The Beaucoup Review

Kiss, Date, Love, Hate by Luisa Plaja

2012-02-03T20:10:00.000Z

Lex Murphy's group of friends have all dated, hated, ignored and lusted after each other for the last few years. If only there was a way of matching people perfectly to avoid all the unrequited love, dumping and drama!
Then Lex's friend George is give a mysterious Sims-like game by his software-testing dad which involves building character profiles in the categories of Life, Looks and Love. Lex and George populate the game with avatars for all their mates, making a few 'wishful thinking' adjustments to the settings - and find that the next day these tinkerings have come true! But how long can this new calm, loved-up atmosphere continue...?

This is the synopsis of the book [taken from Amazon.co.uk]. Luisa Plaja is the founder and owner of popular book blog, Chicklish and the author of 3 [amazing] books, as well as featuring in another. Swapped by a Kiss, Split by a Kiss, Extreme Kissing are all books written by Luisa [click the titles to go to the Amazon page and buy them] and now she's written a 4th book- Kiss, Date, Love, Hate.

Here's some general information:
It was released yesterday [February 2nd].
It has 288 pages.
It's published by Corgi Childrens [at Random House].

To be in with a chance of winning this book, you can head over to Books For Company [EU only] and enter the giveaway. You can also purchase Kiss, Date, Love, Hate with the links below:
Book Depository
Amazon UK
Kindle UK
Kindle US
Waterstones UK

I've just bought my Kindle copy, and will hopefully be buying the paper-form version at the weekend *squeeeeeee!* If you've read any of Luisa's other books, you'll know she has an addictive writing style and her books are always worth reading. I'll post my review soon, but in the meantime you can read through some other reviews of the book:
Fluttering Butterflies review of KDLH
Book Angel Booktopia review of KDLH
Oh, and a great guest post on Daisy Chain Book Reviews from Luisa.

If you want any other information, why not visit Luisa's website, here?

To end this post, I would like to say thank you to Luisa for writing such fantastic books and running such a brilliant site. Yay!

Influence [Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen]

2012-01-30T08:25:00.001Z

What did I love most about this? Everything.

This isn’t a biography about their lives, it’s interviews with some of the most prestigious people in fashion, art and photography.

I found it to be a brilliant insight into the lives of hose interviewed. While it was an interview, the chatty feel to it made it much easier and more enjoyable to read. It made you feel as though you were there, as the scene would be set and photos are included.

There’s a big variety of people in here, from Lauren Hutton to Terry Richardson, from Christian Louboutin to Peter Beard. Whilst it’s hard to choose a favourite, one of them would be the interview with Karl Lagerfeld. As director of the fashion houses Chanel and Fendi, he also has his own brand and prepares collections for them all. The interview with him was such a great insight into what it’s like preparing around 10 collections a year. Every interview in the book is one you could re-read again and again.

I also loved the interviews with Christian Louboutin, Diana von Furstenburg and Bob Colacello. If you can read them online, I’d recommend that you do!

You see designs of theirs [the designers in the book] everywhere- shop windows, catwalks, red carpet events, in magazines, so reading an interview which gives you so much insight into their lives is quite fascinating. The photos are also great [especially those of the photographers], some are included with each interview. For example, if it’s with an artist- photos of their artwork are included.

Overall, I found it to be an amazing book with interviews with some of the most celebrated designers, artists and photographers of all time. I will [and have!] re-read this multiple times, I love it!

In My Mailbox #49

2012-01-29T18:21:00.000Z

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Won:

Thanks to Beth for sending me this! I've decided what book to buy, I'll post it next week.(:
I also borrowed 2 books from the library, but I can't remember the names of them and I've left them at school [clever], so I'll add them to next weeks post.

What did you get in your mailbox?

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight [

2012-01-26T08:32:00.000Z

Hadley lives in New York with her mother and she’s due to board a flight to London to attend her fathers wedding. To a woman she’s never met. It’s somewhere she doesn’t want to be, and she finds herself about to miss the flight…

Oliver is a Londoner living in New York, who holds many secrets. When the two cross paths, a lot is to be revealed…

The name of this intrigued me, as I love a good romantic book. While it’s a mouthful, it does make the book sound a lot more scientific, while still sounds sweet and romantic. I also loved the cover. I’ve got the proof copy, which has a different cover to the hardback- and I love it! I think the hardback cover is also lovely, but I do prefer the proof. Simple, and effective. Everything down to the font is perfect for the book.

The prologue to the book is great, it really sets the tone and scene, making you want to read on and find out what’s going on. The book starts with Hadley at the airport, waiting to board her flight. Until she misses it. This means she has to wait and get the next available flight, enabling her to meet Oliver. We don’t find out much about Oliver until mid way through the story and then at the end, which is a good motivation to read on.

I liked Hadley, but I found it strange how she accepted her step mother when she’d only met her once. It was a touching part to the story, but it seemed strange that she didn’t have much hate towards her. Oliver was a great character, too. Sarcastic, smart, secretive and charming. I thought he was more interesting than Hadley, despite Hadley being more of a main character. When we find out more about him, I feel so bad for him and it’s so easy to empathize. As both Oliver and Hadley were so realistic, it was easy to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what it’s like for them, which is brilliant.

The one thing I didn’t like was the mid-ending. When Hadley goes to look for Oliver, it’s unrealistic. She’s not been to London before, she has no idea where she’s going, but she manages to find him! That being said, it was a really sweet moment in the story.

I think this book could easily be made into a movie and I would definitely watch it. While cliché, it’s got it’s own twist, I could re-read it and I really enjoyed reading it. I would recommend you read this [ages 12+]. Thanks to Headline for sending me The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight!

In My Mailbox #48

2012-01-22T11:03:00.000Z

My internet switched off for 6 days and didn't go back on until yesterday, annoying. So that means I've got double amounts of posts to post this week. But anyway, In My Mailbox this week [and last]...

Bought:


I went halves with my mum on this, yay! It's so beautiful and something to cross of my wishlist.

For Review:

Gifted:

Thanks Dad!

Kindle:

An 'I Am Number 4' novel (:

I've also been reading a lot of books online recently. While I usually hate reading online, I've been using an iPad and it's so much easier to read on them! It's like reading off a Kindle [apart from I'm reading unpublished books, so they're no available on Kindle].

What did you get in your mailbox?

Knowing Me, Knowing You [Helen Bailey]

2012-01-10T20:10:00.000Z

Chantelle 'Channy' Allen is just about enduring her slightly bored teenage existence - trying not to die of embarrassment every time her parents' Abba tribute band perform a cringing medley of hits in front of all her friends...

But then Channy finds out something that turns her world upside down; something that makes perfect sense, but at the same time seems utterly ridiculous. Something that Channy is intent on investigating - despite the distraction of gorgeous French exchange student Antoine.

Channy's about to learn a valuable life lesson: sometimes curiosity is a dangerous thing...- taken from Amazon.co.uk

This book isn't what I thought it would be. Not in a bad way, I just wasn't expecting it. When I read the blurb, I thought it would be about a girl who's school has a French exchange program and that she would go and stay in France, then the exchange student in England. But I found the exchange student was a boy [ooops!] and that Channy meets him whilst bunking school.

I liked Channy as a character, but she was quite rude. She had an emotional journey, but it was hard to empathize with her as she covered it up and acted like she was okay. She's a strong person who doesn't like to show her feelings and she doesn't appreciate the people around her. However, she coped extremely well with the fact her parents were in an Abba tribute band and performing in front of her friends!

The characters were brilliant. I thought the twins were a bit dramatized, but still believable and an asset to the story. It's really interesting to see what older people think of younger people and how they behave and Helen's got it almost perfectly. I don't know anybody that obsessed with having the most friends on Facebook, but I'm pretty sure some people are like that!

The middle to end part of the book was my favourite. This is when the surprise of the story takes place, something which I really didn't expect. It's natural that Channy wants to get in touch with her father [was that a spoiler...?], but I didn't see it coming [though maybe I should have!]. If you've read the book, you'll know that the situation Channy gets herself into is madness. The character of her 'father' is so weird. The fact that he's no the obvious kind of... okay, this is really hard to explain without putting a spoiler in, but the fact that his personality and actions aren't those which you would expect.

Knowing Me, Knowing You has a really sweet ending and could easily have a sequel. I also love the name. Whilst being an Abba song, it shows the characters don't always know the people they think they know, so it was an interesting play on words.

I read Running In Heels, which is also by Bailey, and I did prefer it to Knowing Me, Knowing You- but I would still re-read both books.

Overall it was a fun read with an unexpected twist and I really enjoyed it.

In My Mailbox #47

2012-01-08T10:43:00.000Z

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

For Review:


Hardback copy

Bought:

I was tempted to buy so much in Waterstones this week. At the front of the shop they had the classics with such beautiful covers. I wanted to buy Emma and one book of 7 Jane Austen novels. Not only do they look gorgeous, but they all sound so interesting. Then there were all the photography books, which looked great. I decided on Andy Warhol, America- only because I didn't have enough for a big scrapbook kind of book on his work. But it still looks really interesting.

Wanting all these book has inspired me to create a tab at the top of the blog with 'Wishlist'. That way I can decide beforehand which books I want to buy and when I go into a book shop, I won't need to feel sad when I have to decide between 293847564987 books and which one I want most.

I was really excited to get a hardback of Advent. I've also been sent postcards and bookmarks which are designed so nicely and really do add to the whole build up of the release. I was also excited to get Style, so thank you to Hodder and Harper Collins for sending me these!

I've wanted Influence for ages and it's amazing. It's not a story on Mary-Kate and Ashley's life, it's interviews with some of the most well known names in fashion, photography and art.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

The Fallen Watchbird [Jane Weaver]

2012-01-04T20:40:00.000Z

"A Watchbird is a rare creature with great strength and unusual powers. It can seek and follow a vessel for days through treacheriys weather abd still return to its owner.
But not just anyone can keep a watchbird.
You cannot command a Watchbird to be your pet, for a Watchbird chooses its own keeper and this makes it all the more special" [quote on the blurb].

This book contains illustrations which are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. They're done by Kluncklick and are a mixture of photography and paint/drawings. I've read the story a few times, but I keep flicking through and looking at the gorgeous images.

The Fallen By Watchbird is a sweet, but sad, story of a woman who's love must leave to battle. The soilder promises he'll return soon, but she hears no word from him. She send her Watchbird off to make sure he's okay, but the Watchbird doesn't return. The women seeks the help if a witch who asks for a lot in return for a medicine to cure the woman's heart. The woman is entrapped with no way of escape, will she be saved?

It's a really sad tale with quite a haunting ending. I would recommend you get yourself a copy of this, it's like a fairytale for older readers, but it's suitable for all ages. Both my mum and my sister commented on the beautiful story and illustrations, so it appeals to most age groups. It's sweet and a great, light read.

The book was released to go alongside Jane's new album, which is brilliant and you can hear it here.

I will definitely continue to re-read this, I love it!

My 2012 Book-ish goals

2012-01-02T12:09:00.000Z

I've seen a few of these and have been inspired to do my own. My goals are quite hard, so they'll be hard to stick to. However, I want a challenge! So here they are:

Keep track of all books read in 2012 [I've made a tab at the top of my blog].
Schedule posts. That is, write a lot my posts in advance and share the schedule with you all. For example, making a tab at the top of the blog and it will have the names of the next 3 posts I'm doing [which will have already be written] and the day they'll be published [is this making sense?]. This will be the hardest for me, as I'm so unorganised!
Read my emails. And reply to them. Preferably within 2 days of them being sent.
Comment on blogs I follow. At the moment, I usually just comment on a few blogs [which I love], but I hope to log on to blogger and look through my dash and comment on at least 3 posts a day. For In My Mailbox, though, I hope to comment on at least 10 blogs a week.
USE TWITTER. Okay, so I have a post on it coming up, but I basically hope to make [another] twitter and actually use this one. Properly. Regularly!
Read more. I don't want to force myself to read, but sometimes I just can't be bothered when I should be. When I start reading it's okay, but sometimes it's actually picking up a book and reading it that I'm too lazy to do.
REVIEW more. I first created this to review books and try to encourage others to read or help them find a book which they'll like. Now, I don't do hardly enough reviews- so I want to be reviewing a lot more.
Discover new blogs. Find some new blogs to follow.
Take part in some new challenges.

I hope to keep all these goals, but we'll see!

What are your 2012 goals? I'd love to read your post on them, if you have one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

In My Mailbox #46

2012-01-01T14:20:00.001Z

First of all, happy new year! I hope 2012 brings good luck to you all.

Now here's the books I've got over the holidays:

Gifted:


thanks Santa!


from Santa...

Bought

I have a different cover, it's so cute!

I also got The Killables by Gemma Malley, but I couldn't find a photo to go with it. Thanks to Hodder for sending me that.

What did you get in your Mailbox?
In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T22:25:00.000Z

Family time, giving presents, getting presents, Christmas dinner, celebrating God, however you spend your Christmas, or whichever are your favourite parts, I hope you've had a wonderful day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

2011-12-16T16:53:00.001Z

I found this over at The Perpetual Page Turner and thought it looked fun, a sort of book quiz!

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

Tough choice! Hmm, Delirium by Lauren Oliver

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

Really don't believe I have been disappointed by a book this year...

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

Entangled! I thought I would like it, but I was so surprised about how much I really enjoyed it. If I could choose one book to read forever, it would be Entangled by Cat Clarke.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Gone by Michael Grant.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

Cat Clarke, Lauren Oliver, Michael Grant and Suzanne Collins.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

The Hunger Games aren't really the type of book I'd usually read, nor are the Gone books.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

Entangled.

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

Delirium!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

I liked the cover of The Body Finder and Forgive My Fins was pretty.

11. Most memorable character in 2011?

Adam from Boys Don't Cry.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?

For emotional impact, Entangled by Car Clarke. In terms of having a big impact of 'I WANNA READ THIS AGAIN!', probably Threads by Sophia Bennett because a lot of the things I love were in that book.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I ended up reading the whole series in the space of 2 days, they're addictive! Also The Hunger Games. They'd been recommended by so many people, why did I wait until 2011?!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

"Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.” Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I saw this quote on The Perpetual Page Turner and I have to agree that it's an amazing quote.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I really want to read this again, so I definitely will in 2012.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Delirium and the all of The Hunger Games books. I wanted to scream 'OMG! OMG! NO WAY!' to somebody at various points throughout.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2011 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2011?

Definitely the wonderful BookHi run by Zoe. This is one of my favourite blogs and it's run by the nicest person in the world.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2010?

Gone by Michael Grant, because I remember there was just so much I wanted to say about how amazing the book was!

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

Having only one discussion on the blog, my Kindle post at the beginning of the year will have to be my favourite! Looking back now, the post itself isn't very well written, but lets hope 2012 will bring more discussion posts.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
When I met Lauren Oliver, squeeee! She was so nice, lovely to talk to and the whole evening was fun.

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2011?

Right at the start of the year when I was loving it so much and blogging at every chance I could. I'm getting back into the swing of loving blogging and seeing as I spend 99% of my life on a computer, I'm pretty sure I could be posting a lot more!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My post on Harry Potter got the most views this year, for me.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I'm not sure... I try to write posts for myself and to help other people find books they would enjoy, not for comments or views, but they're really nice to get. I don't wish any of my posts had gotten more love [I don't think], but I do hope that my posts aren't too boring and people actually read them :p

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I would say Twitter, but I'm useless with it and get bored so quickly. I think I've had 3 so far and deleted them all... But I do think it's brilliant for staying up-to-date with book-ish news and talking to other bloggers.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed me e-book challenge! I went over it as well, wooop!

Looking Ahead...

1. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?

Post. A lot more. I should probably be a lot less lazy and bother writing reviews for books I've loved. I'd also like to comment on other people's posts more, as comments really can let people know tht you enjoy what they're doing.

You know it's Christmas when...

2011-12-14T21:24:00.000Z

So, it's almost Christmas! Here are 10 ways that tell you [in case you've lost your calendar] when it's Christmas time...

1. Elf is on TV. Best Christmas film ever.
2. Christmas lights go up in your town square/around you.
3. Shops start selling Christmas cards [though this happens months before Christmas...]
4. Christmas trees go on sale.
5. The TV adverts have Christmas themes [songs, father Christmas, 'Christmas deals' etc]
6. The X Factor finishes [Should Little Mix have won?]
7. Your friends start to behave well so Santa will give them some gifts.
8. The John Lewis advert... You can't wait to give presents.
9. Turkey's are in high demand.
10. You stock up on milk, biscuits and carrots.

What are you looking forward to this Christmas?

Lolly Luck [Ellie Daines]

2011-12-08T19:34:00.000Z

Here's a guest review from my little sister:

I would give this book 5/5.

The story is about a girl and her tragic life. Lolly was a girl who was leading a very happy life, and then suddenly all of it goes wrong! Her parents get divorced, she finds out her dad is not her dad and she has a lot on her mind, especially about the school play, where she was the lead part. I wish I was Lolly as Southend - I never win any prizes!

I like all the descriptions and emotions put into the book - it felt like I was there. My favourite character was Mariella, who was Lolly's enemy. I liked her because of her nasty and mean personality! There was a great cliff hanger and I didn't want to stop reading it, it was so good.

By the first chapter I knew it was going to be a great read.

When will the next Lolly Luck or Ellie Daines book come out? Could you send it to me? I'd love to read it.

By Niamh, age 8.

Thanks Niamh (:

My bookshelves

2011-12-05T20:08:00.000Z

I don't know about you, but I love looking a people's bookshelves. Mine are usually the messiest things in the world, but now I've organised [ALPHABETICALLY] my books and gotten a new storage-space-book-holder-thing, so I thought I would share some photos...

Before

During


After

After

I'm happy with the end result, I love how the new space holds the books and makes them look more organised. But it means I have to double stack [does that make sense? Like have a row at the back and then a row in front] the books, which could make it annoying to get at some of them. I moved loads of books out of my room and to my sister's, which she was very pleased about- so this was a win-win situation.

Also, I did a quick Google search of 'bookcase staircase' and look at these:

I definitely want these in my house when I'm older.

What are your bookshelves like?

In My Mailbox #45

2011-12-04T16:13:00.000Z

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I spent all of yesterday sorting out and redecorating my room, which included my books. After a lot of work, I got them on the shelves in alphabetical order. Yes, really. I put them in alphabetical order. I was feeling like a librarian [and pleased with myself], before my mum pointed out that I still had a load of books on my desk which hadn't been sorted [and would mean resorting through all the other books] and that whenever I get any new books I would have to take out all the ones on the shelves and add them in. And whenever I want to read a book out, I'll have to spend forever putting it back in it's place. So that ruined it, but I still like the new black storage-place-thing I have for my books, so I'm happy!
Anyway, here's what I got this week:

Bought


Well, actually my dad bought me this(:

While sorting out my room, I found a load of bookish goods in a box:

Whooo, it all felt brand new so I got excited all over again.

And... My exams have finished! For now. The past two weeks I've had English, Science, History, Geography and French, so I'm really glad I can finally relax! Or not. The next exams are in January so I'll need to revise for those... YIPEEEEEEEEE.

What did you get in your mailbox?

In My Mailbox #44- The best one.

2011-11-20T12:14:00.000Z

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

This week I got the most amazing books possible.

For Review:


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I'm so excited for all of these books, I cannot WAIT to finish them all!
What did you get in your mailbox?

In My Mailbox #43

2011-11-06T11:59:00.000Z

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I haven't done IMM for a few weeks, so this is what I've been reading:

[Photo's not working, will edit this post with them when they are]

For review:
Heist Society by Ally Carter [Kindle]
The Lying Game 1 by Sara Shepard [Kindle]
The Lying Game 2 by Sara Shepard [Kindle]
Pure by Julianna Baggott
My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent
Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn-Childs
Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck

What did you get in your mailbox?

And how is NaNoWriMo going for everyone? I'm miserably failing...

P.S Is anyone watching The X Factor? Vote Janet!

NaNoWriMo November!

2011-10-31T18:51:00.000Z

First things first, Happy Halloween [or Harry HaLOUween for One Direction fans...]! However you're celebrating- have fun.

It's November tomorrow, meaning it's the start of NaNoWriMo. I had completely forgotten about it this year, thanks to Luisa for reminding me. Last year, I set myself a word target of 20,000 [I think] and got to about 9,000 before pulling out. This year, I'm setting myself a much easier task, as 1. I have exams this year, 2. I'll have to use the family computer which likes to decide not to work half the time and 3. I haven't even got a story line yet.

I used to be a big writer, but I haven't written anything in years- other than in school. I'm much more of a reader, but I'm definitely going to try and change that [not the being a big reader, but also becoming a fan of writing again].

Who's taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? For those who don't know what it is, you can go over to the website here. My username is RoroReviewer [created last year, no idea if I can change it], I'm not sure if it's like an 'adding' thing, but I've seen a buddy list... Whatever that is.

Good luck to everyone entering.

Top Ten Tuesday- Halloween books

2011-10-25T14:18:00.000+01:00

Here are, in my opinion, the top ten books to read around Halloween. This was quite a hard choice, as I [usually] really hate horror/thriller novels. However, here are my top ten:

1. The body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Finding dead bodies... Dead. I rest my case.

2. The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith

Vampires. They were supposedly the start of Halloween, so a perfect topic.

3. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

Again, vampires.

4. Pretty Little Liars [Killer] by Sara Shepard

They are actually scary. I kept thinking somebody was behind me, waiting to murder me.

5. The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

All kids like to dress up as a witch on Halloween, right?

6. Rainbow magic by Daisy Meadows

Or a fairy...

7. Hunger by Michael Grant

Because people get murdered and Drake has a whip as an arm... This is scary.

I really can't do more than 7. You can see that I resorted to putting a fairy book on my list, enough said.

What would you put on your list of Halloween reads?

Hush Hush [Becca Fitzpatrick]

2011-10-17T19:16:00.000+01:00

Nora's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, she is drawn to him against her better judgement. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and knows more about her than her closest friends.And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of a centuries-old battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and sooner or later, she's going to have to pick sides...-taken from Amazon.co.uk

I read this on the Kindle as I'd heard so much about it and a lot of people had recommended it to me. So does it live up to expectations? Yes.

I read all 3 books in 2 days, one sitting for each- they're addictive. Becca's writing is fantastic, bringing up a new twist in all the right places to ensure the reader is never bored. I never got into the whole Angel hype, and I still don't think I'm the biggest fan- but I am a big fan of this series. It's original, combining a beautiful romantic story with cliff hangers, crime and fantasy.

Patch. Oh, Patch. He seems so wonderful, how could you not love him? Always there to protect Nora, but not as a nerdy stalker- as a cool, protective and caring guy. He as a bit of a temper, which makes him even better. This book would not be complete without Patch. At first, I thought he was a bit of a creep, but the more you read on the more you get to know how sweet he really is. He has his faults [arrogant...], but they're outweighed by his charming nature.

Nora could be a bit annoying at time, but overall I liked her. In this book, I adored Rixon. He and Patch had the perfect bromance. Vee was bubly and I such a great friend. I think the fact that Jules was overlooked and rarely mentioned throughout the novel [until the end] made him a clear suspect- as it makes the reader wonder why else he could be there. He wouldn't be introduced for no reason, so I suspected who he was. At first, I really wanted Elliot and Nora to get together [this was when patch was over arrogant and Elliot was cute], but after you see the true Patch, you know Nora couldn't choose anyone over him.

There was a lack of description with the character appearances, I love detail. But there was enough to get by and in some ways it's a good thing, as it allows your imagination to run wild with possible ideas.

I got a bit lost near the end with the whole Nephil/ [SPOILER, though most people have probably read it...] jumping off the roof thing, so you need to be really focused without any distractions when reading this. It was a bit confusing, but it still all made sense.

The cover is beautiful, so haunting. Although I'd decided to read this without any input from the cover, I usually do pick up books from the artwork/photo/design on the front. If I saw this in a bookshop, it would be the first book I go to. The image is captivating and the writing being in Red stands out against the Grey colour of the background. Basically, it's perfect.

Overall, an alluring and fantastic story with beautiful characters and a perfect cover. I don't know why it's taken me so long to read it and if you haven't, go read it now!

In My Mailbox #41

2011-10-16T10:36:00.000+01:00

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

I bought [thanks to my mum!] so many books on the Kindle this week...

Kindle

For Review

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Headline publishers for these books.(:
What did you all get in your mailbox?

Top 100 YA books...2

2011-10-14T18:25:00.000+01:00

Since I have been MIA, I have been doing a lot of reading.

I had read 30 of the top 100 YA books as seen on MFB and Cheezyfeet Books. There are lots of books I've wanted to read for a while on that list, so I decided it was time to actually get reading!

I've now read Beastly, 2 of the 3 The Hunger Games [addicted], 6 of the 9 Pretty Little Liar books and the 3 books from the Hush Hush series. The one other books I'm dying to read from that list is Looking For Alaska by John Green, the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen and Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson.

So here is my updated list:

1) Alex Finn – Beastly
2) Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3) Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4) Ally Condie – Matched
5) Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6) Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7) Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8) Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9) Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10) Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11) Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12) Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13) Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14) Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15) Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16) Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17) Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18) Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19) Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20) Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21) Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22) Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23) Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24) Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25) Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26) Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27) Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28) Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29) J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30) James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31) James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32) Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33) Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34) Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35) John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36) John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37) John Green – Looking for Alaska
38) John Green – Paper Towns
39) Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40) Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41) Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42) Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43) Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44) Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45) Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46) Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47) Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) 48) M.T. Anderson – Feed
49) Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50) Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51) Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52) Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
53) Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54) Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55) Mary Ting – Crossroads
56) Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57) Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58) Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59) Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60) Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61) Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62) Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63) Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64) Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65) Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66) Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67) Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68) Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69) Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70) Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71) Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73) Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74) Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75) Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76) Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77) Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78) Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79) S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80) Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81) Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82) Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83) Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84) Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85) Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)
86) Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87) Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88) Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89) Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90) Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91) Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92) Stephenie Meyer – The Host
93) Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94) Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95) Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96) Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97) Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98) Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99) Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100) Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

Total read: 34

Which books on here are your favourites and which do you think should have been on here, which aren't?

In My Mailbox #41

2011-10-02T10:10:00.000+01:00

I've missed quite a few IMM's, so here's a catch up one [hoping I haven't forgotten some books.. Also, my camera needs new batteries, which I haven't got round to buying, so I've had to use google for all these images]. IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Gifted


omg, the cover!

These 3 were bought for me by my dad, as a well done for my first English GCSE.

Bought

signed!

For Review

Kindle

What did you get in your mailbox this week?(:

Top 100 YA books...

2011-10-01T22:13:00.000+01:00

Key:

Bold- read

Italics- TBR

Underlined- want

1) Alex Finn – Beastly
2) Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3) Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4) Ally Condie – Matched
5) Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6) Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7) Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8) Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9) Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10) Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11) Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12) Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13) Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14) Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15) Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16) Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17) Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18) Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19) Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20) Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21) Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22) Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23) Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24) Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25) Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26) Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27) Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28) Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29) J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30) James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31) James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32) Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33) Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34) Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35) John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36) John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37) John Green – Looking for Alaska
38) John Green – Paper Towns
39) Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40) Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41) Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42) Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43) Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44) Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45) Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46) Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47) Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48) M.T. Anderson – Feed
49) Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50) Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51) Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52) Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
53) Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54) Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55) Mary Ting – Crossroads
56) Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57) Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58) Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59) Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60) Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61) Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62) Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63) Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64) Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65) Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66) Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67) Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68) Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69) Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70) Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71) Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73) Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74) Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75) Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76) Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77) Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78) Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79) S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80) Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81) Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82) Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83) Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84) Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85) Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)
86) Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87) Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88) Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89) Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90) Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91) Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92) Stephenie Meyer – The Host
93) Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94) Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95) Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96) Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97) Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98) Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99) Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100) Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

I saw this over at Love Reading X and thought I'd give it a go. I've read 20/50 [not including individual books from series]. There are so many books on here I really want to read, I just always forget to pick them up. Overall, I think the list is a great one [though I would have changed a few of the books!] and I love seeing the Gone series [for some reason, I smile seeing it there] on it. Which of these have you read, which do you want to read and which are on your to be read pile?

True Whit [Whitney Port] GIVEAWAY

2011-09-13T21:13:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I posted a review of True Whit by Whitney Port and I've also got a giveaway copy for one reader.

To enter, click here. To read my review, click here.

I'm only able to post to those in the UK and the giveaway is open until the 24th of September 2011. You can gte extra points by following the blog, but it's no necessary.

Good luck. (:

True Whit [Whitney Port]

2011-09-12T19:11:00.000+01:00

Whitney Port shares personal stories, beauty and fitness secrets, and tried-and-true advice on everything girls need to know to start their lives out with style

Fashion trendsetter, MTV reality star, and clothing designer Whitney Port learned to navigate her new independent life in New York with grace, style, and a sense of humor. From backstabbing coworkers and bitchy bosses to long-distance boyfriends and a daring new career in fashion, Whitney managed to handle it all. Intimate and honest, Whitney opens up about everything from fashion and beauty to romance and careers. She dishes on: her experiences working at Teen Vogue, People's Revolution, and Diane von Furstenberg; finding love and trying to make it work; and life in front of the cameras.

Whitney shares her unique style philosophy, including when to break the rules, her family's influence on her sense of style, and her perfect outfits for any occasion—from meeting your guy's parents to wowing an interviewer for a job. Whitney also details what young women really want to know, like what to eat when the mid-afternoon munchies strike, how to throw an impromptu party, and how to hide a hangover.

With hundreds of photos and chock-full of must-have lists and style favorites, this colorful scrapbook features pics from Whitney's personal photo albums and from major moments in her life, including on the runway, at her private birthday bash, and out on the town with friends. And for the first time, Whitney shares the true reality of an emerging fashion designer, highlighting her creative process, sketches, and fabrics.

Through personal stories and private snapshots, fans will get to see a side of her that the cameras don't capture. This is Whitney Port revealed.-taken from Amazon.com

This book is aimed at an audience of women in their 20's, however I felt I could relate to the topics- but on a different level. For example, when Whitney talked about interior designing tips, I could use them for idea's for my bedroom.

My favourite part of the book was when Whitney talked about fashion and her best and worst outfits. Personally, I love how Whitney dresses and, while there have been a few 'fashion bad's', most of the time she looks amazing and her wardrobe is what millions of girls [and boys!] dream of having.

Whitney is from the MTV shows The Hills and The City, but it's not mentioned a lot in her book. She talks a bit about Olivia Polermo and how Olivia tried to make her look bad, but other than that it was barely mentioned. I think it was really sweet that Whitney mentioned Olivia in her Acknowledgments, giving everything [all the arguments] they went through.

I read this in one sitting and really enjoyed it! As I mentioned, the book was aimed at an older audience, but I could relate to it all. There are some great tips on fashion, hair, interior designing, fashion designing and general stuff, too.

My favourite thing about this book are the pictures. I keep going back to look at them again and again. I basically spend 987349827 hours looking at all the clothes Whitney's wearing, wishing I had them. I mentioned a few of the hair tips Whitney wrote about, to my mum, and now every time I ask a question I get "What would Whitney say?" or "What would Whitney do?" from my mum, who thinks it's hilarious.

Overall, a really enjoyable book which I love to re-read. I recommend it to fans of The City, The Hills, Gossip Girl, fashion and style. Thank you to Aurum publishing for sending me this.

P.S tune back tomorrow [and I will actually get it up tomorrow, not in 3 days] for a giveaway copy of this fabulous book.

Just a quickie

2011-09-08T21:17:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to apologise for not blogging in the last few days. I've just started school again and I've been laiden with homework and revising. I've started taking my GCSE classes now [History, Geography, ICT and French] and my first GCSE exam is this term *scared!*

Also, it's my sisters birthday today and [keeping things book related] I got her Lizzie Zipmouth & a photo album. The cover on the one [Lizzie Zipmouth, book] I got her was lovely, with a shiny red background. Much nicer than the copy I own.

I'll be back tomorrow, with a review of True Whit. Don't miss me too much!

In My Mailbox #40

2011-08-28T12:09:00.000+01:00

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

For Review:


I've also been sent a Giveaway copy, yay!

Gifted:


from my Momma, thanks Mum!

Lauren Oliver Blogger Event Photos

2011-08-21T20:15:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox #39

2011-08-21T10:51:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Most of what I got this week was DVD's to keep me and my sister company in the evenings in Ireland:

I only bought one book this week [surprising seeing as I usually spend a lot buying books at the discount book shop in Ireland]:


I have the first, Fallen, but haven't read that yet...

What did you get this week?

My Adventures in Ireland

2011-08-20T19:03:00.000+01:00

From the 6^th to the 16^th I spent my time in the Republic of Ireland. Most of my mum’s family lives there, so it was great to see them all. We stayed by the beaches, where my mum grew up. We actually managed to get one or two sunny days down there [amazing, considering it’s Ireland] and hung out with my mum’s friends and their children. I went into the town [only a 15 minute walk, along the beach] quite a few of the days, with my Granddad. I didn’t buy anything, because the price in the shops [Topshop, Ms Selfridge, New Look] was more than they should be, based on the exchange rate [if that makes sense…?]. So I just went into all the shops, tried on the clothes, gazed longingly at the items and then left, empty handed. The one thing I did buy, on its release day, was the season 4 Gossip Girl box set. I have the other 3 seasons and I couldn’t resist buying this one. If anyone watches Gossip Girl will understand why I love it so much.

My favourite thing about this holiday was seeing everyone. My beautiful baby cousin can now crawl and he enjoyed chasing me and my sister round the apartment we were staying in. My other two gorgeous cousins were lovely to see again, too. My baby cousin is called David and is 9 months. Then there’s his big sister Aoife [almost 3] and his big bro- Luke [age 5]. We got to celebrate Luke’s birthday while we were over there, which meant an indoor activity centre with climbing equipment, soft balls and a bouncy castle, with 15 or so kids running about.

The apartment we were staying in was really nice and only a couple of minutes from the beach. It had 3 bedrooms, one of them covering the whole of the upper floor. Me and my sister attempted to sleep there on the first night, but were too scared! Don’t judge, it was really creepy.

My mum’s friends have young children, so my sister had a great time playing with them. There was a playground right near where we were staying, so we visited that almost daily and it, along with the beach, meant a lot of great photo opportunities.

We mostly had family time while we were there, which was brilliant. We saw grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunties, friends and my mum’s cousins, aunties, uncles [does that make them my 2^nd cousins?] and friends.

My Gran's sister has a lovely house with a huge garden that surrounds the whole house. There's a small stream/fountain, a chicken coop, gorgeous flowers, games and a trampoline. My sister and cousins loved the trampoline, while me and my friend [my mum's cousins son] went round photographing the flowers and plants.

I love going to Ireland and I had a great time.

On a book note, I brought my Kindle along, but was locked out! The password I thought I had set, doesn’t actually fit in the characters allowed –so I’m not sure what my password has been set as. Luckily I had my copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone to keep me company.

What did you get up to in your holidays?

P.S Sorry some of this writing is different sized. As I have previously mentioned, I hate this theme. Me and blogger don't really get on well. The photo's took forever to get right [all under each other] and if I caption them, then they go all strange.

So here's the captions:

Photo 1: My sister on the beach, in her Ozzy Osbourne/John Lennon sunglasses.

Photo 2: Me and my sister thought it would be cool to draw a cat nose and whiskers on each other...

Photo 3: A photo of a flower with the stream behind it.

Photo 4: The adults!

Photo 5: Me and the beautiful, David.

P.P.S sorry for such a long post!

It's not just books

2011-08-19T13:15:00.000+01:00

My 14 days of posts have finished! Phew, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but it's done. I think it was a really fun exercise to do and it reminded me how fun blogging is. But doing the photography post made me realise that I like sharing other parts of my life, other than books, with you. So next post [hopefully tomorrow] will be one of my adventures in Ireland with my favourite photo's to go with it.

Now that the 14 days of posts have finished, I can bring comments back! Disabling the comments for 2 weeks has shown me that it does feel great to get a positive comment on a review or an interview etc, it makes you feel like your work is being appreciated. So I'm happy to admit that I was wrong about comments being the main focus of my blog.

At the beginning of the year, I set myself some challenges:

1. To post at least 8 reviews per month
2. To do at least 17 posts per month
3. To comment on at least 5 blogs and 7 posts each week
4. To go to more author events
5. To post more photo's [for IMM, author events, etc]

The first and second challenges have failed, miserably. However, I'm beginning to pull myself together, right at the end of the year.

Comments... I was really good with comments, but I've been lacking recently. To make up for it, I'm about to go on a commenting spree.

I've only attended one author event this year. Does the fact that it was LAUREN OLIVER's event help? I'm hoping to go to a couple more, so maybe this can be the challenge that gets done.

I think I've done okay with photo's... Not to well, not too bad. I gave up on IMM for a while, I just kept forgetting about it, and my photo's from Lauren's event wouldn't show [but it's not my icon, so you can see it on my profile]... Okay, so maybe I've failed this one, too.

Can I pull back and complete more of my challenges before the year is up? Well I have the rest of this month and 4 more to prove to you that I can.

Here are links to all the posts I've done in the last 2 weeks:

14 days of posts and goodbye comments

Shopaholic Ties the Knot [Sophie Kinsella]

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery [Keren David]

Liesl and Po [Lauren Oliver]

Summer Picks

Mini Shopaholic [Sophie Kinsella]

Entangled [Cat Clarke]

Judy Moody [Megan McDonald]

Harry Potter

Daughter of Smoke and Bone [news]

Dragons Pupils Sword Guest [Martin Chu]

Not books, but photography

100% One Direction [Evie Parker] GIVEAWAY

I mentioned a while ago that I'm looking for a new theme, and I'm still on that mission. I like the look of the blog [the background etc], but the writing is really annoying me. It either comes out too big or too small and it only does that with this theme, so I'm on the hunt for a new one.

It does feel great to publish this post without having to press 'Post Options: Reader comments: Do not allow'. (:

100% One Direction [Evie Parker] GIVEAWAY

2011-08-18T20:25:00.003+01:00

I've already blogged about this, but just a reminder that you can enter my giveaway to win a copy of 100% One Direction by Evie Parker. To enter, just click here. There are no extra entries, just fill out your name and email address.

For my review of this book, click here.

In case you haven't heard it yet, you can click here for One Direction's debut song, What Makes You Beautiful. The music video is released tomorrow, so check back!

P.S, catch a great giveaway over at the Book Angel by clicking here.

Not books, but photography

2011-08-17T11:02:00.000+01:00

At the beginning of the holidays, I signed up for a photography course which would be for 5 days from 10-3.

I’ve finished the course and I’ve learnt so much from it. I’ve learnt about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, photo shopping and composition. I understand the basic concepts of them all, but I’m still putting them all into practice… As well as taking photo’s, we had to be models for each others photo’s. I wasn’t expecting that, and at first I wasn’t comfortable in front of the camera, only behind it. But as the week progressed and I got to know the people on the course, it became easier. By the end of it, there were quite a few photo’s of me, as well as the one’s I’d taken. Here are a few I took [I can’t remember what the aperture or shutter speed were on them, though]:

Dragons Pupils- The Sword Guest [Martin Chu Shui]

2011-08-16T11:58:00.003+01:00

An eye catching cover

Half-Chinese, half-Australian, Liz is not interested in her father’s ancient Tao wisdom, or his cryptic tales. She is more concerned with environmental issues—particularly the plan to mine one of Australia’s great landmarks, Wave Rock. Her father’s latest gift, a Chinese calligraphy pen, seems set to take its place in her bottom drawer forever.

Then Wave Rock is blasted open by something more than a mining operation, and Liz finds that she must battle monsters from ancient times as well as creatures from other worlds, all intent on destroying Earth. She must call on all her powers, from both her Eastern heritage and her Western upbringing, to save her world. Her pen becomes her way into a new and magical world, and Liz discovers she has powers—and allies—that she never could have guessed.
[taken from Smashwords]

When I first started reading this, I was intrigued. The idea of a pen that could bring drawings to life is great, wouldn't we all want one of those? Then there's Liz and Henry's father, who's stories on their Chinese heritage are very entertaining, but Liz doesn't think so. At least, not at first.

I liked Liz. She should have listened to her dad a bit more, but I liked her. It's great that the book's told from a female point of view, as it would be expected that a 'fighting' book is to be told from a male point of view. I think this book really appeals to both genders, because of the type of book it is and because of the narrator's gender.

This book is self published, so it's really hard for it to be read and purchased. It was quite hard to read, though. When I buy a book on my Kindle, I purchase it online via the Kindle so I don't have to connect it to the computer and I don't actually know how to use that way, so I read this on the computer and I hate that way of reading. However, I've just seen that you can buy it from Amazon, straight off the Kindle, for only 86p, so when I'm back in the UK I'll buy it and read it again like that [sorry for this rambling, I hope I'm actually making sense...]. One of the drawbacks to self publishing is that it costs $19.99 for a paperback copy [around 12.36 pounds].

Here's the first couple of lines, which I thought were great and really draw the reader in:
Zhang lifted his calligraphy pen from the south wall of Anle temple, stepped back, stroked his long white beard, and smiled. He had been painting for three months, and now he had finally completed the last scale on the last dragon on the last wall of the temple.

Overall, I liked most of the characters, I liked the detaila nd I'm going to re-read it. I urge you buy this [cmon, it's only 86p for a good read. Kindle version, only]. Here are some links from where you can buy it:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble [paperback]

Smashwords [free]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone [news]

2011-08-15T11:50:00.000+01:00

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a YA novel by Laini Taylor. My review is still to come, but I can say that it's well worth ordering.
Anyway, a website for the book is up and running and has previewed the UK cover of the book. To take a look at all the news on the website, click here.
Here's the gorgeous cover:

Here's a synopsis of the book [taken from the website]:

There once was a young artist called Karou who drew tales of monsters and demons that delighted and enthralled those around her.

But she has a secret, a secret that ties her to a dusty subterranean chamber, where her beloved guardian brokers dark deals in a place that is not here. A place that is Elsewhere.

Living with one foot in each world, Karou has never really known which one is her true home.

Go order this book from Amazon, now!

Harry Potter

2011-08-14T11:51:00.000+01:00

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. 3 characters who have developed in front of our eyes. I was too young to read the first few books when they first came out [in fact, I don’t think I was born when the first came out..], but I’ve made up for lost time and have now read all the books multiple times.

But the journey’s finished. They’re all grown up and there are no more adventures. Watching the final film was far worse than reading the final book. With the book, at least there were a few more films to go, but when I saw the final film- that was the end. There’s no more Harry Potter and co. No more Hagrid, no more Dumbledore, no more Snape.

For me, the first book was the best one. It was the start of an era, a whole new world to explore. This first book is the making of Harry Potter. In the first book, we’re introduced to all the characters and are taken on their very first adventure, involving 3 headed dogs, walking through walls, flying broomsticks and the amazing quote “We could have been killed! Or worse, expelled.” From a Ms Hermione Granger. From the first book, 6 more have come and each one has been as good as the last [though I still think the first was the best]. I bet all the publishers who turned Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone down, are kicking themselves.

To see the final film premier, fans flew from Italy, America, Sweden, Ireland and more. It was there dream to meet/see the genius that is J.K. Rowling. It’s no wonder most of them were in tears after having their dreams come true. Emma Watson had tears streaming down her face. This has been her whole life since she was 9, every decision she’s made- she’s had to question whether it would be okay because of Harry Potter.

I think it’s fair to say that this series has been one of the best ever written and, for that, I thank you J.K. Rowling, all the characters, all the editors, the publishers, the inspiration all the actors in all the Potter films, all the lighting and sound people, all the costume and beauty people, every one involved in the films and books.

Judy Moody [Megan McDonald]

2011-08-13T11:46:00.003+01:00

When a detective and his dog visit Judy’s school, she decides she wants to be a detective. Already inspired by the Nancy Drew books, Judy is sure this is her future profession. When the detective’s dog, Mr. Chips, disappears, Judy takes it upon herself to find out what happened to the Mr. Chips. Will she figure it out?

This book was originally bought for my sister a few months ago, but she forgot about it while reading it [as it’s on my Kindle] so I decided to give it ago. Whilst being a bit too young for me, I found myself wanting to read until the end- just to find out what happened to Mr. Chips.

The storyline is perfect for younger children [and me…], it really draws you in. Judy’s words are so cool- RAD and RARE being her favourites.

The drawings were really sweet and would make sure kids don’t get bored with the story. It’s not too long, but it’s not a quicky book either. It’s a great ending, I’m sure children love it.

Overall, I’m glad I read this- it was fun! I would recommend it to 7 year olds [give or take a few years], but I’m sure older readers [like myself] could enjoy this, too. I’ve read a lot of the other Judy Moody books and they were all as good as this one. This is a nice light read and if any new Judy Moody’s come out, I would probably end up reading it [I think I’ve read them all].

