Heartless

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Heartless – Marissa Meyer

Genre: Fantasy, YA

RATING: ★★★★✩

Goodreads page

This was a real gem. But I expect nothing less from Marissa Meyer, who is the author of, still to this day, one of my absolute favourite fantasy series, The Lunar Chronicles. Now this was no Cinder or Cress so, in that regard, it did fall short. However, this book was still phenomenal and the creative backstory of the Red Queen in Wonderland was extremely enticing. I’m an absolute lover of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Meyer’s work only enhanced my love for the Lewis Carroll’s world – Marissa Meyer is brilliant at taking inspiration from a pre-existing tale and morphing it into her own, all without tarnishing the original. It contains all things baking, forbidden love and magic – sound up your alley? A truly incredible read for most, I’d say.

How Did We Get Into This Mess?

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How Did We Get Into This Mess? – George Monbiot

Genre: Non-fiction, Politics

RATING: ★★★✩✩

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The best way to describe this book is dense. Not necessarily in volume (although still quite lengthy) but in terms of the weight that each sentence holds. Initially I would have suggested pessimistic is a more apt description but, upon reflection, it certainly isn’t. I think what Monbiot has managed to do is assess the disastrous situation our planet is in in a methodical and, for the most part, digestible way to the general population. Some of the essays failed to grasp my attention while others I was fully engrossed in hence the lower rating. And, although the book was overall quite straightforward in many ways, I did find myself stumbling over a few sections which I think was another weakness as Monbiot’s language would frequently fall into very professional language or contain comparisons to events that I, and I’m sure many others, would have been unaware about so had limited effect in that regard. Even so, the book really just got me thinking. It highlighted aspects of our society that I’d been aware of but knew little about or, even better, opened my eyes to countless other flaws that are causing the deterioration of our planet so, despite titled to be a seemingly depressing book, such brutal facts fundamentally served to create a truly inspiring underlying message to make a change.

What’s on my TBR #2

I figured the best way to make a comeback on here was to share what books I’m currently yearning to read and thus, the books you can expect to see reviews from hopefully over the next few months. Let me know if any of these are on your TBRs or anything I haven’t mentioned that you’d highly recommend. But, for now, here’s what books I’m lusting over at the moment:

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Where Have I Been?! a.k.a. a long over-due update

Hey readers! Long time, no blogging, ey? Can’t say I anticipated taking a whole year off blogging considering how much I loved it but, long story short, college zapped all my creative energy for the past 12 months so, here we are, a year later and sixth-form free, ready to kick-start the blog once more!

Believe me, you haven’t missed much on the reading front – I could count the amount of books I’ve read in the past year on just the one hand, much to my dismay. However, with summer in full-swing, I’m eager to start picking up some new books that I can read for, would you believe it, the fun of it. I know, a wacky concept to me too.

Anyways, in alignment with my decision to take a gap year, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to revive my blog which, upon writing this post right now, I realise just how much I’ve missed it! Expect to see one post a week on Mondays which could be a book review, book recommendation post or anything else book-related – hopefully something you wish to read.

Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things in my little corner of the internet and hope you are too!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – J.K. Rowling & Jack Thorne
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

RATING: ★★★✩✩

Goodreads page

Well, this was something… different. I’m not going to lie, when I first heard that they were releasing the script for the Cursed Child, I did not plan on reading it. I knew that, regardless of how incredible the story might be and how great it would be to return back to my favourite fantasy world ever, reading it as a play just wouldn’t be the same. And, saying that, I wasn’t overly excited by the plot anyway. I only think this worked because we know the world of Harry Potter so well; had I read this alone without background knowledge, I doubt I would have given it more than two stars at best. At the end of the day though, there were some quite endearing and nostalgic parts that, ultimately, leveled out the negatives enough to warrant a mediocre three stars.

Why You Should Be Re-Reading Your Books

Truthfully, a couple of years ago, picking up a book more than once, regardless of how much I enjoyed it previously, was unheard of. I just never understood why you’d spend time reading something you’ve already read when there are TONS of books piling up on my TBR. It seemed illogical.

Stars Above

Stars Above – Marissa Meyer
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Novellas

RATING: ★★★★★

Goodreads page

I was so pleasantly surprised by this! It’s not often that a novella (or several for that matter) creates a good impression on me. I’m normally left wanting more depth and detail so novellas rarely cut it. That said, Stars Above was incredible! There were loads of short stories which gave a tremendous insight into the past of all the main characters of the series but, without a doubt, the greatest novella was the last one, which was set after Winter and saw the whole team come together again to celebrate Scarlet and Wolf’s wedding. I personally wasn’t a massive fan of Fairest, the prequel to the Lunar Chronicles which gave a background on Levana, so if you’re skeptical to read this collection because the other novella didn’t quite do anything for you, I can assure you that these novellas are incomparable and an absolute joy. Any fans of the Lunar Chronicles would, I am certain, really love this accumulation of epic short stories.

What’s on my TBR #1

My TBR pile is forever growing so I thought I’d provide you guys with an insight into what books I’ve specifically got my eye on at the moment. Some of these have been my list for years while others only a matter of days but, for whatever reason, these ones will always spring to mind as books I just haven’t had enough time to get around to!

Warbreaker

Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
Genre: High Fantasy

RATING: ★★★★★

Goodreads page

I can thank my two friends for encouraging me to give this one a go! With a lot of college reading over the summer, I knew a great big fantasy series just wasn’t on the cards but I wanted my fantasy fix and this did just that. If you’ve heard of Sanderson, you’ve probably heard of the Mistborn trilogy and while I sincerely loved that series, this stand-alone had something extra and I was even more impressed. Any fantasy lovers will know the genre has an abundance of epic fantasy series’s but is lacking in some powerful one-offs. Luckily, Warbreaker filled that void and by no half-measure either. Racking up to about 600 pages, it’s still hefty but provides a fast-paced, exciting tale that I guarantee will take an awful lot of willpower to put down!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (DOSAB #1) – Laini Taylor
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

RATING: ★★★★★

Goodreads page

I seem to be on a re-reading kick at the moment (and I’m not complaining!). This book was just as good as I remember it with such beautifully crafted characters through some incredible writing. Laini Taylor most definitely knows how to make a dull scene interesting. Great for anyone who is looking for an introduction to the fantasy genre and for those who really appreciate good writing.