve books! I absolutely loved the majority of my June reads. Here's a quick look at what I read:

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The Assassins Blade by Sarah J. Maas

5/5 stars

Although the Throne of Glass series is one of my favourites, I've always put off reading The Assassins Blade as I'm not the biggest fan of novellas. I'm so glad I decided to read it though - the five novellas in this book are all chronological, so play out more like a full novel, and it was so good to get more of an insight into the backstories of the characters (especially Sam!)

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

4/5 stars

I wasn't expecting much from Unbecoming, but I ended up actually really enjoying it. Definitely a book I'd recommend!

Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

4/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley/Penguin Random House for the ARC of Girl In Pieces! This book comes out on the 6th September and I would highly recommend it. See Angharad's full review of it here.

And I Darken by Kiersten White

5/5 stars

And I Darken has been a highly anticipated book on my to be read list for so long, and I was so happy to receive an ARC of it. I absolutely loved this book and if I say too much I'll just end up fangirling everywhere. Recommended if you love history, badass warrior princesses, and political court intrigue!
My full review of And I Darken can be found here.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

3/5 stars

I really enjoyed this short story by Gillian Flynn - I'm not the biggest fan of crime/thrillers, but I've always loved her books. I definitely think that The Grownup could've been a full novel, which is why I dropped it's rating a bit!

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All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

So I've not rated this yet as I'm still not 100% sure what to make of it. I did really like the book, however there are some controversial topics involved that I still need to get my head around. When we've worked it out though, we'll be reviewing it in full, so keep an eye out for that! 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

2/5 stars

Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't get the hype about this book at all. I've enjoyed books by Jojo Moyes in the past but Me Before You just seemed so bland.

Vicious by V. E. Schwab

4/5 stars

I think everyone's already read this book, but if you haven't, you should definitely go and read it now!

Lips Touch by Laini Taylor

4/5 stars

I absolutely adore Laini Taylor, and Lips Touch, her book of three short stories that are essentially about first kisses, was no exception. Everything this woman writes is just so magical!

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

4/5 stars

I was a bit weary going into this book as I found Between Shades of Gray a bit disappointing, but Out of the Easy was perfect - definitely my favourite book by Ruta Sepetys. It's set in 1950's New Orleans and follows Josie, a girl desperate to get 'out of the easy', as the title implies.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

4/5 stars

So this is one of those books I've been meaning to pick up for ages, but avoided because I'm always a bit unsure when it comes to the magical realism genre. However, Ava Lavender was a beautiful, strange and sorrowful novel, so it's pretty aptly named. I'm not even sure how to describe the plot but I'd definitely recommend it!

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Asking For It by Louise O'Neill

5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Asking For It sucked me in almost immediately and I'm still thinking about it a couple of weeks on. It's the story of Emma, and what happens to her when she wakes up after a party unable to remember what happened the night before. This book has such an important message and I would highly recommend it to everyone because of that.

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What have you been reading throughout June? Let us know in the comments!

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Thanks to HarperVoyager for the ARC of this book! This review will be spoiler-free.

If you survive, you shall be a force to be reckoned with in this world. But first you will be unmade. First, you will be broken.

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A Torch Against the Night kicks off right where An Ember in the Ashes left off - with Elias and Laia fleeing for their lives, on their way to rescue Laia's brother from Kauf Prison. In order to reach Kauf in time, they must avoid detection from the Martials and the Commandant - but can they really trust those who they think are on their side?

The Empire has taken an even darker turn under Emperor Marcus, and Helene Aquilla must face his atrocities firsthand with her new role as Blood Shrike. When her loyalty to Marcus is questioned, she is forced to take on a mission in order to keep those she loves most safe - even if this mission destroys her.

