Wednesday 31 July 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next. 



See our pick after the jump!

Saturday 27 July 2013

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness (review)



Rating: 4 Highly Recommended 
Source: Bought (and signed) at Bookslam Bristol


Synopsis from GoodreadsThe extraordinary happens every day...

One night, George Duncan - decent man, a good man - is woken by a noise in his garden. Impossibly, a great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. Unexpectedly moved, George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly off, his life is transformed.

The next day, a kind but enigmatic woman walks into George's shop. Suddenly a new world opens up for George, and one night she starts to tell him the most extraordinary story.

Wise, romantic, magical and funny, The Crane Wife is a hymn to the creative imagination and a celebration of the disruptive and redemptive power of love.

Find out why I loved The Crane Wife after the jump:

Friday 26 July 2013

Wool by Hugh Howey (review)



Rating: 4, Highly Recommended
Source: Copy provided by Random House via NetGalley (thank you!)

An epic story of survival at all odds and one of the most anticipated books of the year.

In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo.

Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies.

To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism.

Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside.

Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last.


Read my review after the jump!

Thursday 25 July 2013

Our Summer Reads: Feli














This summer I've decided to try to read a couple of books out of my usual comfort zone so this is what I came up with:


Wednesday 24 July 2013

Waiting On Wednesday: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next. 



Find out what we're waiting on after the jump:


Tuesday 23 July 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! 



This week it is:

Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book

Everyone has certain 'buzzwords' or topics that make you shy away from a book, sometimes before you've even finished reading the blurb. Find out what our triggers are after the jump:


Saturday 20 July 2013

When the World was Flat (and we were in love) by Ingrid Jonach (review)



Rating: 3 - good, with reservations
Source: ARC provided by Angry Robot (Thank you!)
Publication date: 3rd September 2013

Check out my review after the jump:


Friday 19 July 2013

Our Summer Reads: Caroline


From top to bottom:

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster - this heatwave we're having right now matches this book perfectly. My love for A Room with a View, also by Forster, led me to trying out this one. Unfortunately I stopped halfway through when I started reading it at Christmas, but this time I'm going to make it to the end. 
Source: my parents' bookshelves

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - this is another one I'm halfway through, but only because I don't want to waste it by skimming my way through it. I'm captivated by the mix of a mysterious plot and an in-depth philosophy course. 
Source: my parents' bookshelves

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore - if you're into history and/or women fighting the system, definitely look this one up. I've only read the first chapter so far but I already can't wait to see how this true story enfolds. 
Source: an Oxfam in Bath

Oryx and Crake by Maragaret Atwood - I have a love/hate relationship with Atwood's work. I really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale but couldn't finish The Blind Assassin. I'm hoping the dystopian aspect of this one will keep me engaged till the last page. 
Source: an Oxfam in Bath

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness - Feli and I saw (and met!) Ness at a bookslam event in Bristol a few months ago, and I picked up his newest novel for adults then. I love the way he writes, and his stories are always surprising. He read the first chapter at the event and I already felt like I was going to love it. 
Source: bought (and signed) at Bookslam in Bristol

Maya by Jostein Gaarder - as I'm enjoying Sophie's World so much I thought I'd try another one of Gaarder's novels, so next up is Maya. Apparently it entwines the stories of four very different characters and explores "the meaning of life", so it definitely won't be boring!
Source: borrowed from a friend

NB: Obviously this doesn't include e-books, which unfortunately, although they are much lighter, don't look as pretty all lined up. 

Stay tuned for Feli's summer reads next week!

So what are you reading this summer? 

Thursday 18 July 2013

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (review)



Rating: 3/4 - Recommended, with reservations
Source: Second hand from an Oxfam in Stratford
Synopsis taken from the novel's website

On the one hand, Karou is a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to Brimstone, a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.
Check out my review after the jump:


Wednesday 17 July 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next. 



Find out what we're waiting on after the jump:

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! As there are two of us, we're splitting the honour, so Caroline gets 5 and Feli gets 5. 



This week it is:

Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Go after the jump to see our choices:

Thursday 11 July 2013

Dark Eden by Chris Beckett (review)



Synopsis from Chris Beckett's website:

Five hundred people live in in single community in an enclosed valley on the sunless planet Eden where, over a century ago, their two ancestors were marooned. Calling themselves Family, they still cling to the hope that one day someone will come and bring them back to Earth, where light and heat does not come from trees, but from a bright star in the sky. John Redlantern defies Family’s most sacred traditions and leads a small group of followers out of the valley and across mountains that are not only covered in snow and ice, but are completely dark, in search of wider lands. It had to happen but it comes at a terrible price, for it brings bloodshed and division into the world. A novel about how people relate to the past and how they move forward into the future...

Source: Bought from Amazon Kindle
Rating: 4 - Highly Recommended

Check out my review after the jump:


Wednesday 10 July 2013

Waiting On Wednesday: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next. 



See our pick after the jump:

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! 

This week it is:

Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations of Books

We LOVE watching films so this was a a tough one to narrow down, but we just about managed it. 

Check out our list after the jump:

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! As there are two of us, we're splitting the honour, so Caroline gets 5 and Feli gets 5. 

This week it is:

Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

Check out our list after the jump: