Update!

I thought it was time to just give a little update to explain some short term changes that are going to be happening over the next week or so. I’m not sure if anyone has read my about me page but  I’m  currently at TAFE full time  as always when Easter comes around so do exams and assignment due dates. Sadly this means that practically my every waking hour has been spent studying and revising things that I’ll never need to know again.

For the next week or so I won’t be posting any reviews or my friday TBR list, I also will be slower responding to comments or goodreads things. I’m still slowly reading a couple of books so as soon as exams are done I will get right back into the swing of things.

Thanks for understanding!

Stacking The Shelves #6

Stacking the shelves is a meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews each week on whatever day you choose you create a post listing any books you've received for review, as a gift or just brought yourself. I'm going to be posting this every Monday give or take a week. Most of the purchased book were second-hand this time so exact editions aren’t available any more.


Purchased Books

Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell, Goodreads - Book Depository

Dracula - Bram Stoker, Goodreads - Book Depository

Little Woman - Louisa May Alcott, Goodreads - Book Depository

Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey, Goodreads - Amazon

Looking for Alaska - John Green, Goodreads - Book Depository

Love & Misadventure - Lang Leav, Goodreads - Book Depository

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta, Goodreads - Book Depository

Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire, Goodreads - Book Depository

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak, Goodreads - Book Depository (my second copy, opps)

Review Copies

Tease - Amanda Marciel, Goodreads - Book Depository

The Boy in the Book - Nathan Penlington, Book Depository

Riot - Sarah Mussi, Goodreads - Book Depository

TBR Pile Up #1

The TBR Pile-Up is a weekly meme created by Bo at Paperbacks & Protagonists! In this I’m going to share the crazy amount of books I've add TBR list each week. You can get more information about any of the books by clicking on their cover, then it will take you to the goodreads page. I know it’s a really awkward setting out but blogger won’t let me do any better right now and I’ve been trying for hours!

WWW Wednesday #5

To play along, just answer the following three questions…

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish?

What do you think you'll read next?

Here is a meme hosted by Shouldbereading that is really fun and easy to do. All you have to do is answer the 3 questions above. Each photo will take you to the Goodreads link for the book to get a synopsis if your interested in reading one of these books. I'll also put a link to purchase the books if your interested at the end of each part.

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman, I’m only a few pages in as I just finished a book but I think I may have read this when it first came out but I just can’t remember so it’s going to be a surprise. - Book Depository

What did you recently finish?

I recently finished Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski and holy god did I love it. I have never read anything like it before. This comes out on May 1st and I’m so excited to buy this beautiful book. Just look at the cover! 

- Book Depository 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Next I think I’ll pick up Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, I’ve heard so many great things about it and lets be honest how awesome does a 24-hour bookstore sound! I have pretty high expectation of this, I’m just hoping they will be met. - Book Depository

Book Review: Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Pub. Date- December 20th 2013 Publisher- Penguin Aus. Pages- 352 

Series- Vampire Academy #1 Genre- Fantasy/Young Adult Rating- 4 Stars

I received this courtesy of Peguin Aus. through 

Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Goodreads - Book Depository

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires--the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, where vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be prepare for a life fraught with danger. Rose and Lissa must navigate their treacherous world and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever. But soon Rose finds herself gripped by temptation of forbidden love, leaving Lissa exposed to Strigoi attack.... Now she must choose between the best friend she lives for, and the man she can't live without.

So yes, this is a vampire book. Yes it was made into a not so great movie, but when given a chance it kicks off a wonderful series and certainly stands out from the crowd of vampire novels in only good ways.

The idea of what makes a Vampire gets a whole meaning in Richelle Mead’s addictive world. There are three main races in the book; the Moroi a race mortal vampires who are connected to the earth through elemental magic, the Strigoi vicious dead vampires who were turned by force or drank enough blood to kill someone and lastly there are the Dhampir’s half Moroi and half Human, a guardian race that lives to protect the Moroi.

This book follows Lissa and Rose two teenage girls who share a bond that makes them closer than sister. After running away from an unknown enemy they are brought back to St. Vladimir’s Academy by Dimitri a God of a guardian or so he’s called by Mason. Rose is in training to hoping be Lissa’s guardian and Lissa is just trying to specialise in a gift that is if you put aside the fact that someone’s threatening their lives.

