Thursday 30 June 2016

Clare Reviews: Imprudence by Gail Carriger

Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2)Title: Imprudence 
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: The Custard Protocol #2
Source: Paperback received from publisher in exchange for honest review
Pages: 320
Rating: 4.5/5
Blurb: London is in chaos.

Rue and the crew of The Spotted Custard returned from India with revelations that shook the foundations of the scientific community. There is mass political upheaval, the vampires are tetchy, and something is seriously wrong with the local werewolf pack. To top it all off, Rue’s best friend Primrose keeps getting engaged to the most inappropriate military types.
Rue has got personal problems as well. Her vampire father is angry, her werewolf father is crazy, and her obstreperous mother is both. Worst of all, Rue’s beginning to suspect what they all really are… is frightened.
When the Custard is ordered to Egypt, transporting some highly unusual passengers, Rue’s problems go from personal to impossible. Can she get Percy to stop sulking? Will she find the true cause of Primrose’s lovesickness? And what is Quesnel hiding in the boiler room?



I had been eagerly anticipating Imprudence ever since I finished Prudence one year ago so I was incredibly excited to receive this from the publishers for review. And it did not let me down. Everything I had expected - the wonderful characters, engaging plot and great relationships were all present.

Surprisingly, my favourite thing about this series (aside from the humour which is spot on) is actually Prim and Rue's friendship. They are such a supportive pair and their conversations, when casual, are hilarious and when serious are just perfect and everything a friendship should be. I really feel like Prim is coming into herself in this series which is lovely to watch. She also has a romance building up - one which I heartily approve of and look forward to seeing developing.

I had, for some reason, got the impression this was a Young Adult series - but this book took a swift turn into Adult and I would definitely recommend this for more mature readers! I really enjoyed the romance between Rue and Quesnel - I have been rooting for them since the start of book 1 and it was great to watch the development of that in Imprudence. Quesnel could be so sweet at times and poor Rue was so oblivious. Plus it was a definite highlight to see Alexia giving her daughter The Talk! 

There were a couple of plots, which could have been too much for such a relatively short novel but the threads didn't get tangled and were well paced. The first plot involved Rue's parents and I always love to see them, having adored the Parasol Protectorate series. This plot was the more heart wrenching of the two and I even almost cried which I hadn't expected! The second plot is more in the way of a plot twist and since I have no desire to spoil it - I'll just say it was definitely exciting (although I had seen part of the twist coming). 

Overall this was an excellent addition to the series and my only complaint is that I now have so long to wait for the next book! If you haven't already read this series I definitely recommend it, especially if you loved the Parasol Protectorate series - and if you haven't read that series yet - please do! I love Gail Carriger's writing and I loved this book.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Monday 27 June 2016

Cover Characteristic: Ladders

Cover Characteristic is hosted by Sugar & Snark.

Artistic LicenceThe Astonishing Ladder: And Other Stories
The LadderFroelich's LadderLarry's Party
Ladders was a difficult topic this week. Artistic Licence was the first that came to mind, and the only one that didn't involve a desperate google search but I love The Astonishing Ladder which is such a fun cover. Next week's topic Feathers should be a much simpler one! 


You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Sunday 26 June 2016

Sunday Post 26th June 2016

The Sunday Post STSmall_thumb[2]
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it.

Last Week on the Blog:


  • Top Ten Favourite 2016 Releases So Far This Year
  • Wednesday Catch-Up
  • Blog Tour: Following Evan by Elida May

Books We Got This Week:

Snowy Night with a Stranger (School for Heiresses, #4.5)In the Month of the Midnight Sun
Snowy Night with a Stranger by Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries and Julia London: I don't think I've read anything by Jane Feather or Julia London before - I mostly got this for the School for Heiresses story by Sabrina Jeffries and I hope I will enjoy the other two stories as well.
In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekback: I read Wolf Winter recently and thought it was brilliantly written so I had to request this one and received it from the publisher - it is set in the same place I believe but with different characters.

Reading Update:

Ann:
Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes: 5 stars, I loved this book although I didn't cry at the end, I did find it a sad ending though. I loved that it was a realistic ending. Overall this was a great book. 

