Review: Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Name: Golden Son
Author: Pierce Brown
Pages: 442
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Del Ray Books (US)
ISBN: 978-1-444-75903-7
Rating: 5/5

I'm not going to give a synopsis of this as its the second instalment in the Red Rising Trilogy and I'd hate to spoil anything for you. Instead, I'll just begin my fangirling again. 

The character development in this instalment was brilliant, the situations they were put in really displayed their beliefs and morals. I adore the Telemanuses, Kavax is my favourite without a doubt. The inclusion of the jelly bean eating fox Sophocles showed how gentle these lumbering giants could be. I mean who wouldn't want a jelly bean eating fox? Sevro. How can I profess my love for him without sounding like a deranged lune? Simply, I can't. His undying loyalty is phenomenal. I like how to most he's just a foulmouthed Goblin that scratches his balls far more than is healthy but Darrow sees the wisdom in him, the emotion. I swear, if Pierce Brown pulls a George R R Martin and kills off most of the characters I love I will riot. 

I really want to know how Pierce manages to keep up with everything that is going on politically with this book. I have never seen so many switches of loyalty, so much back stabbing and plans within plans. Golden Son is the film Inception when it comes to layers. 

Plans within plans within plans within plans within plans. 

How can one person manage to create such complexity without going insane?!

I don't believe I mentioned the technology in my review of Red Rising so I will address that in this one. Son of a biscuit. It's so cool, I love the idea of gravBoots, Razors, pulseFists of all of it. Yet it isn't infallible making the world far more believable. 

The ending of this book left me in tatters. All of the happiness leached out of me leaving only a human husk. However, it was brilliant. So well done, even if I now want to curse the creator and have mild anxiety awaiting Morning Star. 

Have you read Golden Son?

Katie x

Now to fangirl. 

*** SPOILERS***

**THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. SPOILERS**

OH MY GOD. 

Servo knows. He knows Darrow is a Red but still loves him anyway. 

Fitchner is Ares. I love it. I love it all. It makes perfect sense now why he chose Darrow for House Mars. But the ending. Poor Fitchner. I cried sobbed. 

I can't deal with Mustang. She wanted to know what Darrow was hiding so he told her and showed her everything but she couldn't cope with it. 

Roque. Son of a bitch. I knew it. I bloodydamn knew it. 

I don't know how I'm going to cope with the two month wait. I really don't. 

Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Name: Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Pages: 382
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Del Ray Books (US)
ISBN: 978-1-444-75899-3
Rating: 5/5

Darrow is a Red. A Helldiver of Mars. A pioneer who has the foundations of society resting on his back. Only by bravely drilling for the Helium-3 can the Reds make Mars habitable for the rest of the Colours, the softer Colours. This belief is shattered when he discovers that Mars has been habitable for generations and ruled by the highest of all Colours, the Golds. Prime. Now Darrow has been tasked with infiltrating the Golds, becoming one of them and destroying them from the inside.

I tell you now this is going to be a small review and then a helluva lot of fangirling.

Never before have I read a book that has gripped me by the throat, and cut of my bloodydamn air supply as I read it. I was captivated from the very first page. Darrow's narration throughout the entire novel was phenomenal. The first person narrative demonstrated Darrow's inner turmoil brilliantly. He was meant to hate these Golds that have turned his people into slaves yet he feels such strong loyalties to certain characters.

For those who are not aware anything with slight inclinations towards Greek or Roman culture is my jam. I studied Classical Civilisations at A-Level and have a place to study Archaeology next year. Which is why the spelling of Demokracy made me so happy. It's so close to the original 'Demokratia' (Demos: people and Kratus: power.) More wonderful Classical-ness, Praetor and Imperator were positions in Roman politics. Praetor being the chap in charge of part of an army or a magistrate. The Peerless Scarred very much reminded me of a futuristic Praetorian Guard, without Sejanus being a pain. (Classics humour.) I find myself wondering if Mickey the Carver was a reference to Michaelangelo. Admittedly, my favourite aspect relating to Classics, aside form the inclusion of mythology was the rivalry between Tiberius au Bellona and Nero au Augustus. There was considerable friction between the actual Tiberius and Augustus. The people loved Augustus and deified him upon death but poor Tiberius was not deified and the chant "To the Tiber with Tiberius" was a popular one.

