Saturday, 28 February 2015

Book Review - All The Bright Places

All The Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th January 2015
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 400
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. He constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

Friday, 27 February 2015

Book Review - Winner's Curse

The Winner's Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th March 2014
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 368
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love..

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him - with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Five Friday Favourites - Books You Waited To Read



Feature Details and Participation: Five Friday Favourites

Putting books off. We all do it don't we? I know I (Amanda) do it an awful lot and it's a really bad habit that I just can't explain properly. Sometimes I like to avoid new releases because the bandwagon - you know, when you look at your feed and there's around 12 reviews of the same book on the same day, all saying the same thing, yeah, I like to avoid those, but I also tend to avoid popular books, because, you know, they're popular and that's scary.. What if you don't like it? What if people hate you? What if you get kicked out of the community and given your retirement card? Okay, kicked out might be a tad extreme, but it's a serious issue and means that all those books and series people constantly tell me I have to read kind of don't get read, for a looooooong time. However, there are books I grabbed by it's pages and yanked into bed with me for one crazy wild night of amazing, (That does sound a little saucy doesn't it?) that left me wondering why I'd waited so long. Today, myself and Stacie are going to talk about those books and why you really should read them too, minus all of the steamy scenes of course..

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Book Review - How to Love

How to Love
Author: Katie Cotugno
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 1st October 2013
Publishers: Balzer + Bray
No. Pages: 389
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Before:
Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated - and pregnant - Reena behind.

After:
Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Series Review - Spooks Apprentice: Books #2-4

  

The following is a three-book collection of reviews from The Spooks Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.
Each installment is reviewed individually and given a rating reflecting my thoughts on only that installment.
The collection may later contain spoilers concerning events in previous installments. Proceed with caution.

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

Book Review - The Sin Eater’s Daughter

The Sin Eater’s Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Series: The Sin Eater’s Daughter #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: February 24th 2015
Publishers: Scholastic Press
No. Pages: 336
Source: Review Copy - Scholastic Press
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.

She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

Monday, 23 February 2015

My New Best Friend.. Spreadsheets!


Since I've been co-blogging with Stacie, there's been a handful of things that I've changed concerning how I blog and how organised I am - fair enough, I was always a little ahead with reviews and discussions, and by little, I mean around a month in advance, with maybe some holes left open for specific reviews or themed days, it was an easy way to operate. I blogged alone, I had my own space and with that space came the freedom to, well, do whatever the heck I liked, and while the freedom to post what I want and when I want hasn't changed all that much, was has changed is how organised I am.. mainly because, I now have to be.

Sunday, 22 February 2015

Weekly Recap | 16-21 Feb. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews' Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday, 21 February 2015

Book Review - All Fall Down

All Fall Down
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Embassy Row #1
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th Febuary 2015
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating:
Grace can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay - in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

Friday, 20 February 2015

Book Review - Starters

Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Series: Starters #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 13th March 2012
Publishers: Delacorte
No. Pages: 384
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
You can’t get them out of your head.

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie.

Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders - seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter.

Callie soon discovers that her renter intends to do more than party - and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than she could ever have imagined

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Who Wore It Better - Crown of Midnight


Book Review - My Heart and Other Black Holes

My Heart and Other Black Holes
Author: Jasmine Warga
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: February 19th 2015
Publishers: Hodder & Stoughton
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Hodder & Stoughton
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Aysel and Roman are practically strangers, but they've been drawn into an unthinkable partnership. In a month's time, they plan to commit suicide - together.

Aysel knows why she wants to die: being the daughter of a murderer doesn't equal normal, well-adjusted teenager. But she can't figure out why handsome, popular Roman wants to end it all.. and why he's even more determined than she is.

With the deadline getting closer, something starts to grow between Aysel and Roman - a feeling she never thought she would experience. It seems there might be something to live for, after all - but is Aysel in so deep she can't turn back?

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

What Makes The Perfect Review?



Though I don't always come out with something insightful, I like to think that once in a while I'll get a bee in my bonnet about something and the end result is something half way decent. Today, or more so recently, I've been left with the thought of what makes the best book review. I've been blogging for a few years, and in my short but colourful life I've seen people do it so many different ways that I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer, everyone has found a way that works for them so why should it be wrong?

Monday, 16 February 2015

Book Review - Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #3
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd October 2012
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 574
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy - after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera - it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: 'Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me.' Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find - and close - the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side..

Sunday, 15 February 2015

Weekly Recap | 9-14 Feb. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews' Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday, 14 February 2015

Bookish Musings - All You Need Is Love!

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 feeling the love and thought should would get in the spirit of things by sharing some of her favourite romantic books..

Friday, 13 February 2015

Book Review - The Art of Wishing

The Art of Wishing
Author: Lindsay Ribar
Series: The Art of Wishing #1
Genres: Paranormal, Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 21st March 2013
Publishers: Speak
No. Pages: 314
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie - he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.

Thursday, 12 February 2015

Book Review - Soulprint

Soulprint
Author: Megan Miranda
Standalone
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 12th February 2015
Publishers: Bloomsbury Childrens
No. Pages: 368
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury Childrens
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Alina Chase has spent her entire life in confinement. With the science of soul-printing now a reality, she is 'protected' for her own safety - and the safety of others - because her soul has done terrible things.. or so she's told.

When Alina finally breaks out of prison, helped by a group of people with unclear motives, she begins to uncover clues left by her past life that only she can decipher. And she may not be as innocent as she once believed. Can Alina change her future, or is she fated to repeat her past and face the consequences?

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

Bookish Musings - Pointing the Finger at Love Triangles

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, as it's coming up to Valentines Day, talking about love and love triangles, and how she's got some serious issues with them. There's much more to dislike about the other than 'urgh', she knows it well.

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Book Review - The Sky is Everywhere

The Sky is Everywhere
Author: Jandy Nelson
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: February 5th 2015
Publishers: Walker Books
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Walker Books
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two.

Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it.

But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Monday, 9 February 2015

Book Review - The Rain

The Rain
Author: Virginia Bergin
Series: The Rain #1
Genres: Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th July 2014
Publishers: Macmillan
No. Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy - Macmillan
Rating: 
It's in the rain.. and just one drop will kill you.

They don't believe it at first. Crowded in Zach's kitchen, Ruby and the rest of the partygoers laugh at Zach's parents' frenzied push to get them all inside as it starts to drizzle. But then the radio comes on with the warning;

"It's in the rain! It's fatal, it's contagious, and there's no cure."

Two weeks later, Ruby is alone. Anyone who's been touched by rain or washed their hands with tap water is dead. The only drinkable water is quickly running out. Ruby's only chance for survival is a treacherous hike across the country to find her father-if he's even still alive.

Sunday, 8 February 2015

Weekly Recap | 2-7 Feb. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews' Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday, 7 February 2015

Book Review - Unspeakable

Unspeakable
Author: Abbie Rushton
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary, GLBT | Young Adult
Release Date: February 5th 2015
Publishers: Atom
No. Pages: 368
Source: Review Copy - Atom
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Megan doesn't speak. She hasn't spoken in months.

Pushing away the people she cares about is just a small price to pay. Because there are things locked inside Megan's head - things that are screaming to be heard - that she cannot, must not, let out.

Then Jasmine starts at school: bubbly, beautiful, talkative Jasmine. And for reasons Megan can't quite understand, life starts to look a bit brighter.

Megan would love to speak again, and it seems like Jasmine might be the answer. But if she finds her voice, will she lose everything else?

Friday, 6 February 2015

Blogging Doesn't Cost Me a Dime!


Talking about the things that go on behind the scenes when blogging is something many bloggers feel wary of, and I, like many, tend to keep what happens behinds the scenes away from my content - people don't usually want to know how difficult it is, they just want your voice, your thoughts and your words, but there's been something that's been mentioned more within the last 6 months than has ever mentioned before, and that's how much it costs to blog. I however, have a confession.

It costs me nothing more to blog than it would to not blog.*

*Not inclusive of giveaways.

Co-Review - Talon

Talon
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Talon #1
Genres: Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 28th October 2014
Publishers: Harlequin Teen
No. Pages: 461
Source: Purchased | Review Copy - Harlequin Teen
Rating:  | 
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Who Wore It Better - Specials

Who Wore It Better is a meme created and hosted by Nitzan at The Book Babes Read and co-hosted here on Beautiful Bookish Butterflies by Amanda and Stacie. We don't talk about clothing or fashion and we definitely don't talk frills and spills, we talk books and their covers and who we think has the best. This week, Amanda is talking about the covers from Specials, book #3 of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. She has big plans to read this series from start to finish in a few months time, so it'll be interesting to see what she thinks of the story inside in comparison to these covers.

Bookish Musings - Why Stacie Turned To Blogging

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 started blogging, the difference in her expectations when she started to those she has now, and what she hopes for the year..

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Book Review - All Fall Down

All Fall Down
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Embassy Row #1
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th Febuary 2015
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating:
Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her - so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door who is keeping an eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.

Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can’t control Grace - no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do.

Her past has come back to hunt her.. and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world all stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Book Review - Famous in Love

Famous in Love
Author: Rebecca Serle
Series: Famous in Love #1
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 21st October 2014
Publishers: Poppy
No. Pages: 336
Source: Won
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
The romantic story of a girl who gets plucked from obscurity to star in the next major feature film franchise based on a book and the ensuing love triangles she gets entangled in on - and off screen.

Meet Paige Townsen, Rainer Devon, and Jordan Wilder..

When Paige Townsen, a young unknown, gets cast in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a crowded movie set on the shores of Maui, and is spending quality time with her co-star Rainer Devon, one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie’s famous love triangle, Paige’s crazy new life gets even crazier.

In this coming-of-age romance inspired by the kind of celeb hookups that get clever nicknames and a million page views, Paige must figure out who she is – and who she wants – while the whole world watches.

Monday, 2 February 2015

Book Review - The Future of Us

The Future of Us
Author: Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 16th October 2012
Publishers: Razorbill
No. Pages: 365
Source: Gifted
Rating:
It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything.

Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Weekly Recap | 26-31 Jan. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews' Stacking the Shelves.