Saturday 30 August 2014

Bookish Musings - Neglecting Books

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Stacie is talking about the books she has been neglecting and how much pressure she has been putting on her self to read..

Bookish Musings - Reviewing: What, How, Why and When..

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about how her reading and reviewing habits have changed recently, and how now, she's not reviewing every book she reads.. say what?

Thursday 28 August 2014

Book Review - The 100

The 100
Author: Kass Morgan
Series: The Hundred #1
Genres: Dystopian, Space | Young Adult
Release Date: September 3rd 2013
Publishers: Little Brown
No. Pages: 323
Source: Review Copy - Little Brown
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

Book Review - Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd August 2012
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 404
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Book Review - Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire
Author: Josephine Angelini
Series: The Worldwalker Trilogy #1
Genres: ParanormalWitches | Young Adult
Release August 28th 2014
Publishers: Macmillan Children's Books
No. Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy - Macmillan Children's Books
Rating: 
Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

Book Review - Cress

Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th February 2014
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 550
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Monday 25 August 2014

Book Review - Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Childrens
Release Date: 30th April 2007
Publishers: Disney-Hyperion
No. Pages: 265
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.

Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.

Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honour or simply a cruel joke.

Saturday 23 August 2014

Book Review - Lament

Lament
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Books of Faerie #1
Genres: Fairies | Young Adult
Release October 8th 2008
Publishers: Scholastic
No. Pages: 356
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
Sixteen-year-old Dee is a cloverhand - someone who can see faeries. When she finds herself irresistibly drawn to beautiful, mysterious Luke, Dee senses that he wants something more dangerous than a summer romance.

But Dee doesn't realize that Luke is an assassin from the faerie world.

And she is his next target.

Personal Pickings - A New Perspective

Personal Pickings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to approach subject personal to us that has no link or connection to our bookish endeavors. Today, Amanda is talking about the stress she puts on herself to read, blog and - well, you can guess the rest..

Thursday 21 August 2014

Book Review - Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas 
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Genres: High Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: August 7th 2012
Publishers: Bloomsbury  Children's
No. Pages: 404
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Film Review - The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief
Director(s): Chris Columbus
Genres: Mythology, Fantasy | Childrens, Young Adult
Duration: 118 minutes
Release Date: 12th Febuary 2010
IMDB Rating: 
Butterfly Rating: 
Trailer: See Here
It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's Mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Book Review - The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Childrens
Release Date: 4th May 2006
Publishers: Disney-Hyperion
No. Pages: 375
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school.. again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Book Review - You Are Here

You Are Here
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: May 19th 2009
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 256
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Emma Healy has grown used to being the only ordinary one in her rather extraordinary family. But when she finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she realizes why she never felt quite whole. She sets off on a trip to visit her brother's grave. Peter Finnegan, her neighbor, comes along for the ride. Emma thinks they can't possibly have anything in common, but with each passing mile, they find themselves learning more and more about themselves and each other

Book Review - Middle Ground

Middle Ground
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Series: Awaken #2
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 13th November 2013
Publishers: HMH Books
No. Pages: 336
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
For four weeks Maddie has been living in Los Angeles, trying to be good. But no matter how hard she tries, something inside her won't be sated. She can't live a life of half-truths and false pretenses. So one night, she says how she really feels..

That's all it takes. One night. One bad decision, and Maddie is thrown into a detention center where she's forced to undergo secretive treatment meant to squash her rebellious streak. The powers that be call it rehabilitation. Maddie calls it torture.

Alone, Maddie will not survive. But if she can find something to hold on to - an image of Justin, their love - maybe she can fight. And if she's really lucky, maybe she'll even win.

Saturday 16 August 2014

Bookish Musings - DNF

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Stacie is talking about why sometimes its not easy for her to put a book in the DNF pile and how it's starting to have an impact on here reviews..

Thursday 14 August 2014

Book Review - Doll Bones

Doll Bones
Author: Holly Black & Eliza Wheeler
Standalone
Genres: Horror, Mystery | Middle Grade
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Publishers: Margaret K. McElderry Books
No. Pages: : 247
Source: Review Copy - Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Book Review - Dangerous Boys

Dangerous Boys
Author: Abigail Haas
Standalone
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 14th August 2014
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 336
Source: Review Copy - Abigail Haas
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?

Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there - a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces..

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Blog Tour Review/Giveaway - Not Quite Dead


Huge thank you to Xpresso Reads for allowing me to host this Blog Tour.

Note Quite Dead
Author: Lyla Payne
Series: A Lowcountry Ghost Story #1
Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary | New Adult, Adult
Release Date: 1st April 2014
Publishers: Createspace
Source: Review Copy - Xpresso Book Tours
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
A broken engagement sends Graciela Harper crawling back to Heron Creek with her tail between her legs, but finds the sleepy little town too changed to set her life right. Not even her budding drinking problem can obscure her Gramps’s failing health, or erase the mental picture of her first love happily married to her childhood best friend. To top it all off, she’s having a heck of time convincing the town’s dashing young mayor of her unfit-for-dating status.

When the ghost of 18th century lady pirate Anne Bonny starts insisting on a near daily audience, Graciela has to confront something else she never expected - being certifiably nuts at twenty-five years old. Her brand new "I don’t give a crap" attitude makes it easy to dismiss the mysterious threats that seem to be tied to her search for more information on the long dead pirate, but when her family becomes a target, Gracie knows she needs to find out why the ghost insists on being a constant, reeking companion.

If Graciela can put aside her prejudice against people without a pulse, she may discover that Anne Bonny’s problems are intricately linked with her own. The past harbors answers could help the cantankerous spirit find closure, but she is, after all, already dead. If Graciela doesn't move fast, she might find herself doing the haunting, instead of the other way around.

Monday 11 August 2014

Book Review - The Forever Song

The Forever Song
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #3
Genres: Dystopia, Vampires | Young Adult
Release Date: May 1st 2014
Publishers: Harlequin Teen
No. Pages:  378
Source:  Purchased
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Vengeance will be hers.

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

Monster.

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

THE FINAL HUNT IS ON.

Saturday 9 August 2014

Book Review - Dangerous Boys

Dangerous Boys
Author: Abigail Haas
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller | Young Adult
Release Date: August 14th 2014
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
No. Pages: 336
Source: Review Copy - Simon & Schuster
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Caitlin Kasprov drags one Donnelly brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder? Caitlin is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…

Bookish Musings - Patience is Power and I GOT THE POWER!

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about having the patience to wait for sequels, new releases and everything bookish. It's called being an awesome person, take a seat and learn from the master..

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Book Review - We Were Liars

We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: May 13th 2014
Publishers: Delacorte Press
No. Pages: 240
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE

Film Review - Catching Fire


Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
Genres: Science Fiction | Young Adult
Duration: 146 minutes
Release Date: 22nd November 2013
IMDB Rating: 
Butterfly Rating: 
Trailer: See Here
A year after winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and her partner, Peeta Mellark must go on what is known as the Victor's Tour wherein they visit all the districts. But before leaving, Katniss is visited by President Snow who fears that Katniss defied him a year ago during the games when she chose to die with Peeta. With both Katniss and Peeta declared the winners, it is fueling a possible uprising. He tells Katniss that while on tour she better try to make sure that she puts out the flames.. else everyone she cares about will be in danger.

Can Katniss prove her undying love for Peeta, or will she add more fuel to the fire?

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Book Review - Mockingjay

Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games #3
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 25th August 2010
Publishers: Scholastic
No. Pages: 458
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - except Katniss. The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.

Monday 4 August 2014

Bookish Musings - TV & Film

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Stacie is talking about why she doesn't feel that books should be made into films, but ever once in a while she comes across a TV program of a film that should thinks would make a brilliant book..

Saturday 2 August 2014

Book Review - Graceling

Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date:January 22nd 2009
Publishers: Gollancz
No. Pages: 352
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?

The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...

Bookish Musings - Book Affairs and One-Night Stands

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about how she went from being a ploygamist reader to a monogamist reader and how it's affecting not only her reading and the amount she reads, but how much she enjoys it too.