Entangled [Cat Clarke]

2011-08-12T11:42:00.002+01:00

Entangled is possibly the best book I’ve read. Ever.

The story line is so amazing, so different, so unique, so genius. I don’t think anything like this has been done before, it’s so original. As a reader, you’re revealed information as the story goes on, it’s gradually told to you so you need to read on and find out what’s actually happened. There’s flash backs, confusing and thought provoking parts and detail in everything.

I’m sure this could have been a great book with the story line it has, but what makes this book so fantastic is the way it’s written. Having information fed to you as you progress through the book, wanting to know more- needing to know more, getting to know the characters, feeling every emotion under the sun whilst empathizing for the characters, it’s just perfect.

The end is brilliant. You’re made to think one thing throughout the whole story, but at the end everything changes. It doesn’t say outright what’s happened, but it’s implied which makes it even better. There’s quite a quick ending, but it fits the story really well, it leaves the reader with time to think about what they’ve just discovered.

I didn’t really like Grace's best friend, Sal, but I did feel sorry for her and try to understand how she was feeling, which must have been very emotional. Her friendship with Sal was really sweet at the beginning, but by the end things have changed.

Grace was such an amazing character. She's so complex and comes across one way, when she's really another. I could see this book being turned into a film, with Elle Fanning playing Sal and Daniel Radcliffe playing Nat [Grace's boyfriend]. Not too sure about a Grace...

I know I’ve already talked about the story line, but it really is amazing. The whole concept of the story, telling half of it through flash back and what you discover at the end, is just genius.

I really want a sequel to this, but I’m not sure if it could match up to this book. I’m not sure anything could match up to this, I loved it so much. I think everyone should read this book, it’s stunning! If you haven’t already read it, go do so now- you won’t regret it.

100% One Direction [Evie Parker]

2011-08-11T11:38:00.002+01:00

One Direction are an all boy band put together on The X-Factor 2010. The band is made up of Harry Styles [17], Niall Horan [17], Louis Tomlinson [19], Zayn Malik [18] and Liam Payne [17]. 100% One Direction is a guide to knowing all about the boys, from their likes and dislikes to the songs they sang on The X-Factor. This book is a must have for all fans.

As you’re probably aware, I’m a huge One Direction fan so this book was perfect for me. It had facts on the members, photo’s, posters, song lists, everything. If you’re a new fan, this book gives you all the information you could want and need to become a hardcore fan.

It’s also packed with games and activities, so it would be perfect to take on holiday to keep you occoupied on long journey’s or just something to do in your spare time. Having the activities in it is something different, something that hasn’t been done for One Direction before, so go out and get this ASAP.

I was lucky enough to be offered 4 of these books to giveaway to 4 lucky readers. All you have to do is enter here [no extra entries, just name and email address]. I recommend that you either enter or buy this book, if you’re a fan of the band.

This kept me busy and would be a great book to buy for yourself or a friend. An enjoyable book which all fans should have.

P.S for any One Direction fans who don't already know, the first single is called What Makes You Beautiful.

Mini Shopaholic [Sophie Kinsella]

2011-08-10T11:36:00.000+01:00

Move over Rebecca Bloomwood, there’s a new Shopaholic on the scene. Mini Brandon is the daughter of Becky Bloomwood and mini Shopaholic. The non jean wearing toddler knows what she wants and will do whatever she can to get it. Being a Shopaholic, Becky usually buys whatever her daughter wants. But Mini can’t really be spoilt, can she? Luke thinks so and thinks it would be best if they hired someone to help. But nothing goes to plan. At the same time as trying to gain control of her daughter, Becky is also planning a big surprise birthday party for Luke, but nothing’s working out. She also has nothing to wear, as she’s promised not to buy any new clothes until she’s worn all the one’s she already owns 3 times each. Can she get the part sorted out in time? Is Mini really a brat? Are there more children on the cards? Will she break and buy something?

I find this series so fun; I could read Shopaholic all day. They’re so fun and I can really get into the mood of the book. I often read these in one go because time seems to run away with me when I’m reading these books.

Mini sounds like such a darling and her fashion sense is amazing. Of course, so is Rebecca’s. I love seeing how Becky manages to talk herself into buying something by persuading herself it’ll be an investment in the long run, when it clearly won’t be.

The pocket money Mini is given is hilarious. She gets 50p a week so Becky decides she can have 2 years worth as she didn’t have it for the first 2 years of her life. Pretty soon, Mini is overdrawn. The way the two of them spend her ‘pocket money’, she’ll probably be overdrawn until she’s 18! Becky uses the pocket money as an excuse to shop for herself, buying herself a dress for ‘Mini’s 21^st birthday’, which she just has to try on and wear to make sure it’s safe.

As the other books in the series are, this was a nice, funny read which I would recommend for readers age 10+.

Summer Picks

2011-08-09T11:24:00.000+01:00

Here are a few of the books I have to keep me company this summer:

LA Candy- Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad [Kindle]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins [Kindle]

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo [Kindle]

Girl nearly 16 Absolute Torture

The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Deception by Lee Nichols

Not all of these are new, but these are what I’ll be reading over the summer holidays. Hopefully I’ll finish them all before I’m back to school. Expect some reviews! Feel free to email me your summer picks and I’ll post what you like reading, on the blog [the-beaucoup-review [at] hotmail [dot] com].

Liesl and Po [Lauren Oliver]

2011-08-08T11:14:00.000+01:00

This is the tale of an abandoned girl, 2 ghosts, a young boy and people who want them dead.

Liesl’s father has passed away and her step-mother is keeping her locked in the attic, the door only being opened for her meals twice a day.

Po is a ghost who misses the Living Side more than it’ll admit. Po is neither a he nor a she, but it is both. Bundle is neither a dog nor a cat, but it is both.

Will is the apprentice of a sorcerer, who is intent on making a potion for the Lady. But Will loses the magic and is finds Liesl on his journey to get away from the sorcerer.

The 4 of them are on a mission to get Liesl’s fathers ashes to the old tree where Liesl’s mother is buried. There, her father can rest. But it won’t be an easy job…

I was really excited to read this, after Lauren’s other work [Before I Fall and Delirium] and it didn’t disappoint. It was so different from the usual paranormal/ghost stuff and it had great characters.

Vera, Liesl’s step sister, isn’t in it much- but I would have liked her to be. It would have been cool to see if Vera and Liesl got on, as it doesn’t seem like they’ve met very many times, if at all. Maybe we’ll see a relationship between them if this book is continued into a series [yes, please!]…?

It was confusing at times, as they crossed over from the Living side to the Other side, but that just added to it all. You really had to concentrate and get into the mood of the book.

I loved the little sketches in the book, all the characters are exactly how I would have imagined them to be. At the back of the book there are drawings that readers have sent in of characters, they’re so sweet!

Overall, I thought the story-line was unique, the writing style drew the reader in and kept them hooked, the characters were brilliant and the drawings were an added bonus. I would recommend this to readers aged 10+. This book has made me an even bigger [as if that was even possible] fan of Lauren’s writing.

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery [Keren David]

2011-08-07T11:12:00.002+01:00

16 year old Lia is in the middle of an argument with her mum when she realises she’s won over eight million pounds in the lottery. Eight million, five thousand, three hundred and forty two pounds, to be exact. This lucky win changes Lia’s life in more way than one. It will fix all her problems, right? Or will the ticket create even more problems?

Blurb:

“Lia’s mother is a nag, her sister’s a pain and she’s getting nowhere in pursuit of the mysterious Raf. Then she wins eight million pounds in the lottery, and suddenly everything is different. But will Lia’s fortune create more problems that it solves?”

I thought this book was a really fun read and I read it all in one go. It had character, dilemma’s and some funny quotes.

I found Lia, the main character, a little annoying. She was quite selfish and rude, but then I felt sorry for her because she has emotions and problems, she just has a different way of expressing herself. I found her naive at the start, but she seems to become more aware by the end.

I liked Jack, Lia’s best friend, and the surprise [even though you knew there was something, I didn’t guess it was that] at the end added to the effect. I actually found Jack’s mum very entertaining. I could see where she was coming from, with wanting Lia to give Jack half the money, but she was also a mad and obsessive person. Lia and Jack’s friendship is extremely strong, to go through all it did and still survive.

The cover is nice and simple, sticking to my 3 favourite colours- white, black and red. The design is cute and the writing is funky. The idea of the cover is original, I like it.

Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery is so different from Keren David’s other books. It has a different theme, different ideas, different focus and the main character is a different sex. I think it’s wonderful how Keren has such a wide variety of ideas and it’s a fresh take.

Overall I thought it was a great book with a lovely cover and complex characters, which I would read again. I love how different this is from Keren’s other books and would recommend you read it [as well as her others].

*these posts are all scheduled.

Shopaholic Ties The Knot [Sophie Kinsella]

2011-08-06T11:08:00.002+01:00

We all know Rebecca Bloomwood, Shopaholic. In this book we see Becky and Luke get engaged and plan the wedding of the decade. It should be a breeze, right? Well, no. Becky can’t decide what to do for her big day. On one hand she wants a big, 400-guest wedding in New York, planned by a professional, a 3 tier wedding cake, a dress designed by an up and coming designer, an unlimited spending fee, her ultimate dream wedding. On the other hand, she wants an intimate wedding with her family and friends in her home town in England, wearing her mothers wedding dress and doing things the traditional way. Which ever one she chooses, people will be left disappointed and upset, what can she do? As if that wasn’t bad enough, Luke’s mother is making life difficult, Alicia-Bitch-Long-Legs is back in the picture and Luke is having a mid life crisis. Happy times...

These Shopaholic books are my guilty pleasure, I love them. They’re always a fun read, leaving you rooting for Becky to manage to get out of whatever situation she happens to be in this time.

Without giving the book away, the wedding [giggle, you’ll know what I mean if you’ve read it] is fantastic and the ending is truly a miracle. I would have liked more detail about the wedding [and Suze’s], but other than that it was great.

One of my favourite things about these books are the letters Becky receives from various company’s, they make me laugh. They’re replies to letters Becky has written and at the end of the books are letter’s Becky’s written to people with mad inquiries.

One of my favourite characters is Suze, Becky’s best friend. She’s sweet, funny, a Shopaholic and an amazing friend. Together, Suze and Becky are the greatest and the way they encourage each other and convince each other [and themselves] that a situation is never as bad as it actually is, is great.

Overall, this was a fun read which made me smile, giggle and just want to finish the book as soon as I could, find out what happens. I recommend this to readers of Gossip Girl and people [mainly girls] over the age of 11.

14 days of posts & goodbye comments

2011-08-05T21:05:00.000+01:00

I have an excuse for the lack of blogging on the blog. I was preparing 14 posts to share with you all over the summer holidays. Most of them will be reviews, but there will be a post up every single day for 14 days- starting from now.

Something else that is new is that I’ve disabled the comments on the blog. The main focus of a lot of blogs are the amount of comments you get on a post. That’s what it was like for me, anyway. So I decided to disable to comments and post for me instead. You can still tell me your views on a post, just email me with the post name as the subject title. I hope I don’t loose too many readers because of this, but even if I do- I’ll still keep the settings.

I hope you come and check back for the posts these holidays. (:

Summer Giveaway !