Rose and Christian are some of my favourite characters ever, they are both very quick witted and snarky, you can’t help but laugh. Lissa’s often caused great frustration I found, she was so overly compassionate to everyone that it was almost painful to read at time. Rose made up for this in many ways being nearly Lissa’s opposite, together they made one well balanced person.

Richelle Mead's writing is so simply to understand even when things are get complex. There is such a steady flow that it is ridiculously easy to knock this book out in a day. Even with the unfamiliar idea such as Strigoi or the Morois' royalties systems everything is explained in detail or given enough background for it to just feel normal.

With the current trend in most YA books of romance be the driving force behind the pacing and plot development getting old, Vampire Academy is a big refresher from that. I definitely was shipping both Rose and Lissa with their counter parts but the whole story wasn’t balancing on them being together. This has everything a good book needs; a touch of fantasy, badass girls, thrilling suspense and just a hint of romance.

Theres so much more I want to say but so many small thing eventually lead to important elements in the plot I want to be as spoiler free as possible. Basically its just a awesome book with badass characters and a killer premise.

Have you read this, what did you think? Is this on your TBR?

Book Review: The Isobel Journal - Isobel Harrop

Pub. Date- August 1st 2014 Publisher- Switch Press Pages- 210
Genre- Graphic Novel/Young Adult Rating- 4 Stars

I received this courtesy of Switch Press through 

Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Goodreads - Book Depository

THE ISOBEL JOURNAL is no ordinary snapshot of a contemporary teenage life. A charming and vivid narrative scrapbook of the eighteen-year-old author's sketches, mini-graphic novels, photographs and captions, it captures her wit, her observations and her creative talent as she takes us through the three central themes in her life: 'Love', 'Friends, Art and Otters' and 'Me’.
Resonant of Laura Dockrill's MISTAKES IN THE BACKGROUND and with the powerful naïve illustrative style of cult Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, this is a collector's gift for teenagers and all who have the teenage experience still in their hearts. Readers will emphasise with this witty and honest journal of a girl getting to grips with impending adulthood. A must-have for all hipster teenagers and anyone who appreciates the raw creativity of youth. Enchanting and poignant.

Just a girl from where nothing really happens is how The Isobel Journal is first introduced. No false statement is made here, nothing does really happen but this graphic novel is made all the better for it. Isobel Harrop does something I didn’t think was possible, she made regular teenage life feel special and funny while still keeping all the awkwardness and fumbles.

Quirky art featured through the book is just like a stream of consciousness that you are getting a peak at here and there. Everything in this from the writing to illustrations is down right hilarious. At one point Isobel is showing pictures of animals and suddenly some killer animal puns occur that cause spontaneous laughter.  Even the very true tips that come out of nowhere and leave you gasping.

By using a mixture of black and white, coloured sketches and sketches done on top of photographs no page feels like the next. Even with all the mixed media and spontaneous ideas there was never any feeling of things being cluttered or disjointed. Some favourite pages of mine were the ones that included scanned tickets and other miscellaneous objects.

Reading snuggled up in bed is the best way to enjoy this, being cozy is just made all the better when you come across something so heart warmingly cute that you have to aww out loud.  If you don’t find one sassy quote to rival mean girls you need to go back a nd re-read this because it is choc-a-blocked with them so you have to be doing something wrong.

This is the first graphic novel I’ve read this year and it certainly has set a high standard for everything else. If you’re looking for something to bring back memories or something that makes you go ‘oh my god’ I feel like that all the time this certainly ticks every box.

Do you read Graphic Novels? Will you be reading this one when it’s released?

The Liebster Blog Award

I'm so amazed and truly grateful to be able to accept The Liebster Award from Bo at 

Paperback & Protagonist. She's such a wonderful lovely person that I honestly don't know how to thank her enough. Honestly I think if I hadn't met and started talking to her I would not of had the courage to keep blogging.  So for any one like me thats like whats The Liebster Award it's the nicest thing in existence. It's purpose is to showcase new Bloggers on the internets. New Bloggers in this simply means any who has less than 200 followers.

(there’s a spoiler in answer 11 down below)

The Rules!

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you
• Ask 11 questions to no more than 9 bloggers, they must have no more than 200 followers on their chosen subscription method. 
• Go to their Blog and tell them you've nominated them!

11 Facts About Me!

1. I live in a four bedroom house with six sometimes seven people, we have one bathroom it's hard.
2. I dropped out of school soon after my sixteenth birthday and I'm now at TAFE finishing it.
3. I turn eighteen this year on the 1st of August
4. I have two Pet Guinea Pigs named Delia Deetz and Victoria Everglot I generally just call them Deetzie and Evie. They are both named after characters from Tim Burton movies.
5. I'm a vegetarian, I have been for six years.
6. I have no true middle name. My middle name is my mothers last name.
7. My Dad was born in Scotland, I'm a first generation Australian on his side.
8. I'm named after my Dad's Grandmother, her name was Catherine but she was always called Katie so my parents skipped straight to Katie
9. When my mum was pregnant but me and my sister were meant to be boys our names where going to be Alistair and Carl. I was Carl.
10. My name and star sign all weirdly go together, Katie means beloved or pure and McCue means Daughter or Son of Aodh which meant fire. My star sign is leo which is a double fire sign and planet the is the sun, a ball of fire. Weird right?
11. Last of all I've had all up eleven piercings and I'm hoping to get a tattoo next year.

Questions From Bo!

1. What do you think would be one of the best steps we could take toward ending poverty around the world? I personally believe education is one of the best steps we should take to end poverty around the world. People in poverty should be able receive education, to be able to get work to support themselves or grow food to feed their families. I also think education is needed for people who are lucky enough to win the birth lottery and be born into a developed country or into a well off family. For people lucky enough to get these things they should be better educated in the little things they can do to help. (That was really wrong, sorry! I feel very strongly about the crazy levels of social status that go on in the world)
2. If you could go anywhere in the world and money was not an issue, where would it be and why? (Include a picture!) If i could go any world with unlimited money I would go to Scottland to see where my Dad and Grandfather grew up, I've seen the small country town my Mum grew up in and I'd like to see the town that my dad was born in. I'd also like to visit my Grandma's grave who pasted away just before my Dad immigrated. Of course I'd have to make a trip to stonehenge of course.  I'll include a picture of stonehenge at the end incase you've missed one of the coolest things ever.
3. If you had three wishes from a non-tricky genie, what would you wish for? (You can't wish for more wishes or anything to do with money.) I would wish for no poverty, then better education for everyone in the world and just to not sound like a beauty pageant contestant as well as for fill my life long dream of owning a never ending library the magically filled with new books.
4. "It was a dark and stormy night" or "once upon a time." Which one do you prefer and why? I like 'Once upon a time' just because it's so sentimental whenever I hear it I just bring back so many memories of my my reading to me at night or my Dad taking me to the library every week. I use to make him get less books so I could put my extra's on his card and he always let me.
5. Do you read novella's? If not, why? I do read Novella most of time, I feel like they fill in more information that you would otherwise miss out on. They are also really quick and usually only a couple of dollars. 
6. Do you define yourself based mainly on your intentions, your actions, or something else? Why? I define myself by my actions, I think a lot of the time actions and intentions don’t quite match up so I’d rather define myself by something I’ve done not something I wanted to do. 
7. Do you have any siblings? If so, what are their names and are they older or younger than you? I have one sister named Megan who is 23 this year, I also have a kind of second sister named Christa who is 20 this year.
8.  What is your favourite series ever? My favourite series of all time would be the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery I read Anne of Green Gables in primary school and just feel in love with everyone in them. The series is timeless to me.
9.  If you could forget one book to be able to experience it all over again, which one would it be and why? If I could pick any book to forget to feel everything all over again I’d pick Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James. I had so many plot twists and elements the made you go holy god that if i could forgot it just to read it all over again I would!
10. Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? If you do, which ones? I don’t believe in any particular theories, some interest me but I’m not convinced enough in believe anything.
11. If you could bring back just one character that has died, which one would it be and why? This is a Rilla of Ingleside spoiler but holy god if I could save Walter from dying in this book I would. Walter was one of my favourites of Anne and Gilbert’s children and I was so crushed when he died.

The Nominees

I still really new to blogging so I don’t really know any blogger, but I do have a couple of people I’d like to nominate. Without further ado here are the people I think are rather great.

Tina from Tina Liz Reads

Kerrie Ann from Kerrie Ann Salsac - Reading For Life

My Question

1. What is your favourite colour?
2. Do you believe in a higher power?
3. If you could have any book signed be the author dead or alive what book would you pick?
4. Favourite series ever that you would sell your soul for if you couldn’t find it anywhere?
5. Favourite stand alone?
6. Are you an introvert or extrovert ?
7. Who is your OTP or characters that you ship from anything?
8. Do you believe in anything mystical i.e - fairies or ghost
9. Do you play any instruments or do you know any languages?
10. If you could have any pet even a crazy one what would you have?
11. Do you read books through the library before you buy them or do you go straight to the book shop?

