Sunday Post 31st January 2016

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 Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea 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.

Books We Got This Week:

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware: I am a sucker for any book with a character named Clare anyway, but the plot also sounds really intriguing!

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey: This is one I've been meaning to read for ages so I had to grab it when I spotted it in a charity shop.

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig: I so nearly got this when it was first released but decided not to and I can't remember why, I still want to read it so I decided to get it.

Starborn by Lucy Hansom: This sounds like my kind of book, definitely. And I will probably be reading it soon.

How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss: I definitely feel like reading more contemporary books at the moment so this sounded perfect.

Harry Potter Magical Creatures Colouring Book: I very much needed this and I am very much looking forward to colouring it in.

The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury: I was very excited to see this and the next book in Waterstones since they aren't actually released yet and I love when that happens. Can't wait to read this!
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton: This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2016 so to get it a few days early was somewhat exciting!
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson: This sounds so amazing and original and I just knew I had to read it!



Reading Update:

Ann:

I have not read any books his week.

Clare:

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans: 3 stars, I enjoyed this but it took me a while to get through. I loved Noel and liked Vee but I didn't like Donald's perspective as much. It was definitely a unique and interesting read.
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman: 4.5 stars, A really amazing read, loved how twisted it was and the different perspective was very interesting.

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman: 4 stars, I think I loved Prisoner of Night and Fog a little bit more but still an amazing read!

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

Friday Reads 29th January 2016

Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice, the idea is to grab a book, turn to page 56 (or 56% in an e-book) and find any sentence (no spoilers!) and then post it. Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are currently reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence and impressions about the book.

Clare:

I am about halfway through The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and really enjoying it, I will definitely have to extend it into February though. I have also just started Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman which I am very excited for as I have heard nothing but great things! If I like it, which I hope I do, I will continue and read Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke.

Book Beginning:

"Gretchen Muller peered through the car's rain-spotted windshield. Up ahead, a man was crossing the street, so far away he was little more than a child's cutout stick figure of spindly legs and arms and head." - Prisoner of Night and Fog

Friday 56:

"Her breath caught. A hole, on the back of the shirt, where her father's shoulder blades would have been. A bullet hole." - Prisoner of Night and Fog

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

Sunday Post 24th January 2016

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 Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea 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.

Books We Got This Week:

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans: I hadn't heard of this one but the blurb sounds very interesting so I hope to get to it soon.

Carol by Patricia Highsmith: I tend to like reading the book before watching the film and so I picked this up.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: I actually already have a copy of this but it's tattered and enormous and very daunting whilst this is a reasonable size (with very thin pages and tiny writing) so maybe I will feel more confident about reading it!

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson: This is one I've been wanting to read since it first came out and I am very excited to read it.

The Angel Tree by Lucinda Riley: I have the first book in this series but haven't read it yet, hopefully having the second one will get me to read it sooner.

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman: This is one of my most anticipated reads for 2016 and I am beyond excited to read it! Definitely going to be reading this very shortly.

Reading Update:

Ann: I haven't had time to read anything this week unfortunately.

Clare:

The Martian by Andy Weir: 4 stars, This was way funnier than it had any right to be. I didn't understand all the science parts but the book was still engaging and I read it in pretty much one sitting.

City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong: 4 stars, I thought this started strong had a bit of a weak spot in the middle but ended on a high! I am hoping there will be sequels because I love the main characters!
Carol by Patricia Highsmith: 4 stars, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this but it was really, really good. I especially loved the atmosphere of the book, really made me feel like I was there.

Classics Update:

Ann: I haven't read any of this but hope to read more next week.

Clare: I am loving this but I definitely wont be finished before the end of the month!

Next Week on the Blog:
We are going to keep next week open. We've got so much going on at the moment so we'll try to post as much as we can but we don't feel like we can guarantee any posts.

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

Sunday Post 17th January 2016

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 Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea 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.

We haven't been as active as usual on the blog the last couple of weeks and this week especially and we are sorry about that, there are a lot of things going on in our lives that our making it hard to find time to post and even to read so we may be a little bit absent for a little while but we should definitely be back to normal in February so please bear with us!

Last Week on the Blog:

• Wednesday Catch-Up
• A Story of Love by Ann

Books We Got This Week:

Dirt on Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones: I really enjoy this series and I am hoping this one is as good as I expect!

City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong: I love Kelley Armstrong's books and this one sounds great so I have high hopes.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard: I've heard kind of mixed things about this but I did love her other series so I am keeping up my hopes. Plus it sounds a little bit like Graceling by Kristin Cashore which I love.

The Lady's Command by Stephanie Laurens: Stephanie Laurens is my guilty pleasure author and I will almost definitely enjoy this.

Reading Update:

Ann: I haven't read anything again this week.

Clare:

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta: 3 stars, I definitely want to re-read this one because I think I just wasn't in the right mood for it at the moment and that I would enjoy it a lot more another time.
Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones: 3 stars, Not my favourite of the series but still a fun installment and I look forward to the next one!

Classics Update:

Ann: I have read a few pages of this and am enjoying it.

Clare: I am making OK progress with this, it is looking like I won't finish it by the end of January though so I may have to extend it through February. However, I am really enjoying it!

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

A Story of Love

So today I was supposed to do a review but I still have yet to finish any books so I decided to mix things up a bit and do a short story. This is one I wrote for one of my sisters friends a few years ago. Hope you enjoy!!!

It all started when the vampires began to stray onto human turf. They were taking humans and using them as slaves and walking blood dispensers. This angered the humans and of course it started a war between both sides as a result. Two years on the war is still going strong and neither side is winning. All that has come of it so far is lots of blood shed from both sides. There are four people trying to stop this war though. Two are vampires and two are human. The vampires are Beatrice and Dylan who were arranged to be married before they were born, but Dylan is in love with a human called Steph. Steph is one of the humans I was telling you about before the other human is Patrick. Patrick and Steph are siblings. Of course Dylan and Steph can’t be together because of the war so they are trying to stop it. Then, of course, we have the lovely news that Beatrice and Patrick are in love as well so they wanted to help stop the war too, so that they can live happily in the in between land but with the war going on the in between land is a battlefront covered in dead bodies. Their plan was to wait until night time, which is when most of the war is going on as vampire’s burn to death in sunlight, and then take some bombs and place them right in the middle of both sides stash of weapons and the buildings where they build weapons so neither side could make anymore. That would mean that the war would have to stop as both sides wouldn’t have any weapons left. It would also mean that they would have to work together to put out the fires which would make them allies once more.

They snuck in, in the middle of the night, when the war was at full swing and, as they had planned, they took the bombs and buried them in the middle of the weapons and also in the warehouse where they build the weapons (Patrick and Steph did this to the human stash and Beatrice and Dylan did this to the vampire stash). After they had done this, they went out into the between land to meet up. After they had met up, Steph said ”and now we wait.”

An hour later, they heard a massive boom which made them jump. They then saw a large cloud of smoke rising up from both sides. Shouting could be heard from both sides of the between as people and vampires ran around trying to put out the fires.

A couple of days later, after the fires had been put out and the rebuilding process had begun, the war was stopped and the agreement about not crossing onto the other sides land was signed. Steph’s and Patricks parents agreed to let them live in the between land and so did Dylan’s mum. On the other hand, Beatrice’s parents took a lot more convincing but, in the end, they did agree. Soon they were having houses built and making sure they had enough supplies only going back to their domains when they needed more supplies or wanted to see their parents.

Wednesday Catch-Up 13th January

Every Wednesday we are linking up with WWW Wednesday and Waiting on 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? 

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine and is a chance to show what upcoming releases you are excited for! Each week we will take it in turns to choose a book for Waiting on Wednesday and this week was Ann's turn! You can click any of the pictures in the post to go to that books goodreads page.

Ann:

Currently Reading: 

I am currently reading the prequel to the Throne of Glass series The Assassin's Blade. I am also reading the abridged version of Black Beauty for English at school.

Recently Finished: 

I recently finished Crown of Midnight which I loved and I am  loving the main character more and more in every book.

Planning to Read Next: 

Next I plan on reading either Heir of Fire or The Hunt depending on what mood I am in.

Clare:

Currently Reading:

I am currently about halfway through Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta which I am enjoying though it is quite a heavy read in some ways, it's definitely not the sort of book I see myself going through quickly! I am also still reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I really love Alexandre Dumas' writing and I am enjoying this one.

Recently Finished: 

I've had what, for me, is a fairly slow reading week. I adored the Falling Kingdoms series, these three but the last book gave me such a book hangover. It took me a while after finishing Frozen Tides before I was even able to think about starting another book!

Planning to Read Next:

I am planning to continue the Lumatere Chronicles. I am quite nervous about these because they are both enormous books but also, Froi is possibly my least favourite character so far, so a whole (huge) book from his perspective worries me but maybe my opinion of him will change. I am then planning to start the Mistborn books. My brother recently read The Final Empire and really enjoyed it so I am hoping I do too!

Waiting on Wednesday:

Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.
Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.
With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

Ann: Really sounds like my kind of book and I cannot wait to read it. This will be released on February 2nd.

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