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I think it's quite easy for the second book in a trilogy to never quite live up to the thrill of the first book, however, A Torch Against the Night is definitely an exception to this. This book was just as amazing as, if not better than, An Ember in the Ashes. Once again, it was action packed from the start and there wasn't a slow moment. I was worried that it would have a lot of filler material, and although a lot of the plot was definitely building up to something bigger coming which I assume will appear in the third book, everything was still relevant to this book's storyline, and I definitely didn't expect one of the big twists at the end.

As with the first book, Torch was written from one point of view; however, I feel as though where Ember was very much Laia's story, Torch focuses a lot more on the stories of Helene and Elias. I have always loved Helene, but after this book, she's definitely my favourite character from this series. All of the characters grew so much in this book, but I think Helene did most of all - and she certainly made me cry more than once. 

I'd probably say that the one disappointing thing about this book was that the Commandant didn't appear much. In the first book, I found her to be such a strong presence, and she's definitely one of my favourite antagonists. I mean, when she did appear in Torch, she lived up to her reputation and was crueler than ever, but I think she definitely could have been around more. I'm hoping she'll be a bigger character in the final book of the series! 

Despite this, I'd still give A Torch Against the Night a strong five stars. Bring on book three!

A Torch Against the Night is released in the UK on the 8th September 2016 and in the US on the 30th August 2016. Are you excited to find out what happens after An Ember in the Ashes? Let us know in the comments!

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!

And I Darken was all I wanted it to be and more. It's a deep, dark and unique alternate history novel, set in the Ottoman Empire of the 1400's, just before the fall of Constantinople. Kiersten White takes Vlad the Impaler and replaces him with Lada, Princess of Wallachia. 

Previously, I didn't know much at all about this era in history, especially from an Eastern European perspective, so the setting of this book was so refreshing. It took facts from history and brought them to life with complex characters, political intrigue, wars, and intricate relationships. 

I absolutely loved Lada as a heroine, and the way that Kiersten White slotted her into the history of Wallachia and the Ottoman empire was flawless. The secondary characters - especially Lada's brother, Radu, and Mehmed, the sultan's son, also added so much to the story and I think the third person narrative worked so well in this book, as it meant that these characters thoughts and feelings weren't overlooked. The plot constantly kept me on the edge of my seat with its twists and sudden revelations, as well as the culturally relevant issues that it presents throughout, such as the way that Lada is constantly overlooked by everyone just because she is a woman. 

And I Darken is definitely one of my favourite books of this year so far - I loved it so much that, despite having the ARC on my kindle, I had to order the hardback today - and the only negative thing I can say about it is that I almost wish I hadn't read it so fast, as now I have to wait even longer for the sequel!

June Fairyloot Unboxing

This month, we both decided to order our first book subscription box. After looking around at our options, we opted for the Fairyloot box - the contents of the boxes are always well thought out, unique and fit with the theme, the packaging is beautiful, and they're UK based! 

{by the way - this post will contain spoilers and photos of the contents of the June Fairyloot box. If you're still waiting for your box and want it to be a surprise, look away now!}

Both of our Fairyloot boxes arrived at the beginning of the week, and we were so happy with what we received! This months theme was "Classic Twist", and although classics aren't our favourite books, the items we received in this box were still neutral enough for us to love them. 

Here's what we got in the box: 

+ Funko POP! Vinyl from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 

The first item was a full sized Funko from the recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. We haven't read the book/watched the film, but these funko's still look pretty badass on a bookshelf. 

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+ Brontë's Secret candle from William and Joseph 

This candle was absolutely perfect for this box - it has a really nice floral scent, and is so cute and quaint that it really fits with the theme!  

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+ Earrings from House of Wonderland 

These earrings are absolutely adorable! Fairyloot boxes often seem to include a gorgeous piece of jewellery from an independent or boutique store, and these swallow earrings from House of Wonderland are no exception. 

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+ Pack of three bookmarks from Fable and Black 

We aren't really users of bookmarks - I'm actually pretty sure that we'll use anything but a bookmark to hold a page in a book. However, these three bookmarks with bookish quotes are too perfect not to use! They all feature some well known book-related quotes, whilst still linking back to the classic twist theme.