2011-07-24T17:18:00.000+01:00

I'm sure a lot of you are aware of my love for One Direction, so when I heard there was a new unofficial book coming out, I emailed the publishers {Random House] asking for a review copy. Not only did they agree to send me a review copy, but they also offered to send me 4 giveaway copies! It's packed with facts, photos, games and a huge One Direction poster. All you have to do is enter here for a chance to win: 100% One Direction: The Unofficial Biography by Evie Parker.

Ends: 20th August 2011
Open to: UK only

Good luck (:

2011-07-19T20:30:00.002+01:00

I’m wondering whether to have a rating system on the blog or not. As it is now, it’s really hard to rate some novels. Some are powerful and moving books, which I may have loved and then another may be a fun, cute read which I enjoyed just as much. Is it fair to give them both an A+? From now on I may only rate books for the mini reviews and give detail on the book and my thoughts on it in the full length reviewa, what do you think? I’m also going to give a small conclusion on each review, to sum up my opinion on the book. Sometimes, when reading a review, you don’t want to know every single detail of what happens, or what the reviewer thinks about all aspects- so I’ll just conclude my thoughts in the end paragraph and readers could just read that bit rather than the whole review.

So back to ratings, yay or nay?

I hope I haven’t babbled on and on, please tell me what you think and how you find the rating system.

In My Mailbox #38

2011-07-17T13:47:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Library:

For Review:

[thanks for these!]

Gifted [thanks Hodder!]:

I forgot to show you all the Kindle I cover I got for my birthday, I love it.

Hunger [Michael Grant]

2011-07-15T19:37:00.000+01:00

Rating:

Cover: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Story-line: 4.5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall rating: A+

This series is one of the most compelling and interesting that I’ve ever read. At times, these books can be confusing, which means you really need to concentrate on what you’re reading.

I like to make lists. Lists on what I would buy if I won the lottery, lists on what needs to be done [not that the things on the list actually get done..], lots of lists. Reading this book, I thought of lists of things I would do if I were in the situation these characters were in. Lists of the different possibilities. A book that can make you think so hard and get you so involved in the story is definitely one that should be read.

In the first book of the series ,Gone, we saw the children of Perdido Beach try to survive in a place with no adults, when everybody over the age of 15 disappeared. In Hunger, we see the struggle of life in Perdido Beach and how the kids are surviving when there’s barely any food for them to eat. They’re all starving, being lucky to get a bit of cabbage for dinner. And that’s not the only worry. The Darkness is hungry for power and has many people under his thumb, using them to help him, possessing them. We still don’t quite know what The Darkness is or what it wants, though there are some ideas set in the book. There’s also the fights between the ‘freaks’ and the ‘normals’. Some kids developed various powers [creating light, flying, speed etc] during Gone and Hunger, and the kids without powers are feeling very threatened by them. When manslaughter is committed by a ‘freak’, the ‘normals’ want revenge and nothing short of killing him will do. But not only him, they want to swipe out all the ‘freaks’.

What to say about this book? No words can do justice how great this book is. Thought-provoking, sweet, horrible [in the events that happen], heart-felt, genius are some words I could think of.

I would love to see this book being made into a film, with Elle Fanning or Dakota Fanning playing Astrid. If this were made into a film, it would be the new Harry Potter, I know. And there’s always time for it to happen, let’s just hope it does.

In this book, my favourite character would have to be Diana. She’s horrible and nasty, but underneath it all she has feelings, she just doesn’t want to let them out. She’s as scared as the rest of them are, but tries to cover it up. Diana will do anything for survival, use anyone, but she knows the limits and when things have gone too far. I can’t give away the ending for Diana, but I didn’t want it to happen is all I’ll say.

I think a lot of the characters have come out in this book, especially near the end. I particularly liked how Caine’s character came out. Needless to say, Drake is still a psychopath with murdering issues.

Pages: 585

Publisher: Egmont

Released: 2009

End thoughts: To sum this up, I would say that everyone of my readers should read this book and the others in the series. You can empathise with every single one of the characters and you just need to know what happens next. I adore this series and can’t wait to read the next book, Lies.

In My Mailbox #37

2011-07-03T09:22:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

This isn't a proper In My Mailbox, but I just had to show you all why I was so excited. Because this came in the post:

Lauren Oliver's new book! Lauren Oliver is an amazing author and I'm so sure that this book is going to be great.

Also with the book came a home puppet theatre [which me and my sister will make and then post a photo of]. I got some cute postcards from Hodder this week, which I'll post about next IMM with the other brilliant books I got.

Thanks so much to Hodder for this!

Forgive My Fins [Tera Lynn Childs]

2011-06-29T16:54:00.001+01:00

When a mermaid has her first kiss, she 'bonds' for life with the person she kisses. For Lily, a mermaid princess living in secret on land, this means she has ended up accidentally bonded to her obnoxious neighbour, instead of to the boy of her dreams. So begins a tidal wave of relationship drama, as Lily discovers that happily-ever-after never goes as smoothly as you plan it to. -taken from amazon.co.uk

Rating:
Cover: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Story-line: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Overall rating: B+

I thought this book was a fun and sweet read which I enjoyed. There are a few things I'm not quite sure about, however. When two mermaids kiss, they bond [which is the mermaid equivalent of marriage], but Lily's parents didn't bond. I find this really hard to believe and I don't think it would have changed the story if her parents had bonded..

I thought the will they? won't they? element of it was great. The scene in the toilet was great, very romantic [despite the settings]. It was the start to Quinn and Lily's relationship.

Although I liked Lily, she annoyed me at several points in the book. Brody was obviously a jerk and it was so obvious Quinn was perfect for her, she was so naive! But she was her and as a person she was okay. I also think that Brody believing Lily straight away upon hearing she was a mermaid was strange. If I heard somebody say that, I would think they were a lunatic. But I thought Quinn's actions after that were great- TEAM QUINN!

I've pointed out things I would change, or don't think fit, but I would also like to point out how cute and romantic the beach scenes were and how you could clearly tell how Quinn felt- and Lily, too. She wouldn't admit it to herself for most of the book, but the reader could tell and to make a reader feel like that by putting pen or paper is great.

I would read this book again and recommend it to watchers of the Nickelodeon show- H2o.

Fiction Express

2011-06-16T16:20:00.000+01:00

What is Fiction Express?
Fiction Express is a place where you can read books online, then decide what happens next. You buy 'credits' which cost 69p each and allow you to read one chapter per credit. There are also codes you can get as a book blogger if you contact the people at Fiction Express.

What books are available?
There are books from various authors, including Luisa Plaja [Diary of a Mall Girl], Rebecca Morton [The Last Symbol], Alex Woolf [Soul Shadows] and Stewart Ross [The Soterion Mission].

For more information, visit the Fiction Express website HERE. I'm currently reading Diary Of A Mall girl y Luisa Plaja, and it's great! I recommend you all go and read it now. Fiction Express is also much cheaper than buying a book, you decide what happens, and you can read the first chapter of the books for free. Gogogogogogo!

Layout, poll and motivation

2011-06-13T16:30:00.000+01:00

Hiya!

Okay, I’ve been thinking about the layout of the blog and I don’t like it. When I’m writing a post, my fonts and sizes differ and then come out either too big or too small. So I’m looking for a new layout and may experiment with a few different styles before settling. I might decide to keep this one if I can’t find one I like, but as it is now a want a new one. Do you guys know any good websites for free layouts?

I want to do a poll every month, too. Not like a meme, but a poll on the side of the blog. It would just be a fun thing, like ‘who’s your favourite glee character’ or something like that. When I go onto a blog, I like to see poll's on the side and I'll usually vote in them.. Would you participate in one if I had one, or not?

The last part of this post is motivation. For the last few months I haven’t been motivated. I haven’t even been reading that much [until the last couple of weeks]. But browsing through other book blogs and seeing how much I’ve missed out on with new releases etc, has made me realise I really miss regularly blogging. Ideally I would like to blog every day, but that just wouldn’t happen with me. I’m not going to set myself a target or goal, but I am going to keep myself motivated. Thanks to all you fantastic book blogs who reminded me why I love book blogging so much. What keeps you guys motivated?

Just a reminder that my email address is the-beaucoup-review [at] hotmail [dot] com, if anybody wants to get in contact with me about anything. Thank you for reading.

Gone [Michael Grant]

2011-06-13T16:24:00.001+01:00

Rating:

Cover: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Story-line: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall rating: A+

Pages: 560

Publisher: Egmont

Released: 2008

Let me start with this, WHY ON EARTH HAVEN’T I READ THIS BOOK SOONER? It’s everything you’d expect from a book. A plot that keeps you engrossed in the story. Characters that you can empathise for. A writing style that ~~makes you want to~~ means you need to know what happens.

I judge a book by its cover. I will pick up a book depending on what the cover looks like. Not all the time, sometimes it’s based on reviews I’ve read, the title, the author, but if I haven’t heard of a book or its author, I’ll pick it up because of its cover. The cover of ‘GONE’ is so simple, it’s genius. It gives the illusion that it’s illuminated and shining around the word ‘GONE’ as it’s got a yellow glow around it. It’s the only colour there is on the front of the book. The background’s black, the author’s name is black and the title is in black. What I especially love about the look of the book are the pages. They’re yellow. The actually pages are white, but the sides are yellow, so it looks as though the pages are yellow. The colour scheme is so sharp and chosen so well, but then used in the simplest way- it’s so cool!

It’s so hard to tell you about the story without giving some major plots away, because things are explained to the reader throughout the book and if I didn’t tell you the answers to the plots then my synopsis wouldn’t make much sense. So I’ll just share with you the blurb on the back of the book:

299 HOURS 54 MINUTES

Suddenly it’s a world without adults and normal has crashed and burned. When life as you know it ends at 15, everything changes.

A small town in southern California: In the blink of an eye everyone over the ago of 15 disappears. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left trapped, and there’s no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets.

Now a new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power- mutant power that no one else has ever seen before.

‘I love this book’ Stephen King

I don’t think I could say it any better than Stephen King.. I lovelovelove this book. There are so many twists and turns and you really do root for the characters. Some of the stuff that happens, it makes it so hard to believe these kids are only 14.. They have [and use] guns! And that’s the weakest weapon, the powers some of them hold are phenomenal. The evil in a few of these children is literally unbelievable. And that’s what makes this book so good. The way I can feel like this about somebody who’s been written down with paper and pen, no real person.

There are way too many characters for me to talk about, so I’m just going to tell you about one and a heart breaking moment related to this character. His name is Little Pete and he’s an autistic little boy. A lot of the older [11-14] kids have powers, but theirs is on a scale of 1-4. 4 is considered to be the most powerful there is, until Little Pete. Little Pete can orientate from one place to another in the most difficult circumstances. ON many occasions he saves his sister’s [Astrid] and many other peoples lives by moving them from the danger zone to another place in the blink of an eye. But nobody really knows of his power at first, then they realise he could be a 10 on the scale.

The heart breaking moment is when.. Well I’ll quote it:

“’You can say it while your face is still pretty, or you can say it after I’ve smashed it in- your choice. My brother is a retard.’

‘My brother is a retard,' Astrid said, her voice shaking.