Stacking The Shelves #5

Stacking the shelves is a meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews each week on whatever day you choose you create a post listing any books you've received for review, as a gift or just brought yourself. I'm going to be posting this every Monday (hopefully). All books not under heading Review Copies I have purchased myself or borrowed from the library or a friend. Books under heading Review Copies were given to me in return for a honest review. I'm trying to read all my review copies so I haven't really purchased anything.

Maze Runner - James Dashner,  Goodreads - Book Depository

Review Copies

Hexed - Michelle Krys, Goodreads - Book Depository

Look Who's Back - Timur Vermes, Goodreads - Book Depository

Prisoner of Night and Fog - Anne Blankman, Goodreads - Book Depository

Book Review: Me Since You - Laura Wiess

Pub. Date- February 18th 2014 Publisher- MTV Books

 Pages- 320 Genre- Contemporary/Young Adult  Rating- 5 Stars

I received this courtesy of MTV Books through 

Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Goodreads - Book Depository

"Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice?
Before and After. That's how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old--a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived.
If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger's shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother--and herself--from the endless replay of heartache and grief.
Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?"

The most  heart-wrenchingly sad and beautiful in equal quantities that when I try to explain the love I feel for it everything hurts award goes to this book. Laura Wiess has the most beautiful realistic way of writing that made the heart-break and hopelessness so present and over whelming without ever stopping the flow or pacing. Now yes this book is incredibly sad but it’s not pointless sad, everything that happens is for a reason and a lot of the emotions come from watching Rowan grow stronger and dealing with the horrible things that occur in her life.

Rowan starts the story being your average teenager who just wants to go out with her friends be popular.  Everything changes for her when her Dad is the closest cop on duty to a horrible crime. Her dad is only the closest because Rowan picked that Friday to skip school with a friend and then in a chain of events everything goes wrong. The crime happens, a video goes viral and nothing will ever be the same again. The whole plot of this magnificently written book is all about Rowan’s healing and try to get her family back together.

One of the best elements of this is the romance. The relationship between Rowan and Eli main focal point in the sense that they meet and everything is made mystically better.  This doesn’t happen in life; nobody is every going to be a heart mega-bandaid. Laura Wiess plays this out perfect and realistically both in a sense that Rowan and Eli do help heal each other but they don’t solely rely on each other to the point where the whole story feels unhealthy.  

As much as I could go on and on about this for years just thinking about the story has made me tear up. I did cry for an hour of my 2 hour reading (it’s way to good to put down) so this isn’t the book to read on the bus to work, more of an in bed with tissues and chocolate book. I really hope you’ll give this a read; it has quickly become one of my top books of the year. I'm so looking forward to buying a physical copy of this and maybe some of Laura Wiess' other novels.

Have you read this? Will you do your heart a favour and do it?
(If you had read this, you should leave a comment so we can sob together, or let me know if you hated it)

Book Review: Half Bad - Sally Green

Pub. Date- March 4th 2014 Publisher- Viking Juvenile Pages- 398 

Series- Half Life #1 Genre- Urban Fantasy/ Young Adult  Rating- 4 Stars

I received this courtesy of Viking Juvenile through 

Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Goodreads - Book Depository

"In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page."

Half bad is a breath taking mix of eerie writing, social commentary and a rollercoaster of emotions that carries you along. Set mostly in modern day UK where witches live along side with Fains (or us non-magical folk) and various mixes of the two. Witches are White and good or Black and evil anything more or less is completely undesirable. The White Witches are slowly killing off all Black Witches for the greater good of all White Witches. They have hunted down most of the Black Witches in Europe. Nathan the protagonist is a young boy who was given a terrible lot in all this.

Nathan is Half Bad as the title suggests, he has a White Witch from an upstanding family for a mother, but his father is the worst Black Witch alive. This makes Nathan evil in the eyes of nearly everyone and he’s given the label Half Code. Nathan is the only known Half Code and is monitored very closely by the Witches Council (these are only White Witches but they are the only council).  The Council monitor every aspect of Nathan life from who he can talk to, where he can go and most importantly if he can receive his 3 gifts on his 17th birthday.

This brings us to Nathan’s main challenge, he has to somehow get his gift from his father who he’s never met and has been told is inherently evil or do whatever the Council will him to do and receive the gift from his Nan. This takes us to the point where spoilers start coming in.