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+ Pride and Prejudice print from Fairyloot

Fairyloot's own contribution to their box was this beautiful watercolour style print, featuring a well known quote from Pride and Prejudice. We absolutely love book inspired artwork, so this was perfect for us!

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+ Wristband from Chapter 5 

A little extra gift included in this month's Fairyloot box was a wristband from Chapter 5. It's a festival style fabric wristband reading "proud to be bookish", a statement that we can both definitely get behind! 

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+ Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

Of course, the main feature of any book subscription box is the book itself! This month we got Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh. This book has been described as having allusions to Pride and Prejudice, but set in prehistoric times. We'll be putting up a full review of it once we've both read it!

Alongside the book, we also received a promotional bookmark, postcard, a signed bookplate and a signed letter from the author.

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That's it for this month's Fairyloot box! We've also both ordered the July box, Pirates and Power, so keep an eye out for our unboxing of that next month!

Did you order June's Fairyloot box? What did you think of the contents of it? (whether you ordered it or not!) Let us know in the comments!

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

(I was kindly sent a digital copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

This book follows Anna, who after deciding she's had enough of mundane life, steals a credit card and books herself a ticket to Los Angeles. During her summer in Hollywood, she moves in with her actress sister and soon gets offered the role of researching the Manson girls for money. 

I went into this book without high expectations, what drew me to it was the fact that we had a teenage protagonist researching the once teenage Manson girls. I must point out early on that this book doesn't really have a plot, it is more the story of Anna's summer in Hollywood and discovering that the city isn't all that it seems. Whilst researching the infamous Manson girls, she begins to understand connections between them and herself as they were once her age. That's the moral of this story, in my opinion, teenage girls and their complexity. 

There is a romance element but it isn't the centre of the story, it flows along with it and even ends with an ambiguous ending. Jeremy was a nice character and I enjoyed his relationship with Anna, he represented the truth behind 'child-stars' and that there life isn't all fame and glamour. I really enjoyed Anna as a character which I didn't expect as she is only fifteen years old. Sometimes the author can depict them as being too immature and naive but Anna has the perfect balance, she is curious and skeptical. One of my favourite themes was Anna despising the fact that Charles Manson and his cult are the only ones whose names we remember. Other than the famous Sharon Tate, the victims names were lost to history. Why do the killers get fame when it is the victims that should be mourned and remembered? She also states that the only reason Sharon Tate is known is because she was a beautiful actress, only used for her looks. I think it is so refreshing that a young female character makes this connection.

'Sharon Tate was just a name, or a beautiful blonde, or an actress, or the wife of a director, or another woman who really became famous only when her life was over. When she went from being a body on a screen to a body in a bag. I wanted the movie to bring her to life, but the camera seemed intent on making her nothing more than a beautiful face and a banging body. It didn’t seem fair, not to her, at any rate.'

I really enjoyed the secondary characters. Anna's big sister Delia who is obsessed with her image and becoming a famous actress, their two mothers who handle everything wrong but in the end are just human, Dex who was just a decent guy and all the others. They all managed to have their own voice and their own story. Having it take place in L.A was an excellent choice because despite never visiting there myself, I refused to believe it was as perfect as everyone seems to think it is. Every town has its secrets and history. 

'I thought about the Manson family, driving around with blood on their hands, and how in Hollywood, you couldn’t tell the killers from the actors. If there was a stranger place on earth, I didn’t know where.'

Overall, I loved this book. The only reason I didn't give it the full five stars is because I wish it was longer and had a more detailed plot. However, the story carries itself without twists and turns. It is the story of Anna, of her growing up and the parallels between the Manson girls and modern teenagers. We all start somewhere. We find out about them before Charles Manson - the fact that they had their own identity before him. The ending was perfect to the story in my opinion. It ended openly and we can allow ourselves to image what Anna does next. I entered a different world whilst reading this book and I would definitely recommend it.