Clare:
The Rogue's Proposal (House of Trent #2)Once Upon a Tower (Fairy Tales #5)What a Lady Needs (The Redgraves, #2)One Dance with a Duke (Stud Club, #1)Twice Tempted by a Rogue
The Rogue's Proposal by Jennifer Haymore: 4 stars, A little different than I expected but definitely a compelling read.
Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James: 3 stars, I loved Edith's stepmother Layla so much! But I didn't enjoy the rest of the book as much as I usually do with Eloisa James.
What a Lady Needs by Kasey Michaels: 4.5 stars, Pretty much brilliant, a great mix of humour, romance and excitement. 
One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare: 5 stars, Tessa Dare is swiftly becoming one of my favourite authors.
Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare: 4 stars, Not as compelling as the first but still a good read.
Three Nights with a ScoundrelSnowy Night with a Stranger (School for Heiresses, #4.5)The Trouble with Honor (The Cabot Sisters, #1)The Devil Takes a Bride (The Cabot Sisters, #2)The Scoundrel and the Debutante (The Cabot Sisters, #3)
Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare: 3.5 stars, Again, I preferred the first book but this was still a good read. 
Snowy Night with a Stranger by Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries and Julia London: 3 stars, As often with short stories I liked some and disliked some. Sabrina Jeffries' one was great and I liked Jane Feather's but I was more ambivalent about Julia London's.
The Trouble with Honor by Julia London: 4.5 stars, Honor didn't often behave very well but I couldn't help liking George.
The Devil Takes a Bride by Julia London: 4 stars, You don't often get a hero in a regency book who has OCD - since I have OCD myself that was interesting to me. 
The Scoundrel and the Debutante by Julia London: 3 stars, Suddenly Honor and Grace (from previous books) were behaving very weirdly, and also very selfishly and the hero's sister was awful. 
The Taming of the Rake (Blackthorn Brothers, #1)A Midsummer Night's Sin (Blackthorn Brothers #2)Much Ado About Rogues (Blackthorn Brothers, #3)The Perfect Rake (The Merridew Sisters, #1)The Perfect Waltz (The Merridew Sisters, #2)
The Taming of the Rake by Kasey Michaels: 4 stars, I loved the characters and the plot developed in an interesting way.
A Midsummer Night's Sin by Kasey Michaels: 4 stars, There was a bit of a difficult subject in this one, which I wasn't expecting, but I thought it was done well.
Much Ado About Rogues by Kasey Michaels: 4 stars, I didn't know what to expect from this one, since Jack has been a mysterious character in the last two books. But this was an interesting read.
The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie: 5 stars, Somehow combined a truly heart-wrenching story with swoony romance and laugh out loud hilarious moments.
The Perfect Waltz by Anne Gracie: 4.5 stars, Didn't love this as much as the first book but it was still a great read. Hope was a great character.
The Perfect Stranger (The Merridew Sisters, #3)The Perfect Kiss (The Merridew Sisters, #4)Sin and Sensibility (Griffin Family, #1)An Invitation to Sin (Griffin Family, #2)
The Perfect Stranger by Anne Gracie: 4.5 stars, Faith was just as great a character as Hope, I quite liked the ending even if it was a tad unrealistic.
The Perfect Kiss by Anne Gracie: 4.5 stars, So. Much. Miscommunication. I wanted to sit all the characters down together to talk it out. It would have been resolved so much sooner. 
Sin and Sensibility by Suzanne Enoch: 5 stars, I loved these characters. Not her brothers though. They annoyed me. Especially the Duke.
An Invitation to Sin by Suzanne Enoch: 4 stars, Seriously. The Duke. He annoys me. His book is the fourth in the series and I am interested to see if I like him by the end of it.

Next Week on the Blog:

  • Cover Characteristic: Ladders
  • Wednesday Catch-Up
  • Clare Reviews: Imprudence by Gail Carriger
  • Friday Reads
  • Dane Cobain: Exclusive Poem
You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Thursday 23 June 2016

Blog Tour: Following Evan by Elida May

I am excited to welcome Elida May to the blog - her first novel Following Evan was released on the 16th June.

Top Bookish Inspirations

I grew up in Communist-ruled Albania, where access to books was restricted. This, of course, was all the encouragement I needed to read as much as I could get my hands on. Publications that did not idolize the communist regime were blacklisted and penalties for possessing them were severe. But that didn't stop us. As soon as a copy of a new book arrived in the country we rapidly read it and passed it around our friends. Thank you to our dictator for that! I can recall reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Many books were translated into Albanian and written down by hand, as there was no public access to printers or photocopiers.
Having a busy imagination, I found comfort in escaping into the fantasy of books. I read all genres that passed under my nose. Some of the books that left a mark on me when I was young include Three Comrades by the German author, Erich Maria Remarque. It's a remarkable story about friendship and love. I never wanted the story to end, and I recall being angry with the author for choosing death for one of the protagonists of the story. The characters of the book became my friends and I talked to them in my head. The novel, Spark of Life, was written by the same author. I can vividly recall the first scene of the book, which involves the prisoner 509 - a living corpse who has been imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for a decade. After reading it I had trouble sleeping for days. I just couldn't get over how cruel and bizarre the human race can be.
I would also like to mention Filumena Marturano, by the Italian writer and actor Eduardo De Filippo. When I was studying drama, I chose one of Filumena's monologues for an assignment. The image of her in a very depressed state, while holding her baby and expressing the love for her children made tears fall down my cheeks.
More recently, I read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I loved the story and avidly followed its twists and turns from beginning to end. Even now, when I travel by train, scenes from the book appear in my head and I look out of the window just in case I see something unusual. Because I am such a book lover, every book I read changes my perspective on life a little. 

Wednesday 22 June 2016

Wednesday Catch-Up 22nd June 2016

Every Wednesday we are linking up with WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words and asks 3 questions: What are you currently reading?, What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you'll read next?

Ann:

Currently Reading:
Angel (Angel, #1)Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)
I have only read a few pages of Angel as I then got distracted by Me Before You which I am really enjoying although I am just waiting for it to become sad.

Recently Finished:
The Unexpected Everything
I really enjoyed The Unexpected Everything as it was a really good book, also I really love that there is a pug on the cover because I love pugs. Also I loved the characters, although as I got half way through I couldn't help but expect for something bad to happen.

Planning to Read Next:
PS, I Love You
Next I am planning on reading PS I Love You, which Clare wants me to read, and I am excited to read it even though I am not yet sure what it will be about but if Clare liked it then it must be good.

Clare:

Currently Reading:
The Scoundrel and the Debutante (The Cabot Sisters, #3)
I have just started reading The Scoundrel and the Debutante by Julia London which is the third book in the Cabot Sisters series. I enjoyed the first two so I am hoping this will be another fun read. 

Recently Finished:
Love, Come to MeA Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove, #1)A Week to Be Wicked (Spindle Cove, #2)A Lady by Midnight (Spindle Cove, #3)Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove, #4)Lord Dashwood Missed Out (Spindle Cove, #4.5)Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After, #1)A Rake's Midnight Kiss (Sons of Sin, #2)Scandal Wears Satin (The Dressmakers, #2)Vixen in Velvet (The Dressmakers, #3)
Seducing the Heiress (Heiress in London, #1)The Rogue's Proposal (House of Trent #2)Once Upon a Tower (Fairy Tales #5)What a Lady Needs (The Redgraves, #2)One Dance with a Duke (Stud Club, #1)
Twice Tempted by a RogueThree Nights with a ScoundrelSnowy Night with a Stranger (School for Heiresses, #4.5)The Trouble With Honour (The Cabot Sisters, #1)The Devil Takes a Bride (The Cabot Sisters, #2)
The first book I read this week was Love, Come to Me by Lisa Kleypas. This is one of her earliest works and there are some points where the writing is a bit clunky and the plot isn't perfectly set out but I enjoyed the story and liked the characters. And then I finally read Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series which I loved. I wasn't expecting to enjoy these as much as I did but they were funny and romantic and a lot of fun to read. I also read Romancing the Duke which is the first book in her Castles Ever After series and a great read. I then read a number of library books. A Rake's Midnight Kiss was a compelling story with an intriguing romance and Anna Campbell is a newly discovered author for me. Scandal Wears Satin and Vixen in Velvet are the second and third books in the Dressmakers series and I loved them. I only wish the library had more Loretta Chase books. The one disappointing book for me this week was Seducing the Heiress which I couldn't quite get into. My favourite new discovery of the week was Kasey Michaels' What a Lady Needs which I very much enjoyed - I have already ordered more by her. I also read another Tessa Dare series which was good but not as good, in my opinion, as her Spindle Cove series. 

Planning to Read Next: 
The Taming of the Rake (Blackthorn Brothers, #1)A Midsummer Night's Sin (Blackthorn Brothers #2)Much Ado About Rogues (Blackthorn Brothers, #3)
My romance marathon continues since I seem to be too tired to read any other genre (not sure why it works that way) and I am planning to read more Kasey Michaels books next since I enjoyed What a Lady Needs so much.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading