Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.

I remember when this book first came out, I saw the book in work and read the synopsis and I thought it sounded okay but I just wasn't tempted enough to pay for it in hardback and boy was I wrong. The daughter of smoke and bone lives up to its hype and more. From start to finish I was completely transfixed, this book has it all, amazing best friends, hot guys, heart ache inducing forbidden love, paranormal creatures (that are seriously freaky but so cool at the same time) and a lot of angst, seriously this story is brimming with angst but that's one of the reasons its so captivating.

In my opinion Laini Taylor has crafted a beautiful and endearing masterpiece with her story of Karou, this book will emotionally drain you and in the end will leave you speechless, from start to finish Taylor takes you on a journey with Karou, discovering her life and who she really is. It's majestic and its magical.

Karou is a seventeen year old art student in Peru, she had bright blue hair, hangs out in a wonderfully gothic cafe with her best friend and tries her best to avoid her ex-boyfriend who can't take the hint. At first glance Karou appears to be a normal seventeen year old, but alas she is hiding a secret, for Karou has no normal family, she has been bought up by the Chimera, specifically those who grant wishes and she must frequently run errands for them collecting teeth from all over the world. Karou has spent her life in between worlds and she feels like she doesn't fit in either, until one day when she runs into beautiful Akiva and everything she knows shatters.

As you've probably already guessed I adored this book, in particularly the wonderful mix of characters, Karou is feisty and funny and makes mistakes in her life. She regretted loosing her virginity to her ex-boyfriend after he turned out to be nothing but a nightmare, she is inquisitive and is both fearless and vulnerable. Karou appears lost in the world, not knowing who she is or where she belongs.

And Akiva, Madrigal Brimstone, Kaz, Issa, I could go on, every character in this book has a purpose, they are wonderful and charming and I can't wait to learn more about their back stories.

I think one of my favourite aspects of this book was Taylors writing, its is beautiful, emotional and poetic and completely swept me away. It is a wonderful mix of fantasy and seraphim/chimaera  mythology and whirlwind romance. I've read a lot of Angel and forbidden love stories in the past but this one by far surpassed them all. The mystery and suspense throughout this book is crafted amazingly, I never would have guessed the true reason behind Brimstone needing all those teeth or who Karou really is and for that Taylor I thank you, I loved being able to be surprised by a book as that very rarely happens.

This is a must read book, Taylor has created a world that will stretch the limits of your imagination she paints a picture with her words. This story left me speechless and stayed with me long after I had finished reading.

“Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.” 

 My rating: 5

Looking For Alaska by John Green

“Thomas Edison's last words were 'It's very beautiful over there'. I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.”

Can I just say I was never a big fan of contemporary fiction before I read John Green but he has lead me to reassess my reading habits and try more books outside of my comfort zone. Anyway on to the review.

Looking for Alaska tells the story of Miles Halter or 'pudge' as he becomes known. Miles is a friendless high-school student who loves learning famous historical peoples last words. He begs his parents to send him to a boarding school in Alabama were he sees it as his chance to start again and break out of his shell. 


Miles goes to boarding school looking for his 'great perhaps', he wants a life of adventure and honestly I think he is trying to find something to live for and boy does he find it. Alaska Young is Miles idea of perfection from the moment he meets her, she is outgoing, reckless and doesn't care what anyone thinks, the type of person Miles wants to be. Looking for Alaska is spilt into two parts, the first counts down the days to a big event and the second counts the days afterwards. Miles was always looking for the 'Great Perhaps' but I don't think he ever thought it would turn out quite like this.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is how John Green deals with depression, I know some may not agree with me but I think  Green shows how people dealing with depression are not as easy to spot as some may think, they don't mop around and lie in bed all day, some walk out the house with a smile on their face and you wouldn't ever know anything was wrong. Both Miles and Alaska show how depression can affect different people, Miles is an introvert, back home he had no friends and spent most of his time alone but he is determined to overcome this and forces himself to be someone new whereas Alaska is an extrovert, she masks her vulnerability by being loud and exuberant until its too late and before anyone can help.

Once again Green shows how he is a master with his words and his characters, even though I'm a little older than they are I found myself being able to relate to them and for those few short hours I was able to become Miles and see the world from his eyes, a scared teenager just trying to find himself. Green always has a way of creating relatable characters and once again I was able to see parts of myself in them, Alaska the care-free, book loving girl, who finds herself a little bit lost at times and Miles the shy, caring, sweet boy who is looking for something better, trying to find some meaning to his life.

Green's characters are flawed but they are honest and realistic, they deal with situations in a way any teenager might. Overall I thought that Miles found his 'Great Perhaps' he found it in his courage to move to boarding school, in his love (or infatuation) for Alaska and in dealing with the 'after'. At the end of this book Miles has questioned everything about himself but in the process of doing this he has managed to find himself and perhaps now he is ready for another adventure. I don't believe the 'Great Perhaps' is a destination rather a journey Miles takes to find himself. 

Looking for Alaska is a story about finding yourself and loosing yourself, its about love and longing, pain and suffering and not being afraid of searching for your own 'Great Perhaps'. 



My rating: 4.5

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This weeks topic is top ten books you've read so far in 2013. So far this year I've read 59 books so I had a lot to pick from.

• Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
• The Diviners by Libba Bray
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What's been your favourite book so far this year? Any you think I should be reading?

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

“There are no good choices, Allison," Kanin offered in a quiet voice. "There are only those you can live with, and those you can work to change.”

Eternity cure picks up a few weeks after the events of the last book with Allie following the call of her sire Kanin who has been taken hostage and is being tortured by a seriously deranged vampire known as Sarren. On her long journey to find Kanin, Allie finds herself partnering with her 'brother' Jackel who is also trying to find Kanin and together they try to free Kanin albeit with different motivations. This is an action packed sequel that definitely doesn't suffer from second book syndrome, full of twists and turns that we leave you wanting more. Kagawa isn't afraid to push the boundaries and she will have you screaming in frustration by the end of this book.

Once again Allie was the tough girl, sometimes she comes across as heartless but with everything that she has had to suffer through I can forgive her for this. She hasn't had an easy life and it doesn't get any easier in this book. She is struggling to hold on to the small piece of humanity left inside of her but life as a Vampire for Allie seems awfully a lot like life as a Fringer, trust no-one and look out for number one. The only times Allies human side comes out is when she is with Zeke, he is the only light left in the dark world she now lives in. Their relationship is sweet and tender and faced with so many obstacles its hard to see them overcoming them all. Kagawa also explored Allies relationship with Kanin a lot more thoroughly  in the first book he was her sire and I understood that she felt some loyalty towards him and so that's why she went searching for him but throughout the Eternity Cure I felt like he was more like a father-figure to Allie she looks to him for guidance and understanding. In the end both these relationships are tested with heartbreaking conclusions.

One of the more surprising aspects of this book was Jackals character, we saw him in the first book as the King of the Raiders trying to find a cure for the rabids. Jackal teams up with Allie in order to help him find Kanin who he believes knows the secrets for the cure. What's surprising about Jackal is that like Allie I found myself warming to him, he was comical and teasing and would often make me laugh during very dark moments in this book. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't supposed to like him but I suppose its a testament to Kagawas wiring that she can turn the villain of one book into the comical bad boy of another. The real villain of this book and I suppose the entire story arc is Sarren, an extremely psychotic vampire hell bent on riding the world of all humans and vampires so that civilisation can start again. Kagawa has created a wonderful villain and because he has a few screws loose you know he is capable of anything which makes these books even more thrilling and compelling.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, the story moves along at a great pace and never lets up on the action. Its a dark and deadly world and such an original concept, Kagawa is able to mix vampire and dystopian fiction together seamlessly. This book will leave you breathless, its bloody, violent with just a sprinkling of romance. The jaw dropping ending will have you wishing the next book was already out. 

My Rating: 4

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.” 

Cinder is the retelling of the classic fairytale Cinderella with a twist. Set in a dystopian future where the world has been ravaged by four world wars, a plague called leutomis kills within a matter of days and has no known cure. Cinder is a cyborg, living in New Beijing with her two stepsisters and her 'evil' stepmother she works as a street mechanic fixing androids and other mechanical items. Being a cyborg means Cinder is treated as a second class citizen, she is content on living her life as best as she can until one day she meets Prince Kai and her sister falls ill to the plague and then Cinder's whole world starts to fall in around her and she is left questioning who she really is.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was a fast and easy read but full of action and suspense. It was a never ending roller-coaster with plenty of twists and turns in the plot. Cinder is written in third person mainly from the perspective of Cinder but occasionally from Kai. The writing although not poetic or overly descriptive still manages to have a distinct voice between Cinder and Kai meaning you know instantly who the voice of the chapter is.

I really liked the character of Cinder, she was funny and sweet and the relationships between her and her sister Peony and Iko the android are charming and show a vulnerable side to Cinder. I loved how self-concious she was about her cyborg parts, always making sure they were covered up, she hated how people judged her because of them and again it showed a vulnerable side to her that we rarely see in female leads. Don't be fooled into thinking that she is weak because she isn't, Cinder shows many times how brave and strong she can be, but I liked how Meyer made her a normal girl.

However Prince Kai I wasn't in love with, he is a great male YA character, he is sweet and kind and doesn't look down on Cinder for being a mechanic (he isn't aware of her cyborg nature) but I don't feel like he was a fully fleshed out character. Maybe he will grow on me in future books. I did however like how he had concerns and problems that didn't involve Cinder. Both him and Cinder had their own lives and own issues, their worlds didn't revolve around each other. I did like the relationship between him and Cinder, it wasn't instant love but it was instant attraction. There flirtation was cute and real and as both their worlds are crumbling around them it was nice to see a little light romance at times.

I love the Cinderella arc in this book, I grew up reading fairy-tales and so it was nice to see it refreshed and in a whole new light. Cinder's stepmother isn't as evil as she first comes across, she has had a lot of heartache in her life, her husband adopted Cinder behind her back but before he could return from Europe with her, he contracted the illness and died and so Cinder's arrival in the family came at a very hard time for her. Apart from the whole Cinderella aspect of the book, the other major arc would be the Lunars, these are a race that live on the Moon and are able to use bio-electricity to glamour people into believing and seeing things that aren't there and so they are deemed by the people of earth to be very evil people. The most evil of them to be their Queen, who is the most powerful of the lot. Queen Levana is pure evil, she enjoys playing political games with Kai and the other rulers of Earth, she wants power and will do anything to get it. She feels like a real villain that won't be easily overcome, you can tell just from the first few pages of meeting her that she will do anything to get what she wants. (The Lunars play a major role in this series but I don't want to say too much about them or their history otherwise I will end up spoiling the entire story for you.)

The one flaw I have with this book is the lack of world building, so much back history behind the Lunars and why the world is the way it is, is left out. I don't know whether this was intentional or not but I just wish we knew WHY?

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was engaging and exciting from start to finish. I would definitely recommend if you like sci-fi or dystopian fiction or are just looking for a little something different. The romance is plausible and Cinder is a great kick-ass lead. This is more than a fairy tale retelling and would be a excellent story without it, the ending left me turning the page and needing more, I can't wait to get my hands on Scarlet.

My rating: 4

New Books

These are all the book I bought in May and boy did I buy a lot. I didn't get much reading done in May because I had my final third year exams. No more studying for me :). So most of these books are on my June TBR pile.

 Looking For Alaska By John Green

Eric by Terry Pratchett

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Flowers for Alergnon by Daniel Keys

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

Cinder by Merissa Meyer

The Beautiful and the Damned by F.Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gastby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

Tender is the Night by F.Scott Fitzgerald

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks

Walking on Glass by Iain Banks

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Paper Towns by John Green

These books I got for free from book and publishing events I attended through work

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Casino Royal by Ian Flemming

Misery by Stephen King

Fuse by Julianna Baggott

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Hidden by Marianne Curley

Insignia by S.J Kincaid

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

“He paused, letting the tension mount. His solemn gaze met mine. "How long are you going to make me wait?"

I considered making a joke. Blowing the whole thing off like nothing had happened. But I cared about Adam too much to dismiss his genuine interest with careless sarcasm. "I don't know."

He stared at me for a few moments. Behind his eyes I could see the wheels turning. Weighing the options and eventualities. Finally, he breathed out through his nose, like expelling bad energy. "Well, I guess that's better than 'never'.”

Green-eyed demon is the third book in the Sabina Kane series, it picks up a couple of days after Sabina's sister has been kidnapped by her Grandmother. I absolutely adore this series, it has everything you could want from an urban fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves, Mages and a kick-ass heroine. We move cities again in this story and Sabina finds herself in the home of voodoo, New Orleans.

This story is all about character progression, Sabina is becoming less cold-hearted and there are many scenes within this book were we see her thinking about her actions instead of just jumping in and thinking about the consequences later. In order to get her sister back she has to learn to work with others and keep her mouth shut at times. Which we know from past books is very hard for Sabina to do. I like how she becomes more open and vulnerable and she is starting to understand more why she is unable to love. Wells does all this though without losing the qualities of Sabina we love so much, she is still pretty much bad-ass, has a wonderful snarky attitude and always manages to piss someone off.

I don't want to give to much away but Sabina and Adams relationship certainly starts to heat up finally (even thought its at a snails pace). After she ran into the arms of another man in the last book,Sabina ends up having a heart to heart with Giguhl about her and Adam and he gives her some very good advice. They still have a lot to work out at the end of the book but the L word may be mentioned by a certain someone at one point. Sabina is finally understanding that letting people in and showing emotion is not a bad thing.

As usual the fight scenes are intense and action packed. Wells never fails to create fast paced and descriptive action sequences that constantly have you wondering if everyone will survive. The big bad evil that the plot seems to centre about was not too much of a surprise I had pretty much guessed it a couple of chapters in but still it is going to make a good story arc for the next story. I loved the setting of New Orleans, I've been there when I went travelling and it made the perfect setting for this story, the graveyards and voodoo queens, really give the story a spooky magical quality.

The only thing I will say about this book is Sabina's actions would at times frustrate me, she seemed to be making progress in admitting how she was feeling and then she would do something stupid again. I know learning takes time but how many times can you learn the same lesson.

Green-Eyed Demon is a fast past and well executed book, it kept me hooked from start to finish. All the characters learn something about themselves and the world around them in this book and not everyone at the end is the same any more.