Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title; Anna and the French Kiss

Author; Stephanie Perkins

Publisher; Speak

Publication Date; August 4th 2011

Series; This book is a stand alone, but there are two companion novels!

Description; Anna can't wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?

Star Rating; 5*s

Would I read anything else by this author? Yes, I can't wait to read the first companion novel "Lola and the Boy Next Door!"

Would I recommend this book? Yes

Who would I recommend this book to? Those who enjoy chick-lit and young adult contemporary romance.

Review; When I saw the name and cover of this book I was like; "Ugh, chick-lit to the max!" When I started reading this book I was still not sure about it, but when I finished this book several hours later I was like; "Wow, when can I get the next one?" Whilst this book is still chick-lit it is not boring, dull, or completely cliché! At least in my opinion it's not.
I did have a bit of a problem with the beginning. Anna seemed like one of those, "I have everything, but I hate everything and complain about everything" characters. Thank goodness she wasn't! She wasn't too whiny, but she did complain a bit too much in places, but she understood that in the end. Which eventually led me to like those flaws.
The people had flaws! Nobody was perfect which I loved! I fell in love with all the main characters, but I liked Etienne, Anna and Rashimi best!
Looking at this book you'd probably think "what a load of fluff" but I'm happy to tell you you'd be wrong! There's some fluff, that's to be expected, but it is also a great book that doesn't just focus on a relationship. This is a great book, I'd totally recommend it!

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Title; Someone Like You

Author; Sarah Dessen

Publisher; Hodder Children's Books

Publication Date; May 1st 1998

Series; Stand Alone

Description; Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

Star Rating; Four Stars

Would I read anything else by this author? Yes I would like to read more Sarah Dessen books in the future.

Would I recommend this book? Yes

Who would I recommend it to? Fans of chick-lit. Best friends.

Review; I enjoyed reading this book, but I am used to more happening. I'm not used to reading chick-lit, maybe that's why this book got four stars rather than five.
I would have liked the author to explore the mother daughter relationship more. Actually I would have liked the author to explore all the relationships more, we hardly ever saw or heard of Halley's father. So more background information would have been nice.
The motorcycle accident didn't seem realistic either.
I loved Halley's relationship with Scarlett. It was a great portrait for best friends. I have had two best friend in my life time and we have been as close as that if not closer.
Overall this book does teach some lessons. And it does portray a teenager in a realistic way with the parent problems and first love.
I'd probably recommend it more to teens more than adults, but I know there are some adults who have enjoyed this book!

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Title; The Fault in our Stars

Author; John Green

Publisher; Penguin

Publication Date; January 10th 2012

Series; Not part of one

Description; Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Star Rating; If I could give it any more than five stars I would, but I can't. So five stars it is!

Would I read anything else by this author? Yes, this is actually my second book by John Green, but I want to read all of his books. (I have previously read - and loved - Paper Towns.)

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I 100% recommend this book

Who would I recommend it to? Everybody. You need to read this book.

Review; What do you say about a book as good as The Fault in our Stars? Honestly I don't know, I'm still having trouble forming a coherent thought. And making sure the relentless tears don't flow again...
Was there anything wrong with this book? Not that I could find. The only problem I have with The Fault in our Stars is the major headache it gave me from all the crying.
Usually you can tell how I feel about a book by how long it takes me to read it. If it takes me a few days and sessions then I'm not that fond of it. If I read a book in one 6 hour session then I am in love with it. The Fault in out Stars falls into the latter category. It was dark outside when I picked this book up, it is not light and gone 7AM.
The characters. Oh, how I loved the characters. Augustus Waters, I think I fell in love with him. (Can I ship Augustus Waters with myself?) Hazel, I loved her character too. I also enjoyed Isaac's character. But Augustus was my favourite character by a mile.
Honestly what happened was unexpected. I was expecting to cry at the end of the book only, like I did with Before I Die by Jenny Downham, but instead I was pretty much sobbing from the get go. Never before have I cried so much during one book. I'm glad I read it whilst everybody else was sleeping!
The Fault in our Stars is yet another amazing book by John Green. If you haven't read it yet then I recommend you go to your nearest book store straight away. Or, you know, order it online. This book really does make you feel all of the things!

Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie

Title; Crossed

Author; Ally Condie

Publisher; Razor Bill - Penguin

Publication Date; November 24th 2011

Series; Matched Trilogy Book Two

Description; THE SOCIETY CHOOSES EVERYTHING.

THE BOOKS YOU READ
THE MUSIC YOU LISTEN TO.
THE PERSON YOU LOVE.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems . . .

A REBELLION IS RISING.

And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

Star Rating; 4.75*s out of 5

Would I read anything else by this author? Yes I would like to check out some of this author's other work!

Would I recommend it? Yes

Who would I recommend it to? Anybody who read the first book. Even if you didn't enjoy it, because this sequel is better than the first book.

Review; I'm having problems with the love triangle. I don't think there's really any need for it to be honest. Other than that I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. There was more going on.
I think that's the main reason I liked this book more. Because there was more going on. Cassia's character changed slightly, as expected after the things she went through. But I'm still not really a fan of her character. Xavier seems suspicious to me. And Ky is still one of my favourite characters although I wish her put his foot down in some places.
I like the poetry theme. You don't see a lot of poetry these days, so that was nice.
Honestly I don't have much to say about this series. I thought I would enjoy it a lot more than I did. I think I'll be reading the last book more out of obligation and slight curiosity. I wish I loved this series as much as I thought I would, but unfortunately I don't.

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

May contain spoilers about the beginning of the story! 
Title; Matched

Author; Ally Condie

Publisher; Razor Bill - Penguin

Publication Date; December 1st 2010

Series; Matched Trilogy Book One

Can it stand alone? I would recommend it standing alone, best as part of a series.

Description; On her seventeenth birthday, Cassia meets her match. The Society dictates that he is her perfect partner for life, except he's not.

In Cassia's society, Officials decide who people love.
How many children they have.
Where they work.
When they die.

But, as Cassia finds herself falling in love with another boy,
she is determined to make some choices of her own.

And that's when her whole world
begins to unravel...

Star Rating; 4.5 out of 5 stars

Would I recommend it? Yes

Who would I recommend it to? Those who like dystopia novels with less action.

Would I read anything else by this author? Yes I would. (Not only the sequels!)

Review; Ally Condie makes you ask questions. "Why does this happen? Why does this person act this way? What's going on here?" To me this is what makes a good book or series. Having questions that need to be answered, it keeps people reading.
I'm not entirely sure why I didn't rate it five stars. Maybe it was the way it was written. I'm not sure I like the style too much, though I can handle it.
Cassia - I like the name - her character was okay, but there was something missing. Xander, I would have liked to see more of him. There wasn't enough moments with Xander in, it stopped him from being a main part of the story as he should have been. Ky, I like his character. He is aware. He is smart. He is complex because of his past. I would like to get to know Ky better.
The main thing that threw me was her match. I thought she would get matched with a stranger and then fall for Xander, but boy was I proved wrong! I'm glad I was though.
Whilst nothing else made me slap my hand to my mouth there were a few unexpected moments. Things that kept me on the edge of my seat.
This may not be one of my favourites, but I still think it is worth a read. Matched is quite light compared to a lot of other dystopia books out there, but it is still not "fluffy." I think it is worth the read and it is a book I could reread in the future.

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake

Title; Anna Dressed in Blood

Author; Kendare Blake

Publisher; Tor Teen

Publication Date; August 30th 2011

Series; Anna Book One

Can it stand alone? Probably, but I want to read to read the sequel, so you probably will too.

Description; Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Could I read anything else by this author? Yes and I will

Star Rating; 5 stars.

