Monday 26 February 2018

Monday Highlights #43

The idea is to just link your favourite blog post from the past week (for example a post you're very proud of or just had a lot of fun making) and then I, and hopefully others, can discover new blogs to follow and interact with and discover more posts from blogs we may already follow!

Tuesday 13 February 2018

Top Ten OTP's

I'm back, after taking a lot of time of due to personal reasons I am coming back to the blog! I've read a lot of books with a lot of different relationships and storylines but I have to say I like some of the romances more than others. One of my favourite relationships in books are hate to love romances because to me they seem a bit more realistic than insta-love.

1) Clary and Jace - Shadowhunters
I know this one sounds like an obvious one but I can't help it Clary and Jace are adorable and yes their relationship was a bit weird at points but they are possibly one of my favourite couples from a book series.

2) Alec and Magnus - Shadowhunters
I mean why doesn't love Magnus and Alec they are perfect for each other and I don't think I can trust someone who doesn't love them together. Also its great seeing their relationship on a TV show as well as reading about it too.

3) Katy and Daemon - Lux
I only just read this series recently but I have to admit, like I said, I have a soft spot for a hate to love romances, they are a lot more realistic than insta-love relationships and this is a great hate-to-love romance.

4) Abigail and Charlie - Jackaby
This is another book that I only just read, and although their relationship isn't the key focus of the series, it was still adorable although it could have had a better ending than it did.

5) Alexia and Lord Maccon - Soulless
I've only read the first book in this series so far but I still think that their chemistry is great although I think Lord Maccon is a bit horrible to her at some points that I have seen in the manga books.

6) Anna and Kaidan - Sweet Evil
I only read this series last year and then reread it this year and one of my favourite parts of the book is their relationship and the development, they work well together despite what was going on in the book.

7) Androma and Dex - Zenith
Zenith is one of the books that I managed to get at Yalc and I honestly couldn't wait to read it and it definitely did not disappoint. The chemistry between the two characters was amazing.

8) Simon and Izzy - Shadowhunters
When Simon and Izzy first met in the book I was hoping they would end up together and as the series progressed their relationship developed and it was great.

9) Katniss and Peeta - The Hunger Games
This pairing isn't one of my favourites but I do still love them together both in the book and the film version. Their ending was definitely different but it was still a nice ending.

10) Penny and Noah - Girl Online
Girl Online is one of my favourite series and I really like how Penny and Noah's relationship develops through out the books, its a more realistic relationship in a more typical world which is a change from most books that I read.

Let me know some of your favourite couples in YA or whether you share my love for the ones I've chosen! Also, tell me what your favourite romance trope is because I'm super interested!

Monday 12 February 2018

Monday Highlights #42

The idea is to just link your favourite blog post from the past week (for example a post you're very proud of or just had a lot of fun making) and then I, and hopefully others, can discover new blogs to follow and interact with and discover more posts from blogs we may already follow!

Sunday 11 February 2018

Sunday Post 11th February 2018

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 Reading Reality 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.


Last Week on the Blog:

  • Monday Highlights #41
  • Top Ten Oldest Books on My TBR
  • Clare Reviews: Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

Books We Got This Week:

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1)Shadowsong (Wintersong, #2)The Belles (The Belles #1)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman: I've been wanting this ever since it was released last year, the paperback release was a good excuse to pre-order it!
Shadowsong by S. Jae Jones: I really enjoyed Wintersong last year and have been impatiently waiting to find out how it all ends ever since!
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton: One of my most anticipated books of the entire year. Clayton's writing is so good and this book sounds incredible.


Reading Update:

Spare and Found Parts
Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin: 4.5 stars, This was such a unique and beautiful story. Check out my review to see more of my thoughts. 

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Clare Reviews: Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

Spare and Found PartsTitle: Spare and Found Parts
Author: Sarah Maria Griffin
Format: Paperback
Source: Received from the publisher for review
Pages: 416 
Rating: 4.5/5
Blurb: Nell Crane has always been an outsider. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs everyone now uses. But Nell is the only one whose mechanical piece is on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. As her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary idea when she has none of her own?
Then she finds a mannequin hand while salvaging on the beach—the first boy’s hand she’s ever held—and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.

