Looking For Alaska Review

This week I was debating on what book to review, it’s hard to decide these things. At first I was going to do Anna and the French Kiss but I decided I’m going to that with the other books as it is part of a series. Then I came to the idea of reviewing Paper Towns but when I was writing it I just wasn't satisfied with it. Then I literally had a light bulb moment. I have finally decided that I will be reviewing Looking for Alaska. I have read three John Green books, to be fair I haven’t read that many books as I have only just got into it but I’m finding that I will tend to just go towards romance books, it’s something about reading about such strong feelings and emotions and mainly because at heart I’m a classic girl. Greeny (as I have now decided I want to call him) has a certain style of writing which up until now I haven’t decided whether I like it or not, sometimes I will think “ooo I need a quick John Green fix” but then others I will just go on about its flaws.

Looking for Alaska is probably one of my favourite books from Greeny (still loving the nickname, kind of reminds of broccoli though – ew). I liked Miles, the protagonist of Looking For Alaska, a lot because he was basically just a massive nerd who remembers peoples last words, which was a bit obscure but hey ho this is a John Green book its going to involve some brain racking quote. I always get so excited when reading his books, the plots are so good and he knows how to make you think and feel. He knows how to make you sympathize with the character and make you feel like it’s you going through it. Alaska, Miles' crush and new friend, was a confusing character though, a very confusing character but I liked that because it was honest to teenagers, we’re confusing and we can just change suddenly. The relationship between him and Alaska progresses throughout the book and the group they create with Martin (his roommate) is really a close knit friendship and they go through a lot as characters, together.

However I do find that his books always have to have a person with a “difference” whether its Hazel with her poems or Miles with his last words, Greeny always writes intelligent characters, this is what makes a “John Green” book but sometimes it gets a bit repetitive. I know a lot of people love John Green and think he’s a genius, which he is but for me just a little repetitive and can sometimes be predictable.

Overall I give this book a 7/10, as it is now my favourite John Green book.

Charlotte

♥

The Mortal Instruments Series Review

Spoiler Free

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite series of all time. It was the series that truly got me hooked on the fantasy genre. The series is aimed at older teens/young adults. Away from the very well-known dystopian novels that are the craze at the moment this incredible author has managed to create a world involving many supernatural creatures that envelope millions of variety and possibilities for you to enjoy. This book, despite the relatable heroine Clary, is not specifically only appealing towards a female audience. However it does supply you with plenty of romance throughout the books. The sixth and final book was released end of May 2014 and was a painful wait. Although was totally worth it when the author ended the series phenomenally. Don’t be put off with the lengthy series as each book offers the readers something new and there was not one book that was increasingly weaker than the rest. I couldn’t put them in order of my favourite to least because I loved them all.

Brief Synopsis of first book – City Of Bones

Ordinary and artistic fifteen year old Clarissa (Clary) Fray is out at an abnormal club called the Pandemonium with her best friend Simon. Whilst there, Clary witnesses a brutal violence that no one else can see, performed by three teenagers dressed in black. She soon discovers that they are called Shadowhunters: a breed of Humans with Angel blood. Clary finds out that the reason why she can see them is that she too is a Shadowhunter. Confused about upset about not knowing her own past, things only get worse when her mother is abducted by the ultimate ‘bad-guy’ Shadowhunter –Valentine. All Clary cares about is getting her mother back, but many obstacles get in her way and her new company has made the old drift away.

Cassandra Clare’s descriptive writing is flawless when she brings us with Clary into a brand new world with infinite possibilities. This series includes tense action and drama and heart-warming romance. In every single CC book, she manages to connect the audience to the characters so much that when they get hurt, you get hurt.

Whenever I go into what I call a ‘reading slum’ (can’t concentrate or feel the want to read) I start to read The Mortal Instruments Series. I finish them quickly as I instantly get addicted and have never got bored. I have now read them so many times I know what happens when and still have a laugh or a cry at certain chapters. Disregarding The Hunger Games, this is the series that got me hooked on reading. It is the first ‘fandom’ I became part of and, if you read this series, as you should, I guarantee you will be too.