Top Ten Favourite 2016 Releases So Far

Today's topic is Top Ten Releases of 2016 so far. These are some that have been highly anticipated and although they have been met with mixed reviews, still prove that we all come together when a book is released to celebrate.

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

This tells the story of a world in which violence breeds monsters. Literally. Nobody writes monsters like Victioria Schwab and she does not disappoint with the start of her new series. We follow Kate and August, two very different people who have to come together against a threat and a beautiful friendship is forged along the way. 

Our full review is here.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Summer is not complete without a new Matson release. Her newest story follows the story of Andie, a politician's daughter who despite practically raising herself, finds everything in her life mapped out for her. Suddenly a scandal rocks her entire world but is this necessarily a bad thing? Andie finds herself having to live with her dad, walk an awful lot of dogs and reevaluating her entire life. Sit down on a hot summer's day and indulge in this epic story.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Fans of Ruta's previous book 'Between Shades of Grey' will love her newest release. Capable of both making us realise the depth of love humans are capable of and the tragedy that has been our past, she tells the story of the people aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff during the Winter of 1945. Switching between different perspectives, we follow the heartbreaking story of the people fighting for their lives and a chance of escape. 

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

The sequel of ACOTAR was probably one of the most highly anticipated books this year and it did not disappoint. It follows the story of Feyre, a former huntress and newly turned fae as she realises her life and love for Tamlin may not be all that it seems. Teaming up with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court and his inner circle, she realises she may not have found her home yet. A story of a beautiful romance, incredible world-building and interesting new characters, this is a series you just have to read. 

Full review here!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton 

Set in the Middle East, this fantasy follows the story of Amani, an ambitious girl whose future only entails getting married and keeping a house. Refusing to meet this fate, Amani disguises herself as a male sharpshooter in order to get out of her town. However, she meets Jin, a foreigner who offers her the perfect escape. As they team up to travel across the dangerous desert on a mythical horse against a murderous army, they soon realise their feelings could be even more lethal.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The final instalment in The Raven Cycle, a story of a group of boys and Blue who attempt to track down a sleeping, Welsh King. It is the story of their friendship, love and a whole lot of psychic, mystical elements. Although we were not a fan of the final book, it was still a highly anticipated book that is mostly loved. Check the rest of the series out!

Full review here!

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

This book follows Anna, who after deciding she's had enough of mundane life, steals a credit card and books herself a ticket to Los Angeles. During her summer in Hollywood, she moves in with her actress sister and soon gets offered the role of researching the Manson girls for money. What follows is the similarities Anna notices between herself and the Manson girls, who before meeting Charles, were just normal teenagers.

A full review will be up on the blog soon.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

The sequel to a trilogy, A Gathering of Shadows continues our story with Kell, a boy capable of travelling through different Londons along with his sidekick, Delilah Bard. This book focuses a lot more on character development as we find out more about Holland, the Dane twins and Prince Rhy. We delve more into the different Londons, each the same and yet entirely different. The third book, A Conjuring of Light is set to be released February 2017.

The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

The Rose and the Dagger, the highly anticipated sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn and final book in the series, opens with Kohrasan on the brink of war, and Shahrzad separated from Khalid and taken to the desert. Now, Shahrzad must uncover her powers, protect her family, save her country from its imminent war and find her way back to Khalid despite being held amongst people who want him dead - all whilst trying to discover a way to destroy his curse. 

Full review here!

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner 

The Serpent King is about three teenagers living in a small town in Tennessee, Dill, Lydia and Travis. It is the story of them, their relationship and the events that happen before Lydia goes to college. The characters are different and unique: Dill is a musician, Lydia is internet famous and Travis who escapes into fantasy worlds, anything to get away from his abusive father. It is a book filled with excitement, adventure, friendship, family and love. It is a lot more than what the blurb offers.

