Review for Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

"He is my soul mate, my fresh air, the reason I look forward to getting up every morning." Maya and Lochan have known each other their entire lives. They’ve been each others rock, soul mate and best friend. Maya’s pretty and kind, sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Lochan is gorgeous, generous and super intelligent and now they’ve fallen in love. This couple should be destined to be together, except they never can be… because they are brother and sister. When I first found out about this book I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to read it or not. I like to think that I’m a pretty open minded person but just the thought of incest turns my stomach and makes me a little queasy but because there’s nothing else quiet like this out there at the moment and because of all the rave reviews I decided to put my personal feelings to the side and read this book. Boy am I glad that I did! Before reading this book I like many people thought of incest as a taboo subject, but after reading this it’s completely changed my opinion on it. Not all incest is as black and white as it may seem, especially that of the consensual type and this book fills in all of those shades of grey in between. It wasn’t until I was half way through reading this that I realised that I didn’t find Maya and Lochan’s relationship sick or repulsive at all - in fact quiet the opposite! I was desperate for them to be together and find a way to figure everything out and ultimately found their situation sad and unfortunate. Like Lochan and Maya I never saw them as brother and sister but as star crossed lovers who had so much against them. They were two normal, wonderful people who I just wanted the best for and if that was with each other then so be it. Their relationship wasn’t all that sexual which just showed that above all they deeply loved each other and just wanted to be able to be a proper couple. All they wanted was to be accepted and to be able to do all the things that a normal boyfriend and girlfriend take for granted. It actually shocked me that Lochan and Maya could go to prison for something they had no control over. You can’t choose who you fall in love with and it made me think that if homosexuals are allowed to love each other and transsexuals are allowed to defy the ‘norm’ because of feelings they cant control then why on earth are not only Lochan and Maya not allowed to be together but face a prison sentence because of it? Why, if under some circumstances and if an incest relationship is consensual and they aren’t hurting each other or other people must they be punished for that? Ultimately it’s not about if their relationship is wrong or right – that could be debated back and forth forever. It’s about why should they be punished so harshly for something they can’t control? Maya and Lochan try numerous times to end their relationship but can you imagine trying to get over someone who’s been a part of you for your entire life? Who you’ve loved for as long as you can remember? Who you never get chance to get away from because you live under the same roof? It would take two very strong people to push that aside so it’s no wonder that they always ended up back together. Tabitha Suzuma’s writing is exquisite and you can definitely feel the love that Lochan and Maya share. I cried so many times whilst reading this book especially towards the end. The ending was perfect- sad – but perfect, I think it ended how it had to end. I’m so glad that I bought another of Tabitha’s books along with this one because Forbidden has definitely become one of my favourite books of all time and I can see Tabitha becoming one of my very favourite authors if the rest of her books are even half as good as Forbidden. This isn’t an easy read. Far from it, but it’s one of those books that demands to be read. It’ll change the way you think. It’ll have you falling in love with the characters. It will have you weeping with the unfairness of it all. There’s not really much more I can say about it other than forget your vampires and humans, jocks and geeks, Forbidden is the ultimate forbidden love story and you’d be crazy to miss out on it. 5 stars. My Rating 5/5 stars *****

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hey guys, well it’s that time of week again! As many of you may know I went to visit my friends Rachel and Ellie this week and well when were together we buy/swap books so I always come away with so many on our get togethers. Word of warning this weeks haul is HUGE. I’m not that bad though some of them were swapped with the girls and on special offers, and well some of them weren’t *sheepish face* I’m going to do a post on the trip over the next few days so keep your eyes peeled for that but for now lets bring out the books! Books from the Trip Vampire Beach - Bloodlust & Initiation by Alex Duval (From Rachel) Vampire Beach - Ritual & Legacy by Alex Duval (From Rachel) Vampire Beach - High Stakes & Hunted by Alex Duval (From Rachel) The Inheritance Cycle Box set (down from £40 to a measly £9.99) The Truth about Melody Browne by Lisa Jewell The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (From Ellie) Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Whisper My Name by Jane Eagland Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (already read and LOVED review here) TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter Last Vampire: The Last Vampire / Black Blood by Christopher Pike Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz Sabriel by Garth Nix Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (From Ellie) The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (From Ellie) Dewey by Vicki Myron Books from Amazon A Note of Madness by Tabitha Suzuma Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan The Radleys by Matt Haig Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen The Enemy by Charlie Higson So that’s what I got in my mailbox this week. Feel free to leave me a link to what you got. Have you read any of the books I got this week? Get commenting and I hope your all having a great weekend! :)

Review for Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins– Spoiler Free!

