Goodbye May - Hello June | Where Is 2015 Going?!

Well, after April's very busy and very exciting month, may as come around and just disappeared before out very eyes. WHERE IS THIS YEAR GOING? It'll be Christmas before you know! Too soon?.. Still, It's been quieter here on the western front, with Amanda holding fort while Stacie dealt with buys life events, so you've been able to relax without the fear of catching up on many, many posts from us when you check in. Here's to a (hopefully), little more exciting month in June!

Five Friday Favourites - Incomplete Series

Feature Details and Participation: Five Friday Favourites
I'm pretty much obsessed with series. Anybody that knows me knows this, and it's impossible not to see all about series on Beautiful Bookish Butterflies. I've talked about my relationship with series and marathoning series, my all time favourite series and saying goodbye to series, in fact, over 60% of my reads this year have been a part of series, and I love them so. There's no getting away from series when it comes to me, and I'm one of the few (it seems) readers who just can't stop lapping them up, so of course, I have a few firm favourites that aren't quote complete just yet, and I'm waiting extremely impatiently to finish them, and then attempt to let them go. Here's just five of those special series.

Book Review - A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Genres: Fantasy | New Adult
Release Date: 7th May 2015
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury
Rating:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin - one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae.

But with an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, Feyre must find a way to stop it..
or doom Tamlin - and his world - forever.

This book and/or review may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due its use of language, sexual content, drug and alcohol abuse and/or violence. Please bare this in mind before reading.

Sometimes, books just don't impress you. No matter your expectations, nor the authors talent, the story itself can just feel, flat, and to me, that is what ACOTAR felt like. Flat. Unimpressive. A little, meh. Don't get me wrong, Maas' talent and writing still sings to me in a way many other authors couldn't even begin to dream of doing, and her talent of crafting stories in a way that always keeps me additively reading is commendable, if not fabulous, and yet ACOTAR felt miles away from any of my few expectations, and that's not a good thing. As featured with Deep Blue and The Rain, ACOTAR will be reviewed in the only way feels right to me..

Book Review - Steelheart

Steelheart
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Series: Reckoners #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th September 2013
Source: Borrowed
Rating:

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics.. nobody but the Reckoners.

A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

By now I think that everyone has heard about or read something by Brandon Sanderson, but I as always came very late to the party. Growing up I've always loved the fantastical worlds more than reality, so I was pretty shocked that I hadn’t heard of him before a few months ago. I first talked about him in Who Wore it Better post, not really knowing who he was or much about his stories but it seemed like after that I noticed him everywhere. I'm not even exaggerating with you, I started watching Booktube finally (late again) and it was like everyone and their next door neighbour was talking about him. So what did I do? I like any other normal person searched high and low for any of his book until I finally I hunted down Steelheart, I prepared myself for what was sure to be an excellent book while still trying to keep my expectations low and I was blown away. He isn't for everyone though, I'm not sure if Amanda would fangirl with me but for me, it was everything I wanted and more.

Popular vs Underrated - Contemporary Edition

Roll up roll up, it's time for another edition of 'Amanda creates a new feature and isn't sure how long it'll last, but hey, let's enjoy the moment while it lasts!' I'm kidding, I've got a feeling this might be a re-occuring feature, hence, I made a snazzy banner to highlight just how regular this could be, but that's not what's important, what's important is recommendations, but recommendations of books you probably had no idea actually existed. These are my favourite recommendations; there's nothing better than seeing someone reading a book they heard about from you and really liking it, it's like giving children candy and it making their day, beautifulness.

Book Review - Because You'll Never Meet Me

Because You'll Never Meet Me
Author: Leah Thomas
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd July 2015
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury Children's Books
Rating:

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine

Everyone who knows me will know just how much I love a good, well written young adult contemporary. I'm always on the look out for the next best thing in the genre ever since getting my first taste of Sarah Dessen and John Green, and once in a while I come across a book that is so different than I expected or I'm left speechless, this everyone is how I felt after I finished Because You'll Never Meet Me. The first time I heard about this book was when I received an email from Lovereading4kids asking if I would like to review it, I skimmed over the summary and thought that I might as well because at the worst way it would just be a quick read. I was wrong, so so wrong. It was a quick read, but I was never prepared for the attachment or emotions I would feel towards the characters.

4 Ways Your Blog Can Benefit Your Résumé

We all have CV's and résumé's, most of them are more than likely a little out of date, not very exciting and lacking in what could be deemed as interesting information about ourselves. God forbid we actually shared a little something personal about ourselves when applying for a job, employers are much more interested in why we enjoy socialising with friends lazy nights in with our cat, or actively seeking out new and exciting opportunities doing whatever job will hire you until you get bored and find another.

If you run a blog, you're missing out on great résumé content!