Sunday, March 27, 2011

Review: Ruined (Witches of Santa Anna #7) - Lauren Barnholdt



3/5

This is the 7th book in the series, and if you have been following my reviews on this series, you will see I am starting to get really p***ed off with these novellas now.

I was planning to skip this one altogether as I think it is becoming a bit ridiculous now, but I caved and bought it.

First off, it seemed very short, much shorter than the other novellas in the series. I did enjoy the story, and I'm glad Nat and Cam are finally together.

Review: Hunger (Gone #2) - Michael Grant



3/5

This is the second book in the Gone series by Michael Grant.
I didn't enjoy this as much as Gone, I think the story was starting to get a bit boring for me, but it did pick up towards the end of the book.

The book is set in FAYZ, and the battle between the kids of Perdido Beach and Coates Academy is still going on, no one has any new ideas of answers as to why all the adults have dissapeared, or why they are stuck in this bubble. But there is one new problem, food. Food is running out, and at an alarming rate. Everyone is starving, and there is even talk of eatting pets just to get through the day.

There are a few new characters introduced in the book, and to be honest I am starting to get confused with all the different names, and different viewpoints. The book did get alot better towards the end, and I really enjoyed the ending of it, so hopefully Lies, the third book will be a bit better.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Cover Reveal: Dragon's Oath - P.C Cast




The UK cover for Dragon's Oath has been revealed! Due to be released at the same time as the US release, 12th July!

I like the cover, it ties in with the UK House of Night books, what do you all think about it?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Review: Hereafter- Tara Hudson



3/5

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, at first it was hard to get into and I had to keep putting it down then going back to it again later.

But from about halfway through the book I started to really enjoy it, the storyline is good and I really liked the main character, Amelia.
I liked the whole good vs evil concept about the afterlife, but at times it did seem a little confusing. It is a bit repetitive and you can start to see where the story is going a times, but it was a nice good read

Review: Extras (Uglies #4) - Scott Westerfeld



4/5

This book is a follow-up to the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, it is set in a city in Japan a few years after all the previous stories took place.
But don't be put off by that, Tally and the Cutters are still in this book!!

I really liked this, as it gave the reader a chance to see what impacts Tally had on the world after she left. No one has seen her since she left to protect the wild, but yet she is still the most popular person on the planet!!

The book follows Aya, a 15 year old Kicker trying to find a good story to put on her feed in order to raise her status, but she discovers a massive secret and things start to get a bit out of control when Tally Youngblood comes back to help Aya

Review: Specials (Uglies #3) - Scott Westerfeld



4/5

This is the third book in the Uglies series by scott Westerfeld.

Again this story follows Tally and her friends, but this time theres a twist.
Tally is now a Special, and not just any Special she is one of the Cutters who are out to take down the New Smoke.

But something in the back of Tally's head remembers the past, remembers what happened before and it's nagging away at her.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a great ending to the whole story.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Belle Book's first giveaway!!!

Belle Books is proud to be hosting it's very first giveaway!
Giveaway is running from 15th March - 31st March and the winner will be announced on Friday 1st April!

The prize is a copy of Gemma Malley's The Declaration, the first book in the Declaration trilogy.
I've read this series myself, and it is amazing!



So what is it about?

It's the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can't sustain population growth, however…which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of boys and girls whose parents chose to have kids—called surpluses—despite a law forbidding them from doing so. These children are raised as servants, and brought up to believe they must atone for their very existence. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn't live forever. Peter begs Anna to escape with him, but Anna's not sure who to trust: the strange new boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale, or the familiar walls of Grange Hall and the head mistress who has controlled her every waking thought?

So what do I need to do?

First, you need to be a follower of my blog, and I will be checking!
Second, you need to leave a comment on this post with your first name and email address.

Thats it, simple right?

To earn an extra entry, post a link to Belle Books on your blog, twitter, facebook, wherever you want, and leave a link in your comment to where you have posted so I can see that you have done it. This will give you 1 extra entry to the giveaway!