Moving on from my Greek/Roman fangirling. The references to other books were great, in particular the inclusion of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. One of my favourite books with a rather gruesome topic of children losing their humanity and attacking one another. Much like the Houses are forced to do to win ArchPrimus.

Characters. Sevro. I love him. He is the snarky little bastard everyone thinks is useless but my God does he show them up. #foreveraHowler I love his couldn't give a **** attitude and his undying loyalty to Darrow through everything. Having been referred to as a Goblin myself for my height I read the book permanently rooting for him to show everyone up. Us Goblins gotta stick together.

The plot. God have mercy on your nerves as you read. Fast paced and action packed but interspersed with great character building moments. I needed those desperately. I was getting 'The WalkingDead syndrome' every time a character left the main group.

I would recommend this to anyone. It's been described as having Hunger Games elements which I see but the story is so much more than that. Its a fight for power from the very bottom of society and a fight for the very top because how the hell can you win a game when the victor has been chosen since the beginning?

1. Red Rising
2. Golden Son
3. Morning Star (coming February)

Katie x

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

You know I mean business with a book when I break out the Toy Story meme. The only other book to gain this ever so high honour was Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.

Yep. Red Rising is that good.

Right so my favourite ship has to be Mustang and Darrow. They are so damn feisty. Honestly, I just think she's fabulous. Isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and a kick ass female. #Darstang (Sounds like Durmstrang Academy)

Sevro and Fitchiner related? Hell yeah. Those born without the beauty/stature of a Gold but are probably the most cut throat. I doubt you'll read this. Pierce Brown is anything happens to Sevro I will be inconsolable. That is all.

I must admit I'm still waiting Eo to reappear somewhere. Calling her Persephone, yes Hades kidnapped her for a bit but Demeter got her back for a few months!

Pax. The not so gentle giant that wept when he had to hurt his friend.

Mars is a poor mans Ares? Couldn't agree more. Greek myth all the way.

I could go on, and on and on.

Basically read it.

December Book Haul

Until I got them all together I didn't realise how books I had acquired this month. Oh my. Oh dear. My poor TBR pile/shelf/mountain...

1. Echo Boy by Matt Haig

I've been eyeing this up for ages and never picked it up.

In this world there are AI's called Echos. Daniel is one of these Echos and has started to develop feelings towards a girl called Audrey that he was never programmed to have. It sounds so interesting and reminds me of the programme Humans.

2. The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris.

This is simply a retelling of Loki's attempt to destroy Asgard but with me being a lover of all mythologies I couldn't not pick it up!

3. Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu.

June is seeking her brothers killer whilst on the run. Day, whilst also on the run meets June. Neither know anything about one another past. But Day murdered June's brother.

4. Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

In all honesty I haven't the foggiest about this one. I saw that Pierce Brown, my new favourite author, had read it and I had a "I MUST HAVE IT" moment. But I'm getting an epic fantasy feel from it with the mention of swords and thieves.

5. Night Clock by Paul Meloy.

Mental illness mixed with fantasy. Sounds intense but amazing. Phil cannot understand why his patients are killing themselves but when he meets Daniel the war that rages on for the minds of humanity is revealed.

6. Cress By Marissa Meyer.

The third book of the Lunar Chronicles that focuses on Rapunzel's retelling.

7. Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

When you can hear everyones thoughts and they can hear yours there are no secrets. No privacy. Then one month before his birthday Todd discovers a place of absolute silence. Is should be impossible.

8. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes.

Three Kingdoms at war. A princess, a sorceress and a rebel must each chose a side.

9. Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan.

Percy doesn't know it but he's the son of Poseidon and destined to attend Camp Half-Blood. A training facility for Demi-Gods. When he finds out all hell breaks loose.

10. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Kvothe has done all that is possible in his life. He has been there, done that and bought the T-Shirt. In Name of the Wind he recounts all of the events of his youth.

11. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.

Yelena had a choice. Death or become the Commander of Ixia's food taster and risk assassination from poison daily.

Those are all the books I have acquired in December. This month I won't be doing a wrap up only because I have reviews planned for all the books I've read so it'd simply be me repeating my fangirling.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas/any holiday you celebrate.

Katie x

Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Name: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Titan Books
ISBN: 9781783295401
Rating: 4/5

Kell is one of the last Antari, blood magicians with the ability to create doors between the three Londons. Once anyone with an semblance of magical ability could travel between the worlds but that was before Black London fell. Now White London is ruled by a set of tyrannical twins who attempt to control what magic they have left, Red London is Kell's home where he was raised alongside the heir to the throne and magic thrives and Grey London where the lack of magic has driven most insane including the ruler. 

Delilah Bard will forever be one of my favourite female characters. Her dry sense of humour is brilliant and her sarcasm is even better. Her interactions with Kell were some of my favourites scenes in the book. However, I both love and hate that as a reader we were never given a full explanation of the significance of what Master Tieren said. (I'm being purposefully vague) I have a theory but to explain it would be a mahoosive spoiler. 

Kell was an enigma in this novel. I liked how he acted and also the conviction he had in his actions. I must say that coat of many sides was a brilliant idea too. I really want one. I wish we'd learned more about Kell's background along with him but after hunting like a mad woman I found out there is a second novel coming out in February 2016, we may find out more about Kell there. I also liked how he didn't really have a love interest, Delilah was a partner in crime more than anything. It created such a different dynamic. 

Now for the plot. I liked how even the side characters had a real purpose in driving the plot forward. Astrid and Athos Dane, though they are horrendous people it was done so very well. (I'm a little biased as I love the name Astrid and have a character named that in my WIP). I thought the overall plot moved very well, consistently making me want to continue reading. The only thing that stopped me from giving this 5/5 was how quickly the ending crept up. Considering the build up, having to pass through each London and encountering some form of problem the ending seemed a little abrupt. 

All in all I really enjoyed A Darker Shade of Magic. I found it to be a quick read with an action packed plot. I fully intend to get A Gathering of Shadows when it comes out.  

Have you read this? What did you think?

Katie x

I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award!

I promise I totally didn't squeal when I saw that I'd been nominated...

Thank you so much to the lovely Gina over at A Thousand Books for nominating me, and thank you to those of you who read my blog, comment, share my love of all things book and fangirl along with me. You are all fabulous and I love you dearly.

Now for the rules:

-Thank the blogger who nominated you.  

- List the rules display the word button.  

- Give seven facts about yourself!  

- Nominate fifteen other bloggers for the award and make sure to notify them!  

- Display the award button on your blog and follow the blogger that nominated you.

My seven facts:

1. My middle name is Jayne. 

2. I work at a bookstore. 

3. Penguins are my favourite animal. 

4. I'm fascinated by mythology and folklore. 

5. I hate bananas. 

6. I am currently trying to write a novel. 

7. Winter is my favourite season to eat ice lollies in. 

The wonderful people I want to nominate are:

Jen @ GameReadBlog

Sinead @Less Reality, More Books

Imogen @ Imogen's Typewriter

Daphne @ Winged Reviews

Renu @ The Page Turner 

Caz @ Little Book Owl

Lucy @ Queen of Contemporary

Stacey @ Pretty Books

Jen @ The Bookavid 

Jennie May @ The Book Journal

These are the people I could think of off the top of my head. All brilliant book bloggers. 

Please leave your blog name in the comments. I'm always on the lookout of more to read. 

