BOOK REVIEW: Geekerella

Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Published by: Quirk Books
Publication date: 7th April 2017
Format: Kindle
Source: ARC

I went into this book honestly not expecting very much at all. 
In fact, I was pretty sure that I was going to hate it if I'm being honest. 

Retellings of fairytales can often fall kind of flat. 
And I don't tend to enjoy romance as a genre. 

But I was actually very pleasantly surprised!

This geeky, modern-day, reimagined telling of Cinderella was actually pretty fraking good!

Sure, it has its fair share of silly, over the top, eye-rolling moments. 
But it more than makes up for those with its cosy charm, cute diverse characters and heapings upon heapings of awesome nerdy references! 

The story alternates between Ella and Darien, each telling their side of the story. And I think it's this choice of telling which keeps the pace of the story interesting. 
Though I was always much more interested in Darien's side of the story. 
Elle came across rather judgemental and superior in my opinion, at least at the start of the story - she does become more likeable as the tale unfolds. 

This is actually a romance which I enjoyed following!
And that a HUGE deal for me.
I am shook. 

Read and rejoice, fellow geeky bookworms!

BOOK REVIEW: Frogkisser!

Title: Frogkisser!
Author: Garth Nix
Published by: Piccadilly Press
Publication date: 28th February 2017
Format: Kindle
Source: ARC

This was such a magical, fun, romp of a book!
It reminded me of the most wonderful Diana Wynne Jones (and she did receive an honourable mention at the end), and that can never be a bad thing!

This book follows princess Anya and her trusty Royal dog Ardent as they embark on a quest to turn a frog back into a (kind of dumb) prince. 
But their quest somehow keeps managing to get bigger and bigger until Anya has taken on a whole host of other quests and promises too. 

I absolutely LOVED how many strong, awesome female characters there were in this book!

First we have Anya herself, who starts out as a kind of typical selfish princess who would much rather stay home and curl up in the library all day rather than help people. 
(I would totally be this type of princess!)
Yet as we go through the story she grows so much as a person and learns many valuable life lessons and ends up as a pretty damn awesome princess!

We also have a female Good Wizard (sometimes complete with long, white beard), an evil female sorcerer, female members of The Seven Dwarves, a group of tricksy witches, a totally badass female Knight and many more!

YAS!!

The only problem I had with this book was that I wish our questing group had visited more places in this magical world. 
I did feel a bit disappointed that most (though not all) of the objects they were questing for were conveniently obtained in one place. 
I wanted them to have to have an adventure to get each one separately!
I wanted MORE questing!

But other than that small, kind of greedy complaint on my part, this was a very fun, magical read. 

I hope we get to see what happens to Anya and the kingdom of Trallonia next! 

BOOK REVIEW: Sea: The Huntress Trilogy #1

Title: Sea
Author: Sarah Driver
Published by: Egmont
Publication date: 6th April 2017
Format: Kindle
Source: ARC

Do you enjoy dangerous adventures on perilous, icy seas? 


Do you like tales of tribes, beasts, tradition and magic?


Do you like reading about epic quests seeped in folklore and myth?

If you do, then you should definitely read this book!

Reading this was like a welcome flashback to my days of reading Philip Pullman. It definitely has the same feel to it.
Maybe it's all the ice, subtle magic and the fact that our main character, Mouse, sort of has her own 'daemon' in the form of her brave sea hawk Thaw-Wielder?

Maybe it's the fact that Mouse is a totally independent, fierce, loyal and brave character?
(How are 13 years olds always this awesome in books?! I'm pretty sure I was pathetic at that age!) 

Whatever it is, this book is wonderful. 

I felt like I was really there and experiencing everything alongside Mouse. 

I got to sail on The Huntress, dive with merwraiths, cross the seas in the belly of a whale and fight fearsome terrodyls!

As the first book in a trilogy I'm so excited to know that soon I'll be able to travel across the land again with Mouse and her friends. 
I can't wait for more adventures!

BOOK REVIEW - Nevernight

Title: Nevernight
Author: Jay Kristoff
Published by: Harper Collins
Publication date: 11th August 2016
Format: Hardback
Source: Illumicrate subscription box.

“The books we love, they love us back. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us. I can see it in you, sure as I see it in me. You're a daughter of the words. A girl with a story to tell.”

I wish I hadn't read any reviews before I'd read this book.
Not because of spoilers and hints at plot, but because they completely put me off reading it for weeks.
I was so hesitant and sure that I wouldn't like it that I put it on a shelf and politely ignored it for a while.

How wrong I was!

“You've got the look of a girl who's no stranger to the page. I can tell. You've got words in your soul.”

Firstly.
The book itself is absolutely gorgeous.
I was lucky enough to receive a signed hardback copy in my recent Illumicrate subscription box, and it is a thing to behold!
The dust jacket has a beautiful and detailed crow illustration and hidden underneath is another crow, this time embossed in black on the actual hard cover. The end pages are made to look like a black sky filled with stars, and there are three amazingly stunning maps that I could stare at for ages.
Its a truly lovely book.



Now onto the story itself.
A lot of reviewers on here disliked it because of the style of writing, and this is initially what put me off too. From peoples reviews of it I was sure that I wouldn't like the writing style either.
People claimed it was overly descriptive. Using weird and strange metaphor after metaphor.
And this is true to some extent.
I spent a good couple of chapters being annoyed, confused and baffled by some of the descriptions used. They just didn't made sense and were often laughable or just plain frustrating.
Here is one of my favourites:

"But if the inn were a man and you stumbled on him in a bar, you'd be forgiven for assuming he had - after agreeing enthusiastically to his wife's request to bring another woman into their marriage bed - discovered his bride making up a pallet for him in the guest room."

??!!?!?!
If the inn were a man?!
What the what?

I think this part was trying to describe a particularly awful building? But who knows!

However, with that said, this style of writing does seem to calm down after a few chapters (the very first one probably being the worst). Almost as if even the author became bored of wading through all the confusing and pointless waffle!

And then it gets really good.

The story really gets a flow to it and I found myself happily carried along, unwilling to put it down even for a second.
Desperate to find out what was going to happen next!

The setting of a school for assassins was just amazing.
It was like a deadly and dangerous Hogwarts where the students learn about poisons, weapons, stealth and seduction instead of spells.
I felt like there was danger and death lurking at every [page] turn.
And I loved it!!

The twists and turns were hidden so well I never saw them coming! So much shock and suspense.
This really was a hard book to put down.

The characters were also wonderful.
I wasn't sure if I was going to warm to Mia at the start. 'Angsty' characters aren't usually my favourite as a rule. But she became so much more than just angst as the story went along and I ended up really liking her and caring about what was going to happen to her. 
Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance.
It wasn't awful, but nothing would really be lost from the story if it wasn't there.

I loved all of the teachers at the school.
(and was terrified of them in equal measure)
They were all wonderfully fleshed out with completely different personalities to match the lessons that they each taught.

Overall, I was really surprised by this book and wish I had of given it a chance as soon as i got it instead of letting myself be put off it.

So yes, while some of the writing is over-the-top and a bit annoying at the start, if you can get past that you will find a truly amazing story.

One you really should try for yourselves!

“Too many books. Too few centuries.”

Confessions Of A Bookworm

I have a confession.
I am guilty of serial adultery. With books that is.

I just can't help myself. They stand there ruffling their pages seductively, twirling their titles and presenting their covers in a most alluring manner. I find myself picking them up and reading the first few pages before I even know whats happening. Since becoming a Librarian its gotten even worse! I can string along hundreds of books without the worry of spending money or long-term commitment.

I don't find it hard to remember their names or whats going on in their lives, but it is sometimes difficult to decide who to spend time with each night. Do I want the adventurous one? The cheeky one? The old and distinguished one? It can be a tough choice.

Of course, I finish with them all eventually. I either send them on their way to find new lovers or keep them to one side - to be called upon again someday, whenever I feel like it. I can be a demanding reader.

I don't feel guilty about my adultery. On the contrary! I would shout it from the rooftops if I could. I recommend it to everyone. Being able to pick and choose the adventures I take depending on my mood is wonderful. I never feel tied down to one book - slogging my way through it, even when the going is tough - I can simply put it down and pick up another who better suits me at the time. Its freeing, fun and makes reading even more enjoyable.

So get up, go out and pick up as many books as you fancy! Use all your best lines on them and woo them all back to your place for a steamy night of literary adventure! I guarantee you won't regret it!

Happy Adventuring!