Drake laughed delightedly and crossed to Little Pete, who had looked up from his video game and almost registered what was happening. Drake put his face into Little Pete's face and with one hand yanked Astrid by the hair so that her mouth was close to Little Pete's ear and said, 'One more time, nice and loud.' He pushed Astrid's face against the side of Little Pete's head."

I feel so sorry for, both Little Pete and Astrid. WHich is why I love this book, you connect with the characters and they're so believable.

I recommend everyone reads this book [well, I would say 12+] and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

In My Mailbox #36

2011-06-11T21:19:00.000+01:00

Welcoming my first IMM since.. December 4th. Over 6 months of no In My Mailbox #fail !

I've gotten quite a few books since then, but here are some I've acquired this week..

Bought:

Gone and Hunger by Michael Grant [thanks dad!]

Fallen by Lauren Kate and One Direction A-Z by Sarah Oliver [don't judge, I'm a huge fan of One Direction!]

Review:

Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck, Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs and Far From Home by Na'ima B Robert.

Thanks to the awesome publishers for sending me these.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren

Short Reviews #1

2011-06-10T14:47:00.001+01:00

Short Reviews isn’t really a meme, it’s just for me to try and review most books I receive. I can’t do a review for them all, so I thought it would be better to rate the books and write a short bit about each one rather than not review it at all. I’ll do about 3 books in each post.

Gossip Girl- the Carlyles [by Cecily von Ziegesar]

Rating:

Cover: 2/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Story-line: 3/5

Writing: 4/5

Overall rating: C+

[Library]

Extra marks for being a really fun book. On the bases of enjoyment it would get a B+ and if you’re bored of reading thought provoking books, take a break from them and read this.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury [by L.J Smith]

Rating:

Cover: -

Characters: 4.5/5

Story-line: 4/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall Rating: A

[Kindle]

Wasn’t too keen on the beginning of this book, but it progressed and progressed each chapter. I’m now in love with this series and the characters.

Little Women [Louisa May Alcott]

Rating:

Cover: 2.5/5

Characters: 5/5

Story-line: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall Rating: A+

A beautiful story about 4 sisters. I loved each of them for different reasons. Beth for being so sweet, Jo for being so cool, Amy for being a little princess and Meg for being above the plays they made up. I recommend this to you all.

Flawless [Lara Chapman]

2011-06-09T16:45:00.001+01:00

Here's a guest review of Flawless by Lara Chapman:

Life becomes twisted for Sarah Burke as she’s just agreed to help her best friend, Kristen, catch the eye of the new hot guy at school however things get complicated as Sarah suddenly starts falling for him- releasing he’s EXACTLY perfect for her! Can things get even wrong? Yes... there’s just one tiny-all right, enormous flaw: her nose.

Sarah Burke’s perfect; she’s beautiful, a model student, smart, popular, has a great relationship with her mum and has an amazing best friend BUT she has one problem -a big problem; her nose. Kirsten, her best friend, drives her away from being bothered about it and manages to get on with her life; doing stuff which really matters to her until.... Rock Conway, a new guy at school turns up on the first day back from school.

Rock is pretty much the perfect match for Sarah, and it’s the first time she notices a guy who has many similarities with her. He’s everything she’s ever wanted; handsome, intelligent, loves literature, straightforward and sweet. Nothing could go wrong! Judged to soon, her best friend Kirsten is dying for Rock as well and decides to she wants him. However, Kirsten needs help to win his heart over and yes! She does ask Sarah to help her. Being a best friend who does anything for her friend, Sarah decides to help Kirsten get the guy of HER dreams but will she be able to hide feelings from one person who truly knows her?

This is the debut book of the author Lara Chapman, which I believe is amazing! The author grasps you at all time, never letting you put the book down as many exciting events draws you.

The front cover is amazing, it is a picture of a woman with the title “Flawless” running through the space where the nose would be, this resembles part of the story as Sarah is absolutely flawless if she hides her nose.

I loved the fact that on the beginning of every chapter there’s a quote on beauty, “There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness”, this is one of my favourite quotes in the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m waiting to read more books by Lara Chapman.

Guest review by Shashtika Sundar.

The Struggle [L.J Smith]

2011-05-28T15:21:00.000+01:00

Rating:

Cover: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Story-line: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall Rating: A-

Elena still can’t decide between the two Salvatore brothers. She’s with Stefan, but can’t seem to resist Damon. In this story, what dark secrets will Elena discover about her lovers? There are many. And the brothers are still against one another, fighting for Elena’s heart, which shall she choose?

So I started watching The Vampire Diaries TV show pretty much straight after reading the first two books and now I’m hooked to both. A few weeks ago I did the Twilight V The Vampire Diaries post and I said I wasn’t sure which I preferred, but I can now confirm it’s The Vampire Diaries. Both book wise and film/TV show wise. I recommend to all you Twilight lovers out there this amazingly addictive series. And even if you’re not a Twilight fan, you’ll love this. So now, on to the actual review…

This is the second book in the series, but it’s the two in one- joint with the first. I love the cover, the fonts, picture, colours, it all. Everything fits together really well. The description and detail in this was amazing. Everything was written in great detail and it drew you in. Every time something came to an end, a new plot would come up and pull you right back in.

In the TV show, I love Caroline- but in the books [so far] she’s rude and bitchy. And not in a loveable way, at all. But I would like to see more of her. It's mostly Bonnie and Meredith [Elena's best friends], but I want some Caroline.

The love between Stefan and Elena [couple name- Stelena] is massive, but you can see Elena falling for Damon [couple name- Delena]. Elena will always love Stefan and, though she doesn't admit it, Damon too. And what's so great about this is the fact that it's not a typical love story.

We're left on a giant cliff hanger which made me desperate to read the next books. I hope you all go and read this fantastic book.

Made IN Dagenham [film review]

2011-05-14T21:08:00.000+01:00

Rating:

Story-line: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Acting: 5/5

Overall rating: A+

Starring: Sally Hawkinds, Bob Hoskins, Jaime Winestone and Andrea Riseborough

Made in Dagenham is about a group of factory workers making car seats for Ford in Dagenham and are paid a lot less than men. They decide to do something about it and start protesting. The group are lead by Rita O’Grady [she stole my name! But with a t...] who wants fair pay and won’t stop until she gets it. One thing leads to another, and the Dagenham girls are soon very well known. However the men aren’t very happy. The men make the cars, but there are no seats to put in them so they’re soon out of work, too. There’s a lot of pressure on Rita with her husband and friends, is the struggle worth it?

This has got to be one of my all time favourite films. What the Dagenham girls did, it’s so inspiring and is a lesson to us all not to give up on what we believe in. Some things are worth fighting for, because the end results are fantastic and help so many others.

Rita O’Grady fought for what was right, no matter what the consequences may be. Her character was likeable, sweet, funny and just amazing. She was funny and serious at the same time and she wasn’t the most outspoken person. You could tell it took her courage to stand up and do what she did, but she started to get used to it and enjoy speaking up for what she believed in, voicing her opinion.

It was going to be called 'We Want Sex' [and is so in France], because -on one protest- the girls were holding up a banner saying 'We Want Sex Equality', but the equality bit had been folded over, so it looked like it said 'We Want Sex'.

I loved so many of the characters.

I would recommend everyone watches this fun film which brought me to tears, made me laugh and is still educational. It’s amazing, and you should all watch it.

10 out of 5 stars.

hello, I'm alive!

2011-05-11T20:35:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone..

Well, first of all I want to apologise. For abandoning the blog and only posting once in the whole of April. I was almost giving up, leaving the blogosphere. Want to know what made me change my mind? Love Reading X [soon to be painting with words]. Her blog inspires me and I hope you all check it out and read it.

Secondly, I have lots of reviews lined up now- I hope people will still read and haven't completely lost interest in The Beaucoup Review! I have so much to catch up on, posts to read, comments to write, competitions to enter.I have a few guest reviews lined up from a few friends, too.

I don't really have an excuse for the lack of blogging.. I was lazy? Twitter is a big distraction and I have SAT's tomorrow and Friday, but they're not valid excuses.

Please come back to visit and help me get back into the blogging routine.. Thanks if you've stuck around(:

The Awakening [The Vampire Diaries][LJ Smith]

2011-04-17T10:39:00.000+01:00

I am so sorry for abandoning the blog for a month. A whole month. I blame twitter. I'm going on comment spree, catching up with what I've missed, replying to emails and getting back into a blogger routine. Without further ado, here's a review for The Awakening...

Rating:

Cover: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Story-line: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall Rating: A

The Awakening is the first book in a series about Vampires. But The Vampire Diaries series isn’t a typical series, there are twists. The main twist being a love triangle. Elena Gilbert is the popular girl who has it all, until her parents die. Then Caroline wants to take over and rule the school instead of Elena [cat fight!]. But when new guy Stefan catches both their eyes, who’ll win him? Who’ll rein over the school? And who’ll be in for more than they bargained for?

But that isn’t the only plot. Stefan also has a brother. His brother [Damon] wants the girl he wants. Again, this isn’t just a typical story, as Elena looks exactly like a certain somebody Damon and Stefan both loved. Hundreds of years ago. Yes, they’re vampires. With magic rings.

The book I read was a two in one with the first two books in, so if you’ve read the first book and have no idea what I’m on about here, it’s probably because I’ve gone onto the second book by accident.

The cover I have is the one with the dripping apple on the front, which I quite like. But I do think it’s copied from the Twilight covers, which makes me less of a fan. However, the red of the apple, and the white of the bite mark in the apple stand out against the black of the background of the book. It’s really effective and the fonts are great, too.

The writing style is amazing. Smith just keeps you trapped in the book, unable to leave- even for a minute. Her writing is so powerful and she uses a variety of different techniques. There were diary entries and flash backs, which worked wonderfully [alliteration!]. There are sub plots below the main plots to keep you hooked and they work really well.

I loved Bonnie and Elena in this, found Stefan annoying and Caroline too bitchy. Bonnie is such a sweet and loyal best friend to Elena and I’m sure Elena would do the same for her. They can scheme and plot, but they’re great. Stefan annoyed me because of the way he kept running away and he seemed too needy and desperate. Caroline, I love in the TV show, but in the books she’s a bit too rude and nasty. We didn’t read much about Damon, but I’m keen to find out more about him.

Overall, I would recommend this for readers aged 12+ and I would definitely re-read this a million times.

Lauren Oliver Delirium Event

2011-03-25T18:05:00.002Z

Hello!

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long...

Last Monday I went to a Delirium event. I met the author of Delirium, Lauren Oliver, who was so lovely, a few other bloggers, Eleni [Lauren's publicist who was kind enough to invite me to the event], and a few people who work at Hodder and Waterstones. Everybody there was nice and friendly, it was such a great day.

Lauren signed my copy of Delirium and there were copies to take around the room, so I got a copy of Before I Fall and she signed that for me too. She was so nice to talk to, and we got to do a 'Lady Gaga' photo-shoot [okay, the photographer took a few photo's, but we felt like Lady Gaga!]. The photographer sent me the photo's, but I have them in the wrong format... I'll [hopefully] get them in a different format and be able to show you them. Lauren told me about how she's also visiting France and Italy and in her speech she more or less admitted that us UK readers are better then the USA ones [okay, she just mentioned that it was great for her UK team to organize this and that America never did it for her, but we can exaggerate]!

I also met a lovely lady called Nicole, who works in Waterstones and is writing a YA novel! It sounds amazing. Eleni was so sweet and Nicole and Eleni were such fun to talk to.

I saw Jen from Wondrous Reads which was great. Her blog is huge, so it was nice to see the person behind it. I met a couple of other bloggers, who were lovely. The band, Mini Birch, where there and were amazing!

I would just like to say thank you to Lauren, Eleni and everybody who was there, I had a fantastic time!

Here's a video for the event, watch it [Nicole is the second from last person talking].

Happy St Paddy's Day!

2011-03-17T19:55:00.000Z

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY!

[ST PADDY'S DAY]

Survey results

2011-03-17T12:20:00.000Z

Thanks to everybody who completed my survey on the blog.
Most of you, who filled it out, said you would like to see a meme on the blog and somebody suggested doing a monthly In My Mailbox. I always forget to do In My Mailbox every week, so a monthly one would be perfect- thanks to whoever suggested that! I think there're enough meme's out there, and I'm not good at doing posts on demand. So I will be doing a monthly IMM, but I won't be doing a meme.
Some said they would like to see a few more reviews, which I'm working on!

Somebody said they would like to see a bit more about the blog writer, so I'll try and do a few more personal posts.

Thanks to everybody who filled out the survey and to everyone who reads the blog!

Long time no blog.

2011-03-14T19:39:00.000Z

So it's the 14th and I've only posted 3 times.... Sorry!

I've had nothing to post about, but I'll be doing some more reviews soon.

In the mean time, look at this great online book club- run by The Guardian. There's so much going on! Click here to get involved now.

Also- the winner of the Delirium pack never did get back to me, so I'll be picking a new winner and be emailing them soon. Sorry for this pointless post!

WIN YOUR HEIGHT IN BOOKS!

2011-03-12T13:32:00.000Z

I've just entered an amazing competition over at the Guardian website. The winner will win books from Pan Macmillan equivalent to their height.

Here are the rules:

Send an email to childrens.books@guardian.co.uk with "height in books comp" in the subject line. The email must contain your name, age, address and contact telephone number. If you are under 12 years of age you must ask your parent or guardian to enter the competition on your behalf. If you are under the age of 16, your email must also include the name, contact telephone number and email address of your parent or guardian. The closing date of the competition is 23.59pm on 2 April 2011. The winner will be chosen at random after the closing date.

For full terms and conditions click here.

Running In Heels [Helen Bailey]

2011-03-07T20:33:00.000Z

Daisy Davenport has it all - stunning looks, spectacular house, seriously gorgeous boyfriend.

But when her father is sent to jail for corruption, Daisy's life is shattered. Cramped into rooms above a kebab shop, she and her family have to readjust - fast.

And if life isn't hard enough already, Daisy's new school is a world away from her old one. And the school bully is going to make sure she remembers it ...- Taken from Amazon.co.uk

Rating:

Cover: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Story-line: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall rating: A*

I LOVED this book! Okay, the story-line isn't very original, rich girl turned poor, but I love the story-line and Helen Bailey makes it unique as she adds fashion, scandals and bullying to the story.

Daisy... I loved her! By the sounds of things, she was extremely fashionable as well as being sweet and honest. I'm so glad she stood up for herself later on in the book, she was pushed around too much. i found it quite funny how she was shocked that the class didn't stand up to say 'Good morning Sir' to the teacher and I can just imagine her standing up and being the only one! I feel sorry for Daisy, she must be so frustrated with the bully's lying and teachers believing it! And when everything is twisted and Daisy looks like the bad guy, I don't see how she didn't scream! I thought Daisy's mum was quite nice, too. She was quite positive about the situation, but I think she should have listened to Daisy more. I didn't like Mia. I know she was going through a lot, but I just didn't like her- she's too rude. Portia made me laugh, but I would like to meet a real life Portia! I think the characters were all well developed and interesting, they all served the purpose of what they were meant for.

The whole story just had me gripped! Daisy's living the high life, until her dad's arrested for fraud. The family have to say bye to all the luxuries, including their house [with a swimming pool!] and designer goods [still, Daisey has Mulberry and Louis Vuitton bags!]. Daisy even has to go to public school [gasp]! Her time there, at first, isn't very nice. She's bullied, teased and called names. And to top things off, her dad's been found guilty and won't let her to visit. Poor Daisy.

I loved how there was some comical aspects of the story ["I AM Cheryl Cole!] as well as some series issues. Overall, I found it to be a fun read which I would certainly re-read and recommend.

Happy Book Day!

2011-03-03T16:33:00.000Z

Happy World Book Day to you all you book lovers out there.
To celebrate World Book Day, schools give out a £1 off token. you can either buy the special books which are £1 just for this event, or use it as getting £1 off any book. Here are some books I recommend you spend it on:

Boys Don't Cry: Malorie Blackman

Delirium: Lauren Oliver

The Body Finder:

Running In Heels:

I hope you all have a wonderful day (:

Stats, surey and stuff

2011-02-27T19:02:00.001Z

Stats. Statistics. Whatever you want to call it, I'll be talking to you about page views. I've had more page views from January and February than in September, October, November and December added together! This tells me the blog is improving. I usually get around 200 page views a day, I find this amazing! I'm sure all the big blogs [The Perpetual Page-Turner, The Story Siren, Bookalicious Ramblings, Chicklish] get 10 times that amount, but for me it's an accomplishment. This isn't a post for me to try and boast or anything, just to say thanks and to ask you all some questions. I've created a survey for you to fill in with some questions about how the blog can be improved. I would be extremely grateful if you could fill it in for me, it's completely anonymous! I was thinking about offering a prize for the first 5 to fill it in, or something, but then it wouldn't be anonymous... So yeah, click here to fill it out [please do!].

I'm in Ireland right now and the weather is so...typically Irish! The first day I came it was sunny, next day raining, then windy, etc. Yesterday was the strangest day. I woke up and it was sunny. I left the house and it was raining. I got on the bus and it was sunny. I got off the bus and it was raining. I went inside the shopping centre and when I came out it was sunny. I started walking to the bus station and it was raining. I got off the bus and it was sunny. Typical Irish weather, I tell ya! And, I know this is a book blog, but I thought I would post some photo's of my visit... so they should be up in a few days!

Thanks to everybody who comments/follows/reads/fills in the survey!
P.S I'm aware of some spelling mistakes in the survey form. I didn't re-read the document before I published it and I don't know how to edit it, so they'll have to stay there I'm afraid!

Top 5 book characters

2011-02-25T11:54:00.002Z

One of the best parts of a book are the characters. If a character isn't detailed or I don't know as much as I'd like to, then it throws the whole book. As in, the book's not as good as it could have been. So here are my top 5 book characters, who I love:

1. Jo from Little Women-
From about the age of 6-12 I wanted to be a writer. After the stage of wanting to be a sweet shop owner, an ice skater, a movie star, I went onto wanting to be a writer. I read Little Women when I was 11 and I fell in love with Jo. She wasn't afraid to be herself, she was a tomboy and she wanted to be a writer. She was so 'cool' to me and when I saw the film, I loved her even more.

2. Jodie from My Sister Jodie-
Jacqueline Wilson was my author hero from the moment I read Lizzie Zipmouth aged 7. I read all of her childrens books, went to see a musical version of Tracy Beaker, saw 2 theatre productions of her books [Double Act and Midnight], went to see her doing talks and signings 4 times and had a big poster of her book Midnight hanging on my wall. I even started asking for china dolls, like Lizzie's grandmother did in Lizzie Zipmouth. But my favourite book of hers is My Sister Jodie because of Jodie. She's so loud, outspoken, funny, crazy, a rebel. But then underneath it she's scared, lonely, and self conscious. She's such a complex character who brings the story together.

3. Nonie from Threads-
Threads is an amazing book. I love fiction-books and I love fashion, Threads is a fiction-book about fashion, perfect! Nonie isn't afraid to dress the way she likes. Her style is unique and different, and she loves it. Bags made of CD's? Bicycle chains worn as belts? Yep, that's Nonie. And it's great! She knows so much about fashion and she cares about it, too. She's caring, sweet and quite shy, but her clothes are loud, outspoken and stand out. Her clothes represent who she really is and I love Nonie for that.

4. Adam from Boy's Don't Cry-
Malorie Blackman has this super power of making you feel whatever emotion she wants you to, through her writing. Adam's gay and he comes out about it. He's funny and always puts on a brave face, which makes it even more sad when he breaks down. He's usually upbeat and messing around, but when something horrible happens to him he just can;t pick himself up and it's horrible. I love Adam, though and his bubbly personality.

5. Lena from Delirium-
Lena's been sheltered from so much, things that are part of our everyday life. I found Lena so sweet! The way she gets embarrassed easily, the way she tries to follow her head- but her heart takes over, she's just so sweet and an amazing character. I would love to have her as a friend. She keeps herself grounded, though she likes to daydream. She's a realist at first, but meeting somebody changes everything. It's great how much she changes from the beginning of the book to the end, just from meeting one person. Delirium wouldn't be Delirium without the amazing Lena.

Other characters I adore include: Callie Rose from Double Cross, Tori from Split by a Kiss and Lyra from Northern Lights. Who are your favourite characters? Do you find your favourites are mainly males or females?

I'm sorry!

2011-02-23T21:25:00.000Z

Hey (:

I'm so sorry for not posting and I apologise in advance for not posting in the next few days. I'm in Ireland at the moment, visiting family. I promise to write lots of posts and comment on lots of blogs and posts when I'm back, though. Again, I'm sorry.

Twilight V The Vampire Diaries

2011-02-19T18:48:00.000Z

Twilight was all the buzz for a while, but has The Vampire Diaries taken over?

To be honest, I think that Twilight copied The Vampire Diaries. The apple on the cover of the Twilight books? The Vampire Diaries did it first. I think the characters in The Vampire Diaries are more creative, more lovable, more realistic. I used to love Twilight, but re-reading them, I don't think they're as good as I first thought. Especially the 4th one [Breaking Dawn]. It has such great ideas, but I think it's poorly written.

Asking my friends, I got a few responses. Here are my favourites:

-The Vampire Diaries because the books are orchestrated to make you fall for the fictional characters. LJ smith cleverly draws you on, makes you fall in love, then snaps you right out. And, when it's emotional- it's emotional. The slightest things in the books, pull on your heart strings. Every character is presented and emotionally developed in different ways. Smith used intellectual knowledge as well as environmental knowledge to build a base for the characters. The storyline is basically a love triangle, between Damon, Elena and Stefan- but throughout the books it is shown in a different light and sometimes shows us the other characters too. The Vampire Diaries is cleverly written, to provide laughs, tears and anger- and make you fall in love all at the same time.

Words can't describe how smartly Smith can interpret a emotional scene into a disturbing one and vice versa. The way she writes just puts me on standstill. While reading, I feel like I'm on roller coaster- you just don't know what to expect. Twilight is brilliant, it's just TVD's smartly written structure and strategic characters that make me prefer it. What makes it even better? 3 words. Damon. Freaking. Salvatore.

And here's one for Twilight:

-Twilight is a book filled with beautiful ideas and characters with whom you fall in love with. We follow the adventures of a family of Vampires, the Cullens, and a teenager named Bella who has fallen in love with one of the vampires- Edward. It's a beautiful love story with twists, turns and death. You feel for the characters what Meyer wants you to feel. Sorrow