Remember the giveaway closes on the 31st March, and the winner will be announced on the 1st April!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Review: Pretties (Uglies #2) - Scott Westerfeld



4/5

This is the second book in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.
The book picks up right where Uglies stopped, Tally went though with her plan to become Pretty, and is living it up in the city. Although there is some nagging at her, something isn't quite right about her life and Tally needs to figure it out soon!

I really enjoyed this book, I like the way that it tied in so many problems that teens and young adults face nowadays, eating disorders, self harming and body image. All these things are going in in a supposed perfect and pretty society that was created to stamp out these differences between people in the first place.

The ending of this books leaves the reader anxious to find out more, and I will be starting the 3rd book, Specials right away!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Review: Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer (Twisted Tales #2) - Maureen McGowan



4/5

was lucky enough to get an ARC of the book.

This book is meant to be a bit of a twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, although to be honest I didn't even think of the original story of Sleeping Beauty once while reading this! It stands out on it's own, the characters and storyline is brilliant!!

It is such a great book, I read it in one sitting and could not put it down! It is also a 'choose your own ending' book, which I loved when I was little, and have not seen one of these types of books for so long, so I was over the moon when I discovered that.
The only thing I would have liked to have seen was perhaps an alternative ending, for example if the reader made the wrong decision at some point in the story it got Lucette killed, and the reader would have to start again. Thats what I enjoyed most out of these types of books when I was younger.

Review: Letters to Elise - Amanda Hocking



3/5

This is a short novella from Amanda Hocking which ties in with the My Blood Approves series.

This novella follows Peter through his life in the form of letters to his wife Elise, even after her tragic death.

I did enjoy this, and it made me see Peter in a very different light. After reading this I have to admit he is growing on me even more now!
I especially liked finding out the background to certain aspects that had only been hinted at in the My Blood Approves series, and his true feelings towards meeting Alice for the first time.

I would like to see some more background information about Ezra though, more about the things he had to endure when he was first turned, as again those have only been hinted at throughout the series

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Review: Enticed (Witches of Santa Anna #6) - Lauren Banrholdt



4/5

This is the 6th instalment of the Witches of Santa Anna series by Lauren Barnholdt, and I have to say by now I am starting to get a little annoyed. I have read and enjoyed the whole series so far, but really how much money must this women be raking in?! By splitting the story into small sections, releasing them a bit at a time and charging £2 odds for each one?! I mean fair play to her, it is clearly a very clever marketing tool, which is working...as I do seem to keep paying for the next instalment, and her other series as well! But as an avid reader or YA books I don't like feeling exploited. I will buy the 7th instalment when it is released, but if it is not the last, and the next one is the same price, I'm sorry but I will be staying clear of this author in the future.

Enough of the rant, and onto the review...

This story picks up right where the previous one left us, and finally some truth has come out! The big secret is out, although it may be too late to save a certain Cam from Raine's clutches! Once again the reader is left on a cliff-hanger ending, hungry for the next instalment of this series.

Review: Pursued (Witches of Santa Anna #5) - Lauren Barnholdt



4/5

This is the 5th book in the ever growing Witches of Santa Anna series by Lauren Barnholt.

After reading the first 4 releases, I was starting to become a little desperate for this instalment to find out what happens next.
Needless to say I was not disappointed, and as usual the reader is left on a cliff-hanger ending!

Review: Kissing Perfect (At The Party #4) - Lauren Barnholdt



3/5

his is the 4th book in the At The Party series by Lauren Barnholdt.
Once again, we are at Emily's party, and this time we are introduced to another bunch of new characters. Is it just me or does this party seem a little out of control with far to much drama going on?!

This story centres around Brynn, who only went to the party to cause trouble (in the form of stealing a bike?!) for her ex boyfriend Aaron.
She then bumps into Josh, one of the popular crowd from school...and you guess where the story goes after that. Needless to say there is a lot of drama surrounding the whole Brynn, Aaron and Josh situation.

I do like this series, but it is starting to get a bit repetitive now.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Review: Uglies (Uglies #1) - Scott Westerfeld



5/5

I have been wanting to read this series for quite a while now, so when I finally got my hands on the from my library I was over the moon!

This is the first book in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, It is another YA Dystopian book. Although it is very different from other YA dystopian books I've read in the past.