This review is being entered into Presenting Lenore's dystopian contest for an awesome 6 book prize pack as part of her Dystopian August event. This is a spoiler free review so if you haven’t read the book yet feel free to continue on. Although it may contain spoilers from books one and two so proceed with caution if you haven’t read them. Well where do I start with this one? I guess everybody reading this knows how highly anticipated this book has been so it should come as no surprise when I say that I snatched up the first copy I could find and devoured the entire thing in one sitting. I avoided reading reviews on this book until I finished it so when I logged on to my computer this morning I was surprised to see the mixed reviews for it. Some love it some thought it was ok some even hated it but one thing everyone seems to have in common is that they don’t quiet know what to say about this book. One thing’s for sure either way it will leave you speechless. My thoughts? I personally loved it. A lot of people seem not to like it because they didn’t get the happy ending they expected but that’s exactly what I loved about it. I thought it was very brave of Suzanne Collins to stay true to the theme of this book and not give in to the pressure of wanting everyone to be happy with it. What you have to remember is that this book is set in a world where the government have gone mad. This is a story of hardship and death and to change that in the final book and make everything just rosy would be unrealistic. This didn’t necessarily end how I wanted it to end but it ended how it needed to be ended. Because of this the book is truly heartbreaking to read. The hunger game’s is taken out from the arena and is taking place all over Panem. The districts need a Mockingjay and Katniss sacrifices so much to become that person for them. This book is definitely a more heavier, heartbreaking read than the first two books in the series and because of the events that take place in this book the characters change and grow a lot. Some not for the better- another brave move from Suzanne Collins, but again she’s keeping it real. If I went through what some of the characters went through I think I’d behave in the same way too. Whilst reading this book I think it becomes clear who Katniss needs to be with. All through the trilogy it could have really gone either way but in this one the change of events due to circumstance make it obvious who is right for Katniss. It was really heartbreaking to read that part because the boy who she doesn’t chose moves on to a completely different path and way of life because the passion to take down the capitol is now gone and Katniss realises that’s what they were based on. Again no spoilers with that, up until that point it could have gone either way. I cried whilst reading this book, I laughed and I put the book down feeling very confused about how I felt towards it. It’s heartbreaking, thought provoking, and controversial. The end is both sad and happy but ultimately hopeful. I can’t say that you’ll enjoy this book as it clearly isn’t for everyone and either way I don’t think enjoy is the right word. One things for sure though, you will definitely be mesmerised. 5 stars. My Rating 5/5 stars *****

THE END IS NIGH – Mockingjay, Road-Trip, Charity Event, and other things…

Hello everyone! This is just a little update I wanted to do because I have a few things to tell you. Tomorrow I am going to visit and stay with my friend Rachel over @ In the Library of LadyViolet and during that time were going to be going to visit our other friend Ellie over @ Musings of a Bookshop Girl and her lovely little bookshop. We’re going to be doing lots of awesome bookish things, for one were going on a book crawl hopping from one bookshop to another in search of awesome new books to add to our shelves. I think me and Rach will also be making a Vlog or two which I’ll post about when I get home. Because I’ll be away I probably wont do any posts until the weekend now, so I just wanted to let you all know so your not wondering where I am. Second thing I wanted to talk to you about is MOCKINGJAY. It came out in the US today and it comes out over here in the UK tomorrow. I know me and Rach will definitely be on the look out for this on the trip I can’t wait I’m so excited and uber jealous of all of you people who got it today. If you want to leave me a comment telling me if you loved it or if it left you disappointed feel free but please don’t include spoilers! Did you go to a midnight release party? How do you like the book so far? Feel free to get a little spoiler free discussion going on in the comments. I’m going to read Mockingjay next so stay tuned for a review soon! I got an email yesterday from some bloggers doing a really cool thing. There trying to raise money for First book and Save the Children and if you make a donation you automatically get entered into an awesome giveaway where you could win tons of signed books and signed swag from various authors. If you wish to take part please head over to Random Ramblings, 21 Pages, and Books Out Of The Bookshelves for more information. So that’s pretty much it. I wanted to try and get another post done before I left but I have a lot left to do tonight so that can wait until I get back. I hope your all enjoying Mockingjay and will look out for my posts about what me, Rach and Ellie got up to on the trip. Happy Mockingday and I’ll speak to you all soon :) Jessica

Review for The Poisoned House by Michael Ford

I had this book sent to me from Bloomsbury to review a week or so ago and I was immediately excited to read it. The cover intrigued me and the synopsis sounded right up my street so I moved it up to the top of my To Be Read pile and picked it up this weekend when it was rather miserable and rainy and I fancied a creepy historical fiction novel and I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Having never read anything by Michael Ford before I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this but I loved it! Right from the start you can tell that Ford is an excellent story teller. You’re immediately transported into 18th century London so much so that you can very nearly smell the stench of the streets of London wafting off the pages. The story starts when Abi an orphaned servant at the brooding and dark Greave Hall runs away. She’s desperate to escape the crutches of sadistic housekeeper Mrs Cotton and her harsh lifestyle there. Soon after escaping, Abi is caught and brought back to Greave Hall and things start going from bad to worse. The widowed master of the house Lord Greave is slipping slowly into madness, leaving Mrs Cotton his dead wife’s sister to take advantage of her position and adopt the role of Mistress of the house wearing her sisters jewellery and entertaining guests. As Mrs Cotton’s malice intensifies odd things start happening around the house. It seems as though a ghostly presence is trying to get Abi to leave Greave Hall for good and reveal that the house and the people within it are hiding terrible secrets, ones that may cost Abi her very life. I find that ghost stories can be very hit or miss. If you do it right it can be excellent if you do it wrong it can be disastrous and Michael Ford definitely gets it right with The Poisoned House. It reminded me very much of a sort of Rebecca for teens with a supernatural twist. It has all of the things that make Rebecca the wonderful classic that it is. The big brooding house, mystery, a malicious housekeeper, a grieving widower, suspense and death. I found myself turning the pages just as desperate to discover the secrets of the house as much as Abi. There’s always something exciting going on that makes you keep reading and reading. Michael Ford definitely has himself a new fan and I hope he writes more historical fiction in the future as he truly does excel at it. The only reason I couldn’t quiet give this the full top marks is because for me the book was a tad short. I would have liked more time with the characters and for them to have been a little more developed. If you’re looking for a suspenseful, gothic, quick read then your sure to love this. Thank you for sending it to me for review Bloomsbury it’s now become one of my favourite books of the year! 4 stars. My Rating 4/5 stars ****