Review: When We Collide by Emery Lord

Name: When We Collided
Author: Emery Lord
Pages:337
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1-4088-7008-2
Rating: 4/5

**I requested this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own**

Jonah Daniels lives in Verona cove and is trying to cope with the crushing weight of his Dad's passing. He and his older brother and sister have become default heads of the house now that his mother has locked herself in her room unable to cope. Vivi has come to Verona Cove with her mother and is charmed by everything it has to offer including a new beginning where the events of the past few months can be filed away, if only for a little time. Then their worlds collide and sparks fly.

I'm always interested to read books about mental illnesses/ emotional difficulties. Going into this novel I thought only one character struggled with this but I was very much mistaken. I liked reading about how these two characters interacted and helped each other with their struggles and make things worse in some cases. I related more to Jonah's side of the story having experienced loss for myself. I thought that grief in this book was handled very well. It showed an entire spectrum of how people deal with it. I also liked how the other mental illness was demonstrated (I won't mention what it actually was for slight spoilers) but I have no real experiences of it so I can't say whether it was accurate. The way Vivi was written and spoke really conveyed how hyper she could be.

The actual story was great. You could clearly see how each character progressed for the better and sometimes for the worse. I was very happy with how the novel ended, it felt like the right conclusion for this kind of story. Vivi to me, is the kind of person you meet but once in your life and you're never quite the same as a result.

While reading this novel you got to learn about untranslatable words which I'm now fascinated by. I love it when books have information like that. It adds to the entire reading experience.

I'd definitely recommend this for fans of All The Bright Places or Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Katie x

Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Name: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Pages: 624
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1-4088-5788-5
Rating: 5/5 (But let's be serious, there isn't a number high enough)

This is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. My review for the first book is here.

Sarah J. Maas is the queen of angsty love and apparently steamy romances. Oh my.

So this book virtually carries straight on from the first novel with Feyre struggling to come to terms with what happened Under the Mountain. Completely understandable. The novel from there takes a completely different direction but I couldn't be more happy with it. This was absolutely amazing. Looking back on the novel I feel that this instalment has even more Beauty and the Beast elements than the first one. Getting to see more of the different Courts in Pyrthian was so interesting.  They all sound so beautiful. The vastness of the land is unbelievable, I don't know how Sarah manages it.

Rhysand is my favourite. He's such a complex character. That is all.

The shape the story is taking really intrigues me. How the two lands come together in the novel is done so well. I'm so excited to see how everything plays out in the next novel(s). OH. The fight scenes and magic wielding is amazing. A good action scene makes me very happy and this book is full of them. FULL OF THEM.

Can we take a brief moment for this cover.... Thank you.

Have you read this? No? WHY THE HELL NOT?

Katie x


Now for the spoiler discussion.




** SPOLIERS**

**FINAL WARNING**

I was very much ready to throat punch Tamlin. How could he not see that Feyre was wasting away both physically and mentally before him? Because he treated her like a butterfly to delicate to do anything and nearly suffocated her. Enter Rhysand. The glorious, wonderful, complex Rhysand. I adore him and Feyre together. Feysand FTW.

Velaris. It sounds like such a beautiful place, I need to go but I can't which makes me so sad. Also the Summer Court sounds awesome. Even if they now hate the Night Court.

Rhys' inner circle is wonderful. Mor, I want her to be my best friend and I want Cassian and Azriel to be my older brothers. The new characters introduced were absolutely fantastic, I can't wait to read more about them.

How this book ended reminded me so much of the cliffhanger of Throne of Glass. We get this massive revelation and then have to wait..

Why so long?!

Anyway.

Tell me what you thought of A Court of Mist and Fury.

Review: The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

Name: The Fire Sermon
Author: Francesca Haig
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Voyager
ISBN: 9780007563081
Rating: 4/5

Ever since the blast only twins were born. One perfect and pristine, the Alpha and one that had some form of deformity. Sometimes it isn't always visible, Cass knows this. She's an Omega, a seer. Someone who has visions. For years no-one could tell if Cass was the Omega or if her twin Zach was. Something that he resented massively and led him down a path of destruction.

This seemed to take an age to get going but once it did I was hooked. I stayed up until 1:30 to finish this. So worth it. The latter half of the novel was amazing. So action packed with so many twists and turns. I didn't cry but I was very close to doing so. The premise is amazing. I love the idea of only twins being born, so clever.

Cass is great. She's such a different character in comparison to the others in the novel. She has such a unique perspective. Its great how she isn't infallible even though she's a seer. We learn things as she does which makes the novel really enjoyable to read. Her relationship with Kip is adorable, they work together as a unit so well.

Have you read this?

Katie x

Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Name: Passenger
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Pages: 486
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 978-1-78654-000-3
Rating: 4.5/5

Etta has been waiting for her violin debut for years and its finally just around the corner. However, in her warmup concert she's dragged into the world of time travellers, pirates and family feuds. Not exactly what she wanted to happen.

Read it. Quite simply read it.

I can't remember reading a book about time travel but I want to read all of them now! This has definitely whet my appetite for more time travel. I love the periods picked out to feature in the novel too, they're so cool! The way time travel worked in this book was really well explained too. It wasn't far fetched in the sense that it wasn't foolproof and there were always issues when travelling from one time to another. For example wearing clothes from that time.

I liked Etta as a character but she sometimes irritated me. I can't place my finger on why yet but something in the back of my mind keeps telling me theres an issue. I appreciated how driven she was whether it was about playing the violin or saving those she cares about. She's definitely wiling to do whats necessary. Her interactions with the other characters were some of my favourite scenes. Particularly when she came to the defence of Nick.

** "Oh my God, you are despicable!" Etta snarled.

"Careful, madam, blasphemy is still a sin -"

Even if Nicholas had been the gambling sort, he never would have wagered a single coin on her next words being "Then I guess I'll see you in hell!"**

Imagine me sat in a very quite room on holiday surrounded by pensioners quietly reading, then upon reading that bursting out in a cackle that would put Bellatrix Lestrange to shame. Yes. That happened.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was how quickly you were thrown into the action. With a lot of first novels in a series they take time to get into the crux of the story because there's so much information to tell the reader. This backstory was weaved throughout the novel which worked a lot better. No massive info dump.

Basically I'm horrified that I need to wait until until January 2017 to get the next book. I need it now.

Have you read this?

Katie x

May Wrap Up

Sorry this post is a little late! When I was due to write it I ended up super ill. I still had to work as normal so by the time I got home the only thing I wanted to do was sleep.

I didn't read many books last month but what I did read I really enjoyed.

1. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken.

I loved this so much. A real enjoyable read that kept me hooked. I'll have a review up for it soon.

2. Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig.

This had such a cool concept, I've never really read a book about twins. Especially not a fantasy one. I'll have a review up for it soon.

3. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.

OMG.

4. When We Collided by Emery Lord.

This was such a cute book! I'll have a review up for it soon.

5. Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris 3.5/5

I enjoyed this but I didn't love it. I liked that Loki narrated his own rise and fall and his personality but for some reason I just struggled to want to read this. It wasn't a book that I couldn't put down. I tended to read a few pages then I'd get distracted.

Those are the books I read in May.

What did you read?

Katie x

May Book Haul

I was naughty. I know.

1. Overbite by Meg Cabot.

This is the second novel in Meg Cabot's Insatiable Duology. Mean has the ability to predict how everyone she meets will die. Then she meets Lucien, the guy who death she can't see. For the first time she can see herself having a future with someone but it doesn't exactly go to plan.

2. This Savage Song by V.E Schwab.

OMG. OMG. OMG. More V.E Schwab-y goodness. Kate and August are about to inherit a divided city and all the problems that come with monsters and humans trying to live together. Chaos ensues.

3. Unbecoming by Jenny Downham.

This sounds like a cross between contemporary and a thriller. Secrets to be revealed, forbidden romance and all the wonderfulness.

4. Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz.

A novella from the wonderful Blue Bloods Series. A vampire/ incarnate angel type breed of people are among the highest class in society and they're being hunted.

5. Gates of Paradise by Melissa de la Cruz.

The seventh novel in the Blue Bloods series.

6. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

Book characters that carry on living once you put the book down. IT'S TOY STORY IN BOOK FORMAT.

7. The Vegetarian by Han Kang.

The Man Booker Prize winner of 2016. I know very little except a lady may turn into a tree?

8. The Last Star by Rick Yancey.

The last novel in The 5th Wave series. The others have invaded earth and are systematically wiping out the humans in a series of wave. The fourth has been and gone, the 5th is on its way but no-one knows what it is.

9.  A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.

This needs  no introduction.

10. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

A book that follows the sidekicks not the 'chosen one.'

11. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I pretty much know nothing about this novel except for it has a lot of Russian folklore in it and magic. Sold!

12. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater.

The fourth book in the Raven Cycle.

13. The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente.

Basically, my colleague placed this in my hands and said you need it.

14. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan.

Apollo has lost his powers and has been sent to live amongst the humans. With the help of the people in camp half blood he must try to regain his powers.

Those are all the books I bought in May!

What books did you get?

Katie x