August Round Up & Book of the Month!

Hey guys! Today is my very first book of the month! I’ve noticed a few people doing something similar to this so I wanted to hop on the wagon and do one myself. I’m hoping to maybe make this a monthly thing at the end of each month so if you like it and want to see it again next month let me know! Each month I’m going to choose an ultimate book of the month and then also choose the best titles for other categories that people might be looking for in a book. Like some people might love a good romance so I’m going to recommend the best book I’ve read that month for romance and so forth you’ll get the picture as you scroll down anyway! Anyways I hope everyone enjoys it – I’ve definitely had a lot of fun doing it! Feel free to leave me comments on your thoughts! August’s book of the month is… Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins! Do I really have to explain why? It was just awesome and if you haven’t read this series yet you really should. Best Plot: The Maze Runner by James Dashner Best Writing: The Poisoned House by Michael Ford Best Cover: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Best Characters: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Best Ending: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma Best Romance: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma Most un-put-down-able: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins Most Memorable: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma Best Moral: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Mockingjay, Forbidden, The Maze Runner. Bookish Highlights of the month Everything Mockingjay – reading it, buying it, vlogging about it etc; and the book hauling road trip with Rachel and Ellie. Bookish Lows of the month Not enjoying The Iron King as much as I hoped I would and having to come home from the road trip! Book’s I’m looking forward to in September There are so many books coming out in September that I’m looking forward to so many! I’m reading Infinite Days right now which I’m enjoying so far. Halo and Return to Paradise arrived this morning both of which look awesome. Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready, The Duff, Firelight…I have a feeling that Septembers going to be a very good month indeed! ;) So there you have it my reading for August summed up in one post! Links lead to reviews and posts from my blog that are related.

Book Hauling Road Trip Take Two; Vlogs, Mockingjay and More...

Hi guys! I’m finally getting my post for the road trip up! I wanted to get it up sooner but I had reviews to do and things so I’m finally getting around to it now. Last week I went to visit my best friend and fellow book blogger Rachel and when were together we end up buying a ton of books! We also went to visit the lovely Ellie and her book shop Book End and Ellie very kindly let us pick out whatever books we wanted for free which was awesome! Sadly it’s going to be the last time I see them both for a while with Rach heading back to Uni soon and all but plans for a Christmas stop over at Ellie’s is already in the works so I’m very much looking forward to that already! I love both of those girls dearly and just wish we lived closer so I could see them more often! I guess it just makes our rare meet ups even more special though :) Anyway me and Rach made some vlog’s which tell you a little bit about what we got up to so instead of repeating myself I’ll just post them on here for your viewing pleasure ;) The first video is a Mockingjay squee on our first reactions on seeing the book and buying it. This was before we read it so don’t worry, no spoilers! Then the second a book haul. Hope you enjoy!

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 *****