The Darkest Minds Never Fade

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2) by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts
507 pages
Released: October 2013
Buy it @ book depository

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Review

 

To be honest I was a little disappointed when I first started reading. I loved the first book so much and it took me until halfway through the book before I started to truly enjoy this. I think this could have been because the first part of the book was Ruby being part of the league. Ruby had been taken by the league and helped them with their missions. She had changed so much since she had been with the league, it's like she had become numb and empty and because of this the story also came across a bit dull.

Once Ruby went on her secret mission and we come across some of those favourites characters from the first book does the pace pick up again. I can look past this slow start because the rest of the book was so good.

I mentioned in my review for the first book that I hope we get a bit more information about why/how the kids got their powers, we don't know exactly why/how but we are given hints and I can't wait to see everything revealed in the last book.

There was a jaw dropping moment at the end of the book (not as much as the first) but it was devastating enough. Those who have read this may know what I'm talking about, I almost cried :(

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for my copy.

On the cover 

 

I read this book on my kindle so I didn't really have a proper cover on this. So I've decided to talk about the above cover because I think it looks wicked! To me this looks like a compass crashing through ice and wire which has a lot do with the story. I think this cover is good for guys or girls and makes it look like an epic book!

What I'm reading next: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

13 Favourite Books of 2013

Last year was a great year of books for me. I read lots of fantastic books and It was really hard to try to choose only thirteen. Last year I did a post which had my 12 favourite books but being as though it was 2013, this time I've chosen thirteen favourites. I've cheated a little bit and picked a series as being one book on two occasions, well they were all favourites!

Here is my list of books from last year and reviews listing them from 13 through to 1.

Number 13

The Knife of Never Letting Go & The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Number 12

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Number 11

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

Number 10

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Number 9

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Number 8

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Number 7

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Number 6

The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

Number 5

The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta

Number 4

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Number 3

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Number 2

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Number 1

The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

What were your favourite books from last year?

Percy Jackson wasn't all he was cracked up to be

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1)

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts
375 pages
Released: January 2010
Buy it @ Book Depository

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Review

There was so much adventure to be had in this book, maybe too much. To me it felt like it was one huge quest to conquer after another for Percy and his friends. There wasn't the normal excitement an action book has, there weren't any of those thrilling cliff hanger moments at the end of each chapter.

I hate to say this about a much loved series and characters, but it just wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I did learn a lot about mytholgy which I guess is one good thing. I felt that Percy, being twelve, didn't seem old enough to be making the decsions he was making. I didn't think that much of any of the other characters either.

I watched the movie when it was first released and loved it! I couldn't really remember much from the movie so once I finished the book I decided I should probably watch it again. Again, i liked it and I liked it better than the book.

I will continue with the rest of the series because I've heard it gets better and I really think the books have a lot of potential. I'm also not sure if i'll keep listening to them on audiobook because the narrator wasn't all that good. Maybe this is the reason I didn't enjoy the book as much, I will find out when I read the second.

On the cover 

The above cover is the movie cover which I actually like as it's very similar to the first book cover. Both covers have Percy with the stolen lightning bolt in hand while standing in water facing towards the city. So much blue on this cover, which is probably why I like it so much because blue is my favourite colour.

What I'm listening to next: This is not a test by Courtney Summers

 

Happy 2014!

First post for 2014! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Years and enjoyed your break (If you had one) I thought I would share some manis done over 2013 that I never got round to posting.

Spots & Glitter French tips
I wasn't as happy with these nails, because they didn't turn out how I imagined them in my head.
Simple french tips, which I then used a dotting tool to dot on the pink spots and swiped a bit of silver glitter on top of the tips.

Love nails
These nails were simple and cute.
Painted white nails with love written on the ring finger and a little red heart on the middle finger

Purple, Blue & Flocking Powder nails
Have a look at one of my previous posts about using flocking powder

What manis have you done lately?

Something Like Wonderful

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts
224 pages
Released: June 2012
Buy it @ Book Depository


When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Review

 

When I first heard of this I thought it wasn't really my thing. It wasn't until a friend of mine recommended it and even bought a copy for me. Because of this I thought I should give it a go and I am so very glad that I did because it was so amazing! 

Something that I loved about this book was the humor and the way we get to see romance, friends and family through the eye's of a guy. I read a lot of teen fiction that is from a females point of view, so I liked this and I think Trish Doller needs to be commended for making me not think for a second that this book was written by a woman. I also adored the baby turtles scene, what a fantastic moment to put into a book.

By the end Travis felt so real to me, I wanted to be able to write him a letter telling him how much I loved his story and that I'm glad that he shared it with us. But this is fiction and he is not real so of course he would never get my letter. 

Living in Australia I don't think war has the same effect on us as it does in America. I don't know many people in the army and I don't know anyone who has had to go into another country as part of a war, so this book opened my eyes to how damaging it can be to have to go through that.

It's amazing how such a short story can effect you so much. I will whole hearted recommend this book to everyone now! The cover is a bit off-putting but you need to look past that for the story within that will change you. 

On the cover

When I first saw this cover I thought "Gee get a room"! It's so off-putting to see people making out on the cover of a book, I wouldn't normally pick up this type of book because of that reason. After reading this I see why they put the dogtags on the cover too. There was a dust cover on the book so I ended up taking that off and reading it without it.

What I'm reading next: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

 

D.I.Y Christmas

There's isn't long til Christmas so I thought I'd share a few D.I.Y Christmas ideas I found through pinterest. I haven't had a chance to try anyone of these yet but there's always next year! Enjoy!

 

Chocolate or Candybar Christmas wrappers 

~ These are so adorable and such a simple gift idea, who doesn't like chocolate?

Glitter Santa Key

~ Kids love the magic of Christmas and this is a fun craft idea to help bring Santa to life. Leave a key for him to get into your house instead of coming down the chimney (or if you don't have a chimney)

Winter Warmer

~ A very cute and easy gift for hot chocolate lovers. 

Christmas Gift Wrapping

~ Sick of the boring christmas wrapping? The above link will take you to a blog with lots of gorgeous christmas gift wrapping ideas.

Christmas Salt Shakers

~ These would be a great little Kris Kringle gift to give to someone as they're unique and handmade. They would dress up anyone's home.

Have you got any Christmas D.I.Y ideas?

There aren't always perks to being a wallflower

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
231 pages
Released: February 1999
Buy it @ book depository

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Review 

I watched the movie and adored it, once I finished I wanted to watch it all over again. It was amazing! So because of this I HAD to read the book and see if there were any differences. I did really enjoy the book, but not as much as the movie. Of course there was more detail in the book and certain scenes and issues were explained a lot more.

I liked the writing style - the book is written in letters from Charlie and as the book goes on you can see how Charlie's own writing gets better, which I think was done well.

Then there's Charlie and his band of misfits. I felt connected to the characters so much more since already watching the movie. I think I brought along those feelings I already had for them all from seeing the movie that it was hard to imagine them any other way. They all touched my heart in one way or another.

There were so many mature themes running through this: homosexuality, drugs, under-age sex and sexual abuse. It was unexpected when I first watched the movie because I didn't think it had such deep issues in it. I don't really recommend anyone under the age of 15 reading this.

It's a shame that the author didn't write anything else because this was so good - I guess maybe it was a one hit wonder or he thought why not quit while I'm ahead.

On the cover

I don't particulary like this cover. It is a bit old fashioned but I love the title/author font. The other cover I've seen is the movie cover, which I like better probably because I loved the movie.

What I'm reading next: Something like normal by Trish Doller