The story is set in a futuristic world, where you are classes as a Littlie until the age of 12, then you move onto being an Ugly. Uglies go to school, hang out with their friends, and most importantly they trick.
Tricks are the same as pulling pranks, and for the most part the Uglies get away with their antics, because they know when they turn 16 they will go for the operation and become Pretty. The Pretties live across the river, and party constantly!

Tally is almost 16, and almost pretty. Her best friend is older then her, and he is already Pretty and she's left feeling lonely. Then she meets Shay, the two become really good friends and vow to become Pretties together, that is until Shay tells Tally she's leaving for the Smoke, a secret city of Uglies who have run away and turned their back on being Pretty. But of course nothing is ever simple...

I really enjoyed this book, and cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

Review: Old Habits (Wicked Lovely #2.6) - Melissa Marr



3/5

This is another short e-book released by Melissa Marr as part of the Wicked Lovely series, the story takes place between books 2 and 3.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Stopping Time, the other e-book that ties in with the series.

This book was based around Niall and Irial, their relationship in the past and how that is now changing as Irial is realising he in no longer the Dark King, and has to obey orders from Niall now.

It is a good story, and it was nice to see the interactions between the two of them, but I just didn't feel that there was much to it.

Review: Wisdom (My Blood Approves #4) - Amanda Hocking




4/5

This is the fourth and last book in the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking. I really enjoyed the first three books in the series, and couldn't wait to get started on this one.

Right from the very start of the book the reader is thrown head first into the plot, with the loss of Alice's best friend and a child vampire out of control in Australia, can things get any worse?

Oh yes they can!

Through this book I started to see Peter in a very different light, and actually started to like him, although I am still very much team Jack!

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but this is a really great ending to the series and it does not disappoint!

Review: Kisses From Hell - Kristin Cast & Others



3/5

I have previously read Prom Nights from Hell and Love is Hell, and when I saw this recent addition in my library, I had to pick it up!

It is a collection of short stories from popular YA authors, Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Kristin Cast (House of Night), Alyson Noel (The Immortals), Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning) and Francesca Lia Block (Pretty Dead)

To be honest, with authors like that, I thought the book was going to be great! I liked the previous From Hell books that I had read, and thought this was going to be even better.
I was very wrong!

The only story in this book that I really loved was the Sunshine by Richelle Mead, and that was only because it was sort of a prequel to the Vampire Academy series, telling the story of how Lissa's parents first met and fell in love, and also where the name Vasilisa came from.

If I was going to recommend this book, it would be solely just for that story, and thats the only reason this book got 3 stars. The other stories where just strange and left me feeling like they weren't quite finished.

Review: Stopping Time (Wicked Lovely #2.5) - Melissa Marr




4/5

This is a short e-book which was released as part of the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. The story takes place between Ink Exchange, book 2 and Fragile Eternity, book 3 in the series.

I this book we see Leslie trying to move on with her life and is now in college after she leaving the Dark Court, of course Niall and Irial are always going to be around, so there is lots of interactions with them in this story as well.

However someone has found out about the Fey, and Lesley's involvement with them, and is trying to use Lesley to get to them!

I really enjoyed this e-book and I'm glad I found it, just in time to start reading Fragile Eternity.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Review: Getting Close (At The Party #3) - Lauren Barnholdt



3/5

This is the third book in the At The Party series by Lauren Barnholdt.

Again this is a short novella, like the other 2 books in the series, back once again at Emily's party (wow, quite a lot of drama going on at this party!) and we see another 2 new characters, Gabriella and Landon.

Gabriella ended her relationship with Landon that morning, and when she sees him at the party she begins to realise her mistake, but is it too late?

Review: Telling Secrets (At The Party #2) - Lauren Barnholdt



3/5

This is the second book in the At The Party series by Lauren Barnholdt.

Again another short novella, which takes about 20 minutes to read. Great if you don't have much time, and want something that won't take long to get through.

We are still at Emily's party, but this time we are finding out the story of 2 different characters, Brooke and Ry, although Brooke has been spending time hanging out with Aiden recently, and Ry has always been in love with Brooke. In this book we see Brooke realise the truth about who and what she really wants.