Nathan is a really interesting character, he is abused by everyone besides his family but he’s still trusting in a way. I really got drawn in by all the intrigue and fast paced plot that lasted up until the middle. Everything was spaced in a nice flowing manner; I was never over whelmed with the how many events happen even though there was so much happening. 

After getting half way through it, it really hit home that nothing had really happened in the way of concluding the plot. Nothing was drawn to a close if anything, more plot points where being added. Nathan is in practically the same situation as he started in and when the ending does come around it seems to wrap up way too quickly for the amount of things that are going on.

The world building is wonderful in this; it is very vivid and just plain enjoyable. Sometimes it did seem underplayed and over shadowed by the strong plot but it didn’t feel lacking. The new take on Witch folklore felt complex enough to be real but still understandable with all of the new idea. Gift, Hunters, White and Black Witches were all explained with feeling like you were getting an education. 

In conclusion the end was very anticlimactic but still enjoyable and there is a lot deeper meaning to everything. I can’t wait for the second book in the series Half Wild to come out to carry on with everything that happened. This is Sally Greens debut book as well!

Have you read this? Is this on your tbr?

Book Review: Lingering Echoes - Erica Kiefer

Pub. Date- October 2013 Publisher- Clean Teen Publishing

 Pages- 278 Genre- Contemporary/New Adult  Rating- 3.5 Stars

I received this courtesy of Clean Teen Publishing through 

Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Goodreads - Book Depository

She's broken with guilt.
He harbors a chilling past.
It's safer if they keep their distance...
But, the echoes that linger connect them.
Returning to Hidden Pines is the last thing Allie Collins wants to do during her final summer before college. For her, the family cabin she spent her youthful summers in, now holds a dark memory that has haunted her every day for the last year.
While struggling to forget her past , Allie runs into Damien the local rebel with secrets of his own. He's dark, dangerous and he keeps showing up when Allie least expects him to. She has every reason not to trust him. So why does she find herself opening up to him in a way she hasn't been able to with anyone?
As pieces of Damien's identity emerge answers to a rumored mystery begins to unfold. By the time Allie unearths the secrets of Damien's past, she realizes just how intricately they are connected. Now she is causght in a dangerous battle that threatens her life and those she loves.

New Adult as a genre over time has become very similar to Young Adult only with the characters being slightly older and maybe going to University or College, It always usually containing a lot of sexualised content but not this story. This was completely different, yes there was still the boy meets girl and they have a connection but they didn't jump into each others pants which was refreshing.

After having the worst summer imaginable the year before Allie has been brought back to the place it all happened by her Dad to try and move one. Accompanied by her Dad's new wife and her son and his best friend. Allie is left to try and fit in while constantly being pushed to face her biggest fear by everyone including Brooke a new friend she made. Allie first notices a weird guy who seems to chase her night and then Brooke sees him supposedly stalking which then leads to meeting leading man Damien.

Allie and Damien aren't the best main characters but the emotional aspects of this book make some their funky traits less messed up and hard to read. Take Damien for example he had some serious stalker tendencies and hides some very important things from everyone. Allie also does completely stupid things like running off on a the dark stormy night, going to a random slightly elders boys house without really knowing him. I say slightly elder there because it's brought up in the book constantly the Damien is so much elder then Allie. He's 19 and she is 17 not see the crazy age difference there which was a pet peeve of mine. All the other side characters were really interesting with more positive traits than negative. I really enjoyed Brooke she was the prefect mix of crazy, fun-loving and just trying to be a good friend.

Every emotional element was very well intertwined throughout the whole story, nothing ever felt forced. The real sense of guilt and grief that followed Allie around really got to me at stages through the book. The plot never felt stalled because of this, it flowed along nice and smoothly. I enjoyed the writing style a lot through the story everything was smooth and you never really need to think about what was happening because you could just picture it perfectly.

Like most Young Adult novel this is a love story and following the usual pattern there is a love triangle. It was never very well developed with Aaron being presented as the brothers friend that has a hard-core crush on Allie that's vaguely hidden under the guise of 'if you were one of my sisters I'd tell you this to' but it never goes further than that I felt, which left me feel like that story arc was incomplete. There were many of these moment were brought up but I was later left thinking what was the point of that, or why was so much emphasis placed on that when it's never mentioned again. A few unexpected twist happened through out the story but it was mostly an enjoyable easy to figure out contemporary. 

Have you read this? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

 If you haven't will you add it to your tbr or maybe one day pile?