Literary List #6 - Favourite Supporting Characters

When I'm reading I sometimes find that I love one of the supporting characters just as much, if not more than the main character. It doesn't happen often but when it does it sticks in my mind. These characters I'm about to mention are some of my favourite supporting characters.

1. Sevro au Barca from Pierce Brown's Red Rising. Review

Servo has to be one of my favourite characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. He's loud, obnoxious, rude, swears like a sailor and I love him. He sounds awful but bear with me. He's also fiercely loyal, scarily sneaky and hella funny. I cried reading his lines.

2. Jin from Alwyn Hamilton's Rebel of the Sands. (Review coming soon)

Jin is wonderfully sarcastic. I really like reading about characters with a witty sense of humour. 

 3. Sammy from Rick Yancey's 5th Wave. Review

He's just so damn adorable. For such a young character he shows a lot of maturity. He just gets on with life even though there's an alien invasion currently occurring.

 4. Delilah Bard from V.E Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic. Review

She has to be one of my favourite strong female characters. She's kick ass, funny, smart and doesn't take any **** from anyone. You go girl.

 5. Merek from Melinda Sailsbury's The Sin Eater's Daughter.

Such an awesome guy. I love how his character developed throughout the novel and his role in the second instalment of this series, The Sleeping Prince. (Review to come soon)

Who are some of your favourite supporting characters?

Katie x

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Name: All the Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Pages: 378
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 978-0-141-35703-4
Rating: 5/5

Violet is struggling to cope with the sudden death of her sister. Finch is simply struggling. When a school project forces them to work together an unlikely but powerful friendship is formed. Slowly but surely Finch helps Violet feel more like her old self but Finch seems to be sinking deeper and deeper.

First of all I want to emphasise how much I loved Finch and Violet both together and separately. Their relationship wasn't perfect, they argued and to me that made it all the more believable. Finch is by far one of the smartest and most witty characters I have ever come across but he still has a wonderful sense of humour. The way he reinvented himself so many times was such a cool addition to the novel. I'm going to go all 'Lit Studenty' now, please forgive me, I felt like it really cemented how he seemed to have no clue of who he actually was. Really clever. I like how Violet interacted with him, she didn't push him away like everyone else did because he was different. She embraced it.

I would like to commend Jennifer Niven on how she handled such a harrowing topic. Suicide should never be romanticised and I felt that it was portrayed very well in this novel. Particularly the after effects and how it affects the family/friends.

The plot was just fantastic. Reading it I could tell where it was going but I still felt blindsided by the ending. I texted one of my best friends about it and told him I was "ugly crying like Kim Kardashian." I then suffered an epic book hangover. I felt like this novel had elements similar to Paper Towns by John Green in that there was a set of clues one of the characters had to follow. In this story though I really liked it, it made the novel all the more heart wrenching. (I legit tweeted Jennifer Niven both cursing and praising her for writing this book.)

I would highly suggest this for fans of The Fault In Our Stars or Thirteen Reasons Why.

Trigger warning for depression and suicide.

Have you read this novel?

What did you think of it?

Katie x

Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Name: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Pages: 440
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Hachette
ISBN: N/A
Rating: 4/5

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

Glass Sword is the second book of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen Series so I won't give details of the plot. Instead I shall spend a good amount of time explaining why I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

More characters were introduced in this instalment further developing the world and also the relationships between characters that already existed. I particularly loved Nanny and Ada. We also got to see more of Mare's emotional state which was interesting, if awfully harrowing. Considering everything she went through in the previous novel I expected her to be a lot more twisted and vengeful yet all she wants to do is help as many people as possible. A fact that everyone around her seems to forget and criticise her on when her aims conflict with their own. I spent a lot of time shouting at the book when this happened. 

Cal was also an intriguing character in this novel. We were constantly, or at least I was, waiting for him to throw in the towel and go it alone. It was easy to see the moments where he started to question everything and even easier to see the moments where Mare internally questioned him. The fact that their bloods are different remains a constant barrier and reminder they don't have the same 'people'. A fact this battle brings out more and more. 

Plot wise I enjoyed it but I felt it was an awfully long book for what actually happened. It supposedly takes places over about a month or so (I'm not entirely sure of the time line.) I felt like it could've been condensed by about 100 pages and it would've read a lot faster. The beginning was particularly slow. What I did think was wonderful was the reoccurrence of 'anybody can betray anyone.' I never felt like any character could be 100% trusted which was really exciting when you find out what actually happens. 

My god I don't know if I can wait for the next one...

Katie x

P.S sorry for no Literary List this week. They'll resume as normal next Saturday. 