Review: Falling Hard (At The Party #1) - Lauren Barnholdt




3/5

I discovered this series after reading the first four books in Lauren Barnholdt's other mini series, The Witches of Santa Anna.

Just like that series this one id made up of short novellas, although I would recommend that you read The Witches of Santa Anna first, as there are characters in this series which originate from Santa Anna.

This book was a short and sweet little romance novella, based on Emily and Ashton. Emily is hosting the party, but isn't really involved in it at all, it's not her scene, Infact her mum is the one that pushes her to throw these parties. During the party she bumps into Ashton...and I won't spoil the rest for you.

Really nice, quick read for when you don't have much time.

Review: Flutter (My Blood Approves #3) - Amanda Hocking




4/5

This is the third book in the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking.

The books picks up pretty much where the previous book left us, although there seems to be a lot more information about the other characters given in this book. I enjoyed this, as by this point I was getting a bit annoyed with the whole Alice/Jack/Peter thing going on, so it was nice to see some other romance dilemmas going on with other characters in this book

We are also introduced to some new characters in this book in the form of the Lycan pack (no don't worry I'm not talking about werewolves here), and we see Alice trying to control her new vampire emotions and thirst.

The family we have come to know and love up to this point is completely ripped apart in the book, and leaves the reader desperate to pick up the next one to find out what happens next.

Review:Fate (My Blood Approves #2) - Amanda Hocking




4/5

This is the second book in the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking, after not being too sure about the first book, and decided to go ahead and read the second one, and I'm glad that I did!

This book is where the story really takes off, it was miles better than the first book in the series, and I found I couldn't put the book down!
It starts off right where My Blood Approves finishes, and it picks up pretty fast, with a major scene happening right at the start of the book, which leave the reader wanting more and sucks them in for the rest of the story.

I'm really glad I carried on with the series, because it was this book that got me hooked!

Review: My Blood Approves (My Blood Approves #1) - Amanda Hocking



4/5


I first found out about this series on Goodreads.com, and had been wanting to read them for a while after hearing alot of good things about it!!
So I recently got a Kindle, and this was the first book I read on it! Currently it is only available (in the UK anyway) as an e-book.

This is the first book in the My Blood Approves series, and personally I thought it was going to be brilliant after all the hype about it. Don't get me wrong, it is a really good book, and I loved the story. It did however, feel a bit "Twilight-ish" to me, girl meets boy...boy turns out to be a vampire, living with his vampire family etc.

Although My Blood Approves does have many similarities with Twilight, it is a different story (thank god!!) After about 70% through it, I finally started really liking it.

Review: Tithe - Holly Black



2/5

I wanted to like this book, I can't really pin point the specific thing that made me not like it. First of all, with the exception of Wicked Lovely, I don't really like Fairy books, I don't know why....most of them I just don't like. So I don't know why I even picked this up in the first place.

I never really got into the story, it was pretty fast paced and a bit confusing at times. Alot of people have commented on the language used in the book, and thats what put them off, that didn't bother me at all.

The idea behind it is a pretty good story, perhaps if it was written a bit better, or parts were explained properly I would have enjoyed it.

I did read it and I finished it, I might be tempted to read the other books in the series in the future, but for now I'm sticking my usual reads.

Thursday, March 3, 2011


Here are this weeks recent additions!

Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray
Above the Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearn
Angel - L.A Weatherly
Beauty - Robin McKinley
Beastly - Alex Flinn
Graceling - Kristen Cashore
Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick
Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
Pretties - Scott Westerfeld
Kisses From Hell - Kristin Cast, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Richelle Mead, Francesca Lia Block

Review: City of Glass - Cassandra Clare



5/5


I had to put off reading this book for ages, because I just had so many library books to get through.
I am so glad I finally got round to reading it, and just in time for the 4th book, City of Fallen Angels, due for release in April!

I loved this book, I think it might be my favourite in the series so far! We finally get to see Idris, the true Shadowhunter world and more importantly we finally find out the truth about what happened all those years ago when Clary and Jace were children. without trying to give too much away, this book ties up all the loose ends left from the previous two instalments, and leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen next?

I am quite intrigued as to what is going to happen now, as there are another 3 books to be released in the series and I after the way this book ended, I honestly have no idea where they are going to go.
 
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