Would I recommend it? Yes I do recommend it

Who would I recommend it to? Everyone

Review; I'm going to have to reread this book. Partly because I liked it so much and partly because I feel like I didn't take all of it in. This book is definitely something new on the market though.
I feel like Anna's character was written well.  As well as Cas'. It was well written. Especially considering the whole thing was from Cas' point of view. Sometimes it is hard for a female writer to write from a males point of view, but it did not feel that way with this book.
The ending was well written too. I can't wait for the next book, and it didn't even really end in a cliffhanger!
I must admit that I had very high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed. This is well written and something new. I'd definitely recommend this book!

Cheap Books!

We all love cheap books, don't we? Well anything that's cheap really! This is why I though I'd share a link with you, and some information of course.

I have just bought this collection of 20 books. How much would you guess I spent? Well the original price was £95+ but I paid £5.95 including post and packaging. If that's not a good deal I don't know what is. Here is the link to this set of books! And Here is the link to the actual website! Unfortunately I'm pretty sure these guys only ship to the UK. They have a big sale on lots of other books too, so be sure to check them out!

Who wants more reviews?

If your answer was yes - to the title of this post - then here is some good news for you! There's a list! This is a list of physical copies of books.

I tried to upload pictures of all of them, but it went funny. I spent so long doing it too! Damn you Blogger!

These are all books I have bought or been given lately. (By given I mean books my mum or sister bought that I am already beginning to steal.) Well the ones I haven’t read already. (Some are rereads so I can catch up with a series.)

Foretold by Jana Oliver (Currently Reading. I just got it and I can barely put it down.) (I’ve read the first 3, but have yet to reread them, but I will do in the future!)

Soul Screamers books 2-6 by Rachel Vincent (Book 1, 2, and 3 are rereads, I’m currently rereading book 2 which is why book 1 isn’t on this list.) (Loving this series so far, can’t wait to see what book 4, 5, and 6 have in store for me.)

The Mortal Instruments books 1-3 by Cassandra Clare

A Witch in Winter and A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton (A Witch in Winter is a reread)

Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie

Halo and Hades by Alexandra Adornette

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (Can’t be bothered to reread Starcrossed)

The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (I’ve owned this book for ages now, years even, as well as a lot of other classics, but I haven’t gotten around to them. Well I wasn’t to excited for it, but then I read the description and was like “Oh shit. This is a true teacher/student story. Give me this book now. I haven’t picked it up yet, but I will be doing so sometime in the nearish future.)

I’m pretty sure that’s it, but I did order like seven books online too.Those books are;

The Fault in our Stars by John Green (I have wanted to read this for so long. I have read Paper Towns and I loved it so much, but I’m sure this book was on my wishlist before I read Paper towns.)

Forgotten by Cat Patrick (Another one that’s been sitting on my wishlist for years)

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen (My first book by Dessen, I’ve wanted to read something by her for ages!)

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elekles (Wanted to read this one for so long. It totally sounds like my kind of story.)

The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson (Wanted to get some LGBT fiction in there. The only “slash” books I’ve read have been online. I wanted to see what the published world had for me.)

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (Heard some great things about this one!)

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (I saw the cover and title for this book and thought “this must be some boring chick lit, I’ll add it to my to read list anyway. Then I saw the reviews and was like; “hot damn give me this book now” so I’m excited for this one.)

That’s it for now. I have no idea what I’m going to read next. There is so much choice. I never have this much choice. I do have a lot of other books I have to read, but these are the main ones. The other ones are books that have been given to me, but I’m not too excited to read them, I’ll read them when I have nothing else to read and don’t want to reread a book.

The Dom's Dungeon by Cherise Sinclair

Warning; This book and review is for over 18s only!

Title; The Dom's Dungeon

Author; Cherise Sinclair

Publisher; Loose ID

Publication Date; December 29th 2009

Series; Not part of one

Description; "Foster child. Teenage whore." Now a veterinarian, MacKensie's turned her life around, but the scars remain. She saves her affection for the animals who never judge or scorn her, but it's time to get out, move on from her past in Iowa. So, she arranges a vacation exchange to job hunt in Seattle.

Although the house is lovely, one room is locked. Her years in foster care have given her two 'gifts': a neurosis about locked doors and the ability to open them. After she gets into the room, she's appalled...and intrigued. Chains and manacles, whips and paddles, odd benches with straps...