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Name: The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancey
Pages: 457
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 978-0-141-35255-8
Rating: 4/5

The Others have come to Earth, so far there have been four waves all with the aim of eradicating the human population. No-one knows what the 5th wave will be. The only thing Cassie knows is that she made a promise to her brother, one that she intends to keep no matter the consequence.

I can't remember the last time I read a book about an alien invasion but I plan to read more now!

The characters in this novel were so realistic. I really loved the fact that we got to know a little about them prior to the attack as it showed just how much they'd changed. Cassie's little brother was so sweet, I thought it was brilliant how he brought some of the characters together. The writing style gave more of an insight into how the characters reacted and felt during the invasion. It was nice to see how they each coped with the situations they were put in. It was great that they weren't perfect either, each of them had some for of issue or flaw. I always like that in the characters I read about.

The plot. Quite simply, awesome. How everything linked together in the end was done so so well. It moved with good pace and had plenty of action. Like I said earlier I've never read much about aliens but with the movie coming out I thought I'd give it a go. I love Chloe Moretz and Nick Robinson.

Definitely going to continue on with this series.

Have you read this or are planning to go and watch the movie?

Katie x

Literary List #5 - Valentines Day Recommends

 Considering Valentines day is this Sunday I figured that I'd recommend some books to read on the day whether you're in a relationship or not.

1. Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon.

Renee had never known anyone that had died. She was a normal sixteen year old girl until she found her parents bodies in a forest. Now she must leave behind the life she knew and attend Gottfried Academy. It's here that she meets Dante. Renee finds herself drawn to him like theres an invisible tether between them. However, she doesn't know everything about him. She doesn't know the one thing that makes him fear for her life.

 2. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Everywhere teenagers are coming back to life. They just won't stay dead, but when they come back they're never the same. They're feared, hated and in some places ostracised from society. So when Phoebe falls for Tommy, the leader of the dead kids no-one can believe. Especially not her best friend Adam, the guy who would do anything for the girl he loves.

 3. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Grace has always watched the wolves in her back garden. One in particular has always caught her attention, the yellow-eyed wolf. Sam lives two lives. In winter he lives with his pack watching a girl from the woods, in summer he is a boy. When Grace first meets Sam she is struck by how familiar he seems, where she has seen those yellow eyes before.

4. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. 

I include this for those who don't want a romantic read. 

Frankie has changed a lot in a year, enough that she now has a gorgeous boyfriend who's a senior. The one thing that hasn't changed is her intelligence and inability to take no for an answer. Two things that make her hate the fact she's excluded from her boyfriend's secret society simply because she's a girl. Thing is she's smarter than all of them. 

 5.  Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt.

After a car crash leaves her best friend dead, Jenna is scarred and not just emotionally. She tries to rebuild her life but every glimpse of her scar makes her want to hide herself from the world even more. Then she meets Ryan. For the first time someone actually mentions her scar and it isn't the worst thing to talk about it. Ryan and Jenna for a friendship that slowly turns to something more. Then someone finds a body.

That's it for this weeks Literary List.

Have you read any of these?

Katie x

January Wrap Up

I'm really pleased with what I read this month, two graphic novels and five novels. I read the Danish Girl by David Ebershoff but leant it out to a friend which is why it isn't in this picture.

1. Lumberjanes Volume 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Stevenson, Ellis, Watters & Allen 4.5/5.

I absolutely love this graphic novel series. It's so much fun. A group of friends attend a summer camp and get into all sorts of mischief with supernatural creatures.

2. Lumberjanes Volume 2: Friendship to the Max by Stevenson, Ellis, Watters & Allen 5/5.

I enjoyed this volume a little more as we were given more information and the story progressed greatly. I love the art style too! It's just so fun and bright.

3. The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff 3.5/5

I'll be the first to admit this isn't the sort of book I usually read but the topic matter sounded so interesting. It follows the first transgender women Lily Elbe and the lady she was married to before she understood that she was transgender. I really enjoyed this but as I say it isn't what I usually read which is why I found it difficult to get into.

4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

War of the worlds for teenagers. The Others arrived and began to wipe out the human race with a series of waves.
I have a review planned for this so I will got more in-depth there.

5. Floodlands by Marcus Sedgwick 3.5/5

I adore Marcus Sedgwick's writing however I always struggle to get invested in such a short story. The gist of the novel is that the sea has risen to the point that Norwich is now an island, one that Zoe is desperate to get off and find her parents.

6. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

Again I plan on doing a review for this one.

7. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard.

This is amazing. I have had a review ready for a good while now will be posting it very soon.

What books did you read this month?

Katie x

Liebster Award 2016

Thank you to the lovely Tabitha over at Tabitha Reads Books for nominating me for the Liebster Award 2016. Over the past year I've loved delving into the book blogging world so this means a lot.

Now for the rules:

1. Thank the blog that nominated you for the Liebster Award 2016 
2. Nominate up to 11 nominees to receive the award. Must have 200 followers or less
3. Answer the 11 questions that the blog who nominated you asked in their post 
4. Tell your readers 11 random facts about yourself 
5. Give your nominees 11 questions to answer within their Liebster Award

Questions Tabitha asked me:

1. If you could only save one book from a major fire, what book would that be? 
2. What's your favourite animal? 
3. What's is your career goal? What do you want to be? 
4. Do you watch any booktubers? If so, who is your favourite? 
5. What's the best book you have read so far this year? 
6. What's your all time favourite series? 
7. If you could time travel, would you go forward or backwards in time? 
8. What Hogwarts house are you in? 
9. Vampires or Werewolfs? 
10. What are you currently reading? 
11. Whats on your TBR for this month? 

My Answers:

1. I hate having to chose like this, I feel like I'm choosing my favourite child. I'd have to say Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I absolutely adore it. 
2. Tied between Penguins and Sloths. 
3. Truthfully I'd love o be an author. I've always loved writing. 
4. I do! Many. Katytastic, Jessethereader, Peruseproject, abookutopia, tashopolis... the list goes on. 
5. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. (Review coming soon)
6. Gah. The choosing again. I can't pick one. So I'm going to say Spooks by Joseph Delaney, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (AKA Queen) and the Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown. 
7. Backwards! I'd love to see how the ancient Greeks lived. 
8. Gryffindor. 
9. Werewolves. 
10. The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Sailsbury. 
11. Morning Star by Pierce Brown. After that I have no clue, I keep a jar with all the books I haven't read. The TBR jar. Though currently it's more of a jar of shame... 

11 Facts about me:

1. I work in a bookstore. 

2. I have a dog called Charlie. 

3. Hercules is my favourite disney film. 

4. I can count to ten in Japanese. 

5. I have an unhealthy obsession with Reeses Pieces. 

6. I'm miniscule. Like 5'2. 

7. I own more checked shirts than is normal. Virtually one for every day. I could put them on rotation if I wanted. 

8. I'm massively into video games. 

9. I can't go anywhere without a book in my bag. I have one on me at all times. 

10. My middle name is Jayne. 

11. I'm currently trying to write a novel. 

My 11 Questions:

1. If you could have any character as your sidekick who would it be?

2. Favourite season. 

3. What three items would you take to a desert island?

4. Marvel or DC?

5. Favourite author?

6. If you could spend a day in any world from a novel what would it be?

7. Last book you bought?

8. Lucky number?

9. What are you doing for Valentines day?

10. Favourite drink?

11. What would you do in a zombie apocalypse?

My Nominees: 

A Thousand Books

Less Reality, More Books

Gamereadblog

Again thank you to Tabitha!

Katie x

Literary List #4 - Favourite Character Names

I always find myself thinking about the names of characters in books, there are some that I love and others I hate. For this Literary List I figured I'd go with the former. 

1. Vasilisa Dragomir of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy.

 2. Ember of Julie Kagawa's Talon Series.

3. Lief of Melinda Sailsbury's Sin Eater's Daughter. 

4. Rowan of Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series. 

 5. Daenerys of George R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

What character names do you like?

Katie x

January Book Haul

Second part of the bad bad things I did... Sorry not sorry.

1. The Revenant by Michael Punke.

I need to read the book before I see the movie.

2. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Same situation again.

3. Angelfall by Susan Ee.

Angels wreaking havoc on Earth? Sounds like my kind of book.

4. The Fifteen First Lives of Harry August by Claire North.

Harry August dies. A lot. Then he comes back with all the memories of his past lives. This time someone tells him the world is in danger and only he can save it.

5. The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

Mystery with magic involved. Yes. The idea kind of reminds me of Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.

6. Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.

Peggy was taken by her father when she was eight years old to live in a cabin in the woods. But how long will Peggy believe her father?

7. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.

Alternate history. The Axis powers won WW2 and now Germany is in control. Until someone finds a tape of the allies winning the war.

8. City Stained Red by Sam Sykes.

A seedy underworld, religious war and a horde of demons surrounded Lenk and his companions find themselves in.

9. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon.

Book two to the Bone Season series. Paige is a dream walker, because of this her very existence is a crime.

10. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

By now my love of Greek mythology should be abundantly clear.

What books did you get this month?

Katie x