What have been your favourite releases so far this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Never flinch. Never fear. Never forget.

A big thank you to the publishers, HarperVoyager, for sending us both ARC's of Nevernight! 

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Nevernight tells the story of Mia, a young girl from a noble family who is seeking revenge for the death of her parents, who were seen as traitors to the state. Mia's ambitions lead her to the Red Church, a secret guild of assassins, to train. However, Mia has an edge - not only can she fight, sneak, steal, manipulate and kill, but she is Darkin - she can control the shadows around her and bend them to her will. Her shadow-cat companion, Mister Kindly, ensures that she will never feel her fear. 

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Well, where can I start with this book? Nevernight absolutely blew me away. This is the badass high fantasy that I've been craving for so long. So, with high fantasy books, I have a list of necessities that all need to be included to make the story work for me: 

First off, I sometimes find with books of this genre that the political intrigue and action can be balanced incorrectly - in my opinion, you need both to make this sort of story work. Too much action will mean you won't care about the characters and the world so much, but too much politics will become boring. Nevernight has the absolute perfect balance between these two aspects, and that's one of the things that made me love it. 

Second, the characters. High fantasies are deep books, so we need deep characters to match that. Mia fits the bill perfectly here - she has secrets, she has a backstory, and she is mysterious. Even after finishing the book I still don't feel like I know her - she's still hiding things from me, and frankly, I need to know what they are, so despite Nevernight not even being released til August, I already need its sequel (this, I have discovered, is the one problem with ARCs). 

As well as Mia being perfect, the secondary characters are all top notch. Tric, Naev, Ashlinn, Mercurio, Jessamine... and I loved Mister Kindly, Mia's shadow passenger. One of my first bookish cross stitches was a quote from Robin Hobb's Fool's Quest - "the word of a cat is not to be relied upon", and I'm telling you now, I don't trust this cat as far as I can throw him (and since he's made of shadows, I doubt I can throw him at all). 

Anyway.

The third ingredient in the perfect recipe for a high fantasy book is the fantasy world and the world-building. I would live in the world that Nevernight is set in if I could - Itreya is completely inspired by everything Venetian, and the government is reminiscent of the ancient Roman Republic (actually, I wouldn't be keen on living under that rule, but if I could just live in the world without it's government, that'd be perfect). Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a complete history geek, and anything to do with ancient Rome/Italy is just about my favourite topic. This world was everything that the world of The Young Elites tried to be, but didn't live up to. 

Finally, and probably most importantly, the plot. I suppose this kind of brings my other points together, but Nevernight has a beautifully flowing plot, with just the right amount of action, political intrigue, character development and world building all together. The flashbacks throughout were absolutely perfect, and helped me to begin to unravel the mystery that is Mia as more and more of her past was revealed. Everything about this book was just so unique, and I already want to re-read it - I genuinely have never read anything like it before. 

My one tiny criticism is that the footnotes just weren't for me. I thought the beginning of the book especially was quite footnote heavy, and I think this is definitely just a personal preference, but stopping every now and then to read a footnote really distracted me from keeping myself absorbed in the plot. Like I say though, that's just my opinion, and a lot of them were very helpful when a place or event was mentioned that hadn't been explained in the book so far. 

One last comment on this book - I've seen a lot of people on Goodreads marking it as young adult. This book is not young adult. The majority of it is suitable for a YA audience, but there are certain more adult scenes in it that might not be appropriate for younger teens, or YA readers who aren't comfortable with reading very detailed adult scenes. This obviously wasn't a problem for me at all, but after seeing the issues when some younger kids thought that they'd love reading A Court of Mist and Fury as it was viewed as a YA book, I thought it was worth pointing out!

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Nevernight is definitely one of the best books I've read this year so far, and I'd thoroughly recommend that any fantasy lover reads it. It's released on the 11th August in the UK and the 9th August in the US!