Katie x

Review: Snow like Ashes - Sara Raasch

Name: Snow like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (An imprint of Harper Collins)
ISBN: 978-0-06-2286932
Rating: 4.5/5

Primoria is split into different Kingdoms known as the Seasons and the Rhythms. Within these Kingdoms is a magic controlled by a Conduit, an object owned by the ruler of that Kingdom. These conduits allow rulers to give strength to their people, make a harvest yield more, anything that will benefit their people. The Leader of Spring became power mad and virtually enslaved all the Winterians except for 25 that escaped the night he attacked. Now the number of these refugees had dwindled to a mere 8 that are still searching for both halves of the conduit they believe can restore their land and help them overthrow Spring.

Sara Raasch's writing is on par with Sarah J. Maas. Coming from me that is a compliment of the highest calibre. Her characters are wonderfully written, relatable and above all aren't perfect which I personally love. The world building is done very well, there's always a risk with the first book in a series that an information overload will occur but Raasch weaves in the details of Primoria almost imperceptibly.

The plot and ideas are glorious. The idea of a land split by the Seasons is something I can't recall seeing in YA or Fantasy before now. A very fresh idea. I will admit it took me a while to really knuckle down and read because I felt like the beginning was somewhat slow (The only reason this isn't 5/5) however I decided late on night to try and finish it. All the way through the novel there are hints about what occurs at the end (I won't say what it is cause spoilers) but that doesn't become apparent until the plot twist. I find plot twists somewhat cliche most of the time though I loved the way this one was done.

Meira. The kick-ass female that proves everyone wrong. The way she interacts with other characters is hilarious, she will not back down if she has a point or is she feels hard done too. Her friendship with Mather is adorable and as a reader I wanted them together as much as they wanted to get together. Mather reminds me of Cal from Red Queen. A future ruler who feels the weight of the world on their shoulders and wants nothing more than to remove the pressure.

I could go on and on about this novel but I'll be here for days.

I would highly recommend this to fans of the Throne of Glass series or Red Queen.

Have you read this?

Katie x

Five Seven Five by C.E. Wilson

Name: Five Seven Five
Author: C.E. Wilson
Pages: 205
Format: E-Book
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN:978-1517527655
Rating: 4/5

"When an accident threatens White Frost’s only chance of learning the truth about her rigid society, she knows that she has to take a risk. Putting her faith in someone she barely knows, White discovers a world above her own – and bigger than she could have ever imagined. It is in this strange new world that she finds out there is so much more to life than darkness and candlelight. There are colors and light that match the mysterious collections of words that have been tantalizing her for months. Blue skies that leak tears. Green grass that expands to a horizon she can’t comprehend. Everything she’s ever wanted is right in front of her, but at what cost? Nothing is free and she begins to realize too late that all information comes at a price."

**I received a free copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review**

This book was nothing like I expected. I was anticipating something like the Hunger Games or Divergent but what I read leant more towards R.J Anderson's Faery Rebels series.

I liked the plot, I felt it moved with a good consistent pace. I did have to take a moment to digest the truth about the Creators along with White, which is always a sign of a good book. I wasn't emotionally rung out by the end of the novel which I am very grateful for considering the turmoil I've been put through by books recently. (Red Rising, I'm pointing the finger at you. Review for that to some soon.) Five Seven Five was a really enjoyable and easy read. 

Can I say how much I love the title of the book and also the series? It's wonderfully ambiguous but when you read the book and have the 'lightbulb moment' it's lovely.  The boy with words kind of reminds me of the nickname Peeta gets in hunger games, boy with the bread. 

White. She's just so damn cool. I think she's a character that most people can relate to on some level which is great. She simply wants more out of life. To see a colour that isn't grey or black. A natural colour. And she just wants to eat mashed carrots though truthfully I prefer mine raw. I really like the name of the characters too. Shade, Salt, White. My favourite though has to be Kestrel. I probably profess my love for the names of characters in most reviews but I'm a sucker for a nice name. 

Overall, I'd highly recommend this for fans of the Faery Rebels, the Borrowers and to an extent the Hunger Games. 

Available for purchase on Amazon as an Ebook and Paperback.