When Alex returns home days early and finds MacKensie draped over the spanking bench in his locked dungeon, he's furious. But her wariness arouses his protective nature and curiosity, so he strikes a deal to keep her close--she'll act as his submissive in exchange for a place to stay and help finding a job.

He'd planned to use the veterinarian to deter an ex-girlfriend, not "replace" her, but with MacKensie's compelling mixture of strength and vulnerability, the little sub slides right into his well-defended heart.

"Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play, BDSM theme and elements (including/not limited to bondage, spanking, tethering), exhibitionism."

Star Rating; Four Stars

Would I read more from this author? Yes, I would like to try something else by Cherise

Could I reread this book? I could and I probably will reread this book

Would I recommend it? Yes

Who would I recommend it to? Over 18s who enjoy erotica/romantica. Those who like to read BDSM novels.

Review; If you haven't read the book this review may have slight spoilers, but nothing major!
At first I was slightly annoyed with this book. Mostly because of the words "darn" and "frak." The word darn was only there once, but with the phrase the word was used in it should have been damn. Picky I know. The reason I got annoyed with the word frak was because this is an erotica book, surely you can say the word fuck? It made sense when it was explained later in the book. I just didn't get the reference because I never watched the show or movie... The other thing that annoyed me was the way it dived into the story. The beginning was a little too unrealistic for me... It could have also used a bit more detail in places. There wasn't a lot of detail on how things looked or felt. There was enough, but I would have liked a little more. Other than those three things, I enjoyed this book.
Now let's get to the good points. The characters. Alex was awesome, and totally patient. Which I loved. MacKensie was damaged, and that was definitely shown. Honestly I think it made me love her character that much more!
After the beginning, the book seemed to get slightly more realistic.
Animals! The love of animals throughout the whole book. I'm an animal lover so I loved how there were so many animals that had been rescued!
The BDSM world wasn't strictly male/female. It isn't mentioned much, but there were parts where she mentioned a Domme having a female sub and a Dom having a male sub. I like how it wasn't strictly male/female. It gave me more respect for the author!
Over all I enjoyed the book and it's something I could read again. Oh, and I read it in one sitting which is usually a sign for a good or at least not bad book!

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

Title; My Soul to Take


Author; Rachel Vincent


Publisher; MiraInk


Publication Date; July 29th 2009


Series; Soul Screamers Book One


Can it stand alone? Probably, but I would recommend you carry on with the series.


Format; Paperback


Pages; 345


Description; She doesn’t see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next...


Goodreads Average Rating; 3.97


My Star Rating; 4.75

Would I recommend it? Yes


Who would I recommend it to? Most people, but for specifics:Teenagers and those with a love of YA fiction. Lovers of the paranormal/supernatural genre who want to read about a new creature. Don't be fooled  by the review quoted on the cover. This isn't only for Twilight fans.


Would I ever read more by this author? Most definitely!


Review; This book is easy to read, I got absorbed quickly. So far I have read this book twice in one year. Not once did I get bored. Now the quote on cover might put some of you off. Don't let it. This book is nothing like Twilight. This is coming from someone who is not fond of Twilight, but loves this series. Whether you're a Twilight fan or not, this book series is worth a read.
               It was a fun read considering the subject. Class mates dropping dead? Surely that's not fun... but some how, Rachel Vincent made it a fun read. My sister was giving me funny looks because I couldn't stop smiling at some parts. A truly great fun read with some hidden depth. Well, it can't all be fun when it revolves around death now, can it?
               The characters felt real to me. Their personalities weren't too far fetched. A lot of character's personalities are when it comes to books these days, but I liked the characters. Tod is one of my favourite characters. I love his character.
                Overall this book is a great, fun, and easy read. It has great characters and an interesting plot. I have already read the second books once already, but I can't wait to dive back into it now. The review for the second book will be up as soon as I finish reading it, but I already know I'd recommend this series. A wonderful read for teens and adults who like teen fiction!