Book Haul-Stormdancer, The Hobbit. Looking for Alaska and more...

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff- A long and gushing review

Stormdancer comes out in the UK on September 13th and is being published by Tor. The Hardback is 438 pages of epic.

This story is about a girl named Yukiko, her special gift and her broken family. Ordered by their Shogun (their emperor/king basically) the hunters of the imperial court, led by Yukiko’s own father, set off on the impossible task to find a thunder tiger, knowing that the beast is extinct and the mad Shogun’s order is basically a death sentence. If they refuse, they die. If they fail, they die. The only thing they can do is set off on a sky ship, the Thunder Child, and pray that their God grants them fortune but fortune always comes about in a way no one expects. Set in a Japan inspired land with lots of steampunk elements this really is an epic fantasy.

Video book haul [2]

Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit is the classic children's story about Bilbo Baggins, the reluctant burglar for a group of dwarves intent on taking their treasure and home back from the terrible dragon Smaug. This is a re-read. I first read this book when I was about 8.


The Hobbit has been held as a classic for a long time and it deserves that status. The story follows this unlikely group of creatures as the set off towards the misty mountains. Tolkien's writing style is incredible, it flows beautifully and describes this wonderful cast of characters and their predicaments perfectly. I love how songs and riddles are incorporated through out the story, which is something modern fantasy doesn't tend to do much of. 

Reading Rut

I'm in a bit of a reading rut right now. I think my problem is that I bought so many books to read over the summer that I don't know where to start and I know I need to get some read ASAP so that I can review them, but because I have so many it's all incredibly daunting.

Do you guys ever get into reading ruts and if you do how do you get out of them? I'd really like some advice.

-Iona

First Frost Blog Tour

Author Liz DeJesus has stopped by today for with an excerpt for the First Frost Blog Tour!

Big Book Survey

1. Favorite childhood book?

Harry Potter by Jo Rowling

2. What are you reading right now?

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. Yay so happy I have a copy!

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

I don’t really use the library because it’s not close to my house but I hope to borrow some when I move to Melton

4. Bad book habit?

Not reading a whole series. If I don't like the first book I won't bother

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

None.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

Yup. A kindle keyboard. Had it for over a year now. I prefer real books

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

I prefer one at a time but I usually get so excited about books I usually start a few in one go.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

I concentrate more on the writing style than I ever did

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Insurgent Video Review

Am I being too harsh with my ratings? Some thoughts on Goodreads

I have to ask myself time and time again, am I being too harsh with my ratings on Goodreads?

I browse through many other bloggers, book tubers and friends ratings on there and they happily give 5 stars to a book they liked. Most books I really enjoy I only give 4 stars to. My reasoning behind this is because I believe that a 5 star book is something that changes your life. That makes you smarter or creates elicits an extreme emotional response. Books I really enjoy don't necessarily do that.

The Declaration by Gemma Malley

Anna lives in Grange Hall, the one refuge place for people like her, people who shouldn't exist. She has lived there since she can remember and there she learns how to be useful. How to payback what she owes to the world for using up valuable resources just by living. But then a strange boy named Peter arrives, a boy who has lived outside Grange Hall all his life, and she starts to question things. Like, should she really be sorry for living?

What I liked?
Anna. Anna's progression through the book is very interesting. She changes quite a bit through out but she never looses her tough, stubborn edge. She can be a bit of a bitch sometimes but she has been given the worst out of life and is just trying to get by as best she can, living by the rules and expectancies of Grange Hall. When you read her diary it's really interesting to see initially how much she loathes her existence.

Video Book Haul #1- Sweet Evil, Insurgent etc...

 Hey guys, I thought I'd do a book haul in the form of a video. I'm not very good at these and I get a little scared in front of the camera so be nice please.

Book Tubers

Do you guys watch book tubers? I used to only watch Sanne or Books and Quills, but she did a video about book tubers a little while back and until then I hadn't realised it was much of a thing on youtube, now I realise it's huge so here's a list of my new found favourite book tubers in no particular order

For the girls we have:
Books and Quills
Just Kiss My Frog
The Book Chronicles
Reading Rhino Press
Kayley Reads
Paper Bookmark
The Readables
Ren Kelly M
Ophelia Dagger

And the boys:
The Boondoogle
Pure Dragon 100

I would give you guys explanations but I just want to use "amazing" and "quirky" in almost everyone one of them so I won't try and describe them but you really should check them out.

Do you guys watch book tubers and are there any you'd like to suggest to me?

-Iona

I'm Back! And A Quick Review.

I'm back guys! It's the summer Holiday and I'm back and ready to jump back into blogging again. Time to chill and read ignore the stress that college has been putting me under for the past couple of months. Did you miss me?


Onto the review...

Dark Matter: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver

1937, London. Jack is poor, lonely and desperate for a change so when he is offered a chance to join an arctic expedition he jumps at the offer. But the arctic summer is brief. As night returns back to the land and the dark creeps in Jack begins to realise something else walks the frozen land outside their little cabin...