This was just so unique. I know I'll remember this book for a long time because every aspect of it was so well thought out. The first thing that jumped out at me were the perspective shifts. The first chapter is written in second person which is unusual in itself and then the remaining chapters switch between second and third (with a few actually in first). I was worried that this would be off-putting and whilst it might be for some people, personally I found it very effective. It personalised some elements of the story whilst maintaining a narrative effect for the rest.

The main character was that beautiful kind of unlikable that works so well. There were parts of the story where I wanted to shake her for being so cruel to the people around her and then other times where I just wanted to cheer her on. It was sometimes uncomfortable reading her thoughts because she thinks in such a different moral way to me, but then that's a great thing about reading - discovering new perspectives.

A lot of the robot/android chapters went over my head. If I'm honest, I preferred the build up to her creation rather than the creation itself which felt almost anticlimactic to me. Io has potential to be interesting but wasn't in the story long enough for me to really care about them, although some of the events that happened after their creation were dramatic and made me feel all the things. I wish there were an actual word for that, I felt triumphant and disgusted and shocked and angry - it was amazing. I absolutely loved the seamless way Griffin included diversity in the story. It felt so nice to be reading a book where almost every character is diverse. The main character is bi, or seems to be - it's never explicitly stated, which if I'd known going in, I would have been even more excited about reading it because I am always, always looking for bi MC's. 

Whilst the story did have a resolution to it, I feel like there is so much more story to be told in this world and with these characters. Ruby and Oliver especially are so, so interesting and didn't get a chance to get their voice across enough in this book. Whether it's in this world or not though I will be incredibly excited to pick up whatever Griffin may write next! 

Top Ten Oldest Books On My TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. You can find the list of future topics here! This was actually a perfect topic for me! When we moved I reorganised my TBR shelf by "date acquired" (which now I'm writing it down seems dorky af)! So these are the oldest books on my TBR shelf and next up on my to-read list (after review books). 

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)Starborn (Worldmaker, #1)The Taxidermist's DaughterThe Passion of DolssaThe Amber Shadows
The Crown's Game (The Crown's Game, #1)Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)The Forbidden OrchidRuined (Ruined, #1)And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)
There are a lot on here that I am very excited for. I've forgotten, between buying them and now, what The Taxidermist's Daughter and The Amber Shadows are actually about but I love historical fiction at the moment. And I hear nothing but good things about The Final Empire and And I Darken which are probably the two I am most excited for! 

Monday 5 February 2018

Monday Highlights #41

The idea is to just link your favourite blog post from the past week (for example a post you're very proud of or just had a lot of fun making) and then I, and hopefully others, can discover new blogs to follow and interact with and discover more posts from blogs we may already follow!




Sunday 4 February 2018

Sunday Post 4th February 2018

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 Reading Reality 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.

Last Week on the Blog:

  • Monday Highlights #40
  • Clare Reviews: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Books We Got This Week:

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)Reign of the Fallen (Reign of the Fallen, #1)The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, #1)Reign the Earth (The Elementae, #1)Blood and Sand
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black: I am so, so excited for this. I really enjoy how dark Holly Black makes her characters and fey are always fun!
Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh: LGBT necromancer fantasy? It's like all my favourite things in one so my hopes are sky high!
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare: I adore Dare's romances so I am very much looking forward to this when I am in a light, romancey mood.
Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen: I know very little about this, but the cover is gorgeous and all the reviews I've read praise how feminist it is which is exciting!
Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk: Again, I don't know a lot about this but the premise "female Spartacus" immediately grabbed my attention!

Reading Update:

Alive (The Generations Trilogy, #1)Watch the Lady
Alive by Scott Sigler: 3.5 stars, Sigler did a really really good job of keeping the mental age of the characters 12 (so often 12 year olds who wake up in adult bodies suddenly become more mature by magic). It was also pretty brutal. I don't know if I'll continue the series but I'm definitely intrigued.
Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle: 4 stars, This is my favourite period of history and it was so exciting to read about someone I knew nothing about before. I know a fair amount about the Earl of Essex drama but never really studied his sister and it looks like she really deserves more. This was a very dramatic and fast paced read and seemed historically accurate to the best of my knowledge! 

Next Week on the Blog:

  • Monday Highlights #41
  • Top Ten Oldest Books on My TBR
  • Clare Reviews: Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin
  • Clare Reviews: Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
  • Clare Reviews: Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cumming