In 2013 the film adaption came out in the cinema. The entire TMI fandom was so hyped for the movie, however comparing it to the books it was unfortunately a disappointment. I had no issue with the cast, some may not have been the right age or whatever but it is impossible to cast actors that will be made for a certain role and that everyone will approve of. However, the actual story was not accurate to the book. I understand that it is difficult to adapt an entire book and world into a film that could possibly be a series of six movies although the Harry Potter films had no issue. The film did not follow the book’s plot as well as it should have in addition to the dialogue being super cheesy! Eugh I cringed so much. Also, what is with books being aimed at aged 15+ and then being adapted into a 12A movie!? The supposedly kick-ass fighting was like dancing! If you have seen the film and not read the books, please do not have a negative opinion on the books as Cassandra Clare’s incredible talent was not given justice. I advise you to go and pick up the City of Bones book and change your mind!

Overall this book series is a must read. As an entire series I would rate it 10/10. I wanted to have my first blog post being on one of my favourite book series!

Hannah

♥

The Time Traveler's Wife Review

I feel like this a huge responsibility writing the first post and all but here it goes…

The Time Travelers Wife is romance novel by Audrey Niffenegger, it is probably one of my favourite books I have read so far as it gives you a different perspective on time travel and how it works and also involving a cheesy passionate romance between Clare and Henry. However I would say the book would be more aimed at woman purely because of the soppy romance but that’s not to say a man wouldn’t enjoy reading it (not sexist). It has a meaty 529 pages that you can really sink your teeth into. “Hooked at the first few pages” is something I hardly hear myself saying, because I have the attention span of a 4 year old, so for me this book was clearly going to be a favourite.  

I have to admit at first it took a while to understand the book, as it switches times/years/characters but I found that it worked well since it was mainly based around Time Travel so it made sense for Niffenegger to do that. While I was reading this book I was actually on holiday in Mallorca and found this the perfect beach book, I can’t remember a moment of that holiday when the book wasn’t in my hands. It took me about a week to read it purely based on the fact that I was obviously on holiday, because of this the book isn’t in the best condition as I took it on sandy beaches which makes me extremely upset as this is one of my favourites. 

I grew very fond of the character Clare as Niffenegger portrait her as quite a strong character even though she has been through a lot with Henry, which made her more relatable and understandable. Henry at the beginning for me took a while to warm up to because he was such a timid shy character until he progressed later in the book. Henry has a rare condition in which he will just go back/forward into any time period, which makes day to day life hard as he will just suddenly disappear and leave Clare on her own for a while. The love between them was undeniable; it gave you butterflies as you read it. The book really shows the importance of always being there for someone and remembering people when they are no longer there, feelings and emotions are the best parts of humans and it really showcases that.

SPOILER ALERT!

I loved the ending personally as it shows that no matter what time or age Henry is always there for Clare. However I recently watched the film they made as I tried to avoid it at first because I’m not a big fan of the whole movie adaption hype. As it got to the end I thought “this film was actually okay” but then… they had changed the ending!! What! The ending was so powerful and true but they had changed it so that he sees his daughter is in the field where he had met Clare, Alba (the daughter) then shouts her mum to come and see. Although I thought this was quite a different way to end it for me it was no way as near as good as the book.

Overall I would give this book a 10/10, purely because its the best book I have read, in my opinion. 

Charlotte

♥

Hello!

Hello everyone, welcome to our blog!

We are two friends who both love to read and therefore have decided to create a blog about reviewing and discussing books. However creating a blog on something we both love is purely out of enjoyment. Obviously we want to make sure this blog is the best to our ability and so time is key.We also hope to have a community of book readers to discuss our views and opinions on certain books and gets some groovy debates going (hipsters). 

As we are both teenagers, the books we read are usually older teen/ young adult books. Usually fantasy, science fiction or romance. We will soon be posting some books we have previously read and can review :).

In the future we will be giving our email out for any of you who have been wanting to read a book but would like a detailed spoiler free review can email us with the recommendation. 

We both follow several social media icons but very few that have focused on books. We hope that creating a blog is a success as it is something we have been dwelling on for months now. We promise to stay dedicated and post regularly, therefore we hope that our future efforts pay off with a positive response. We're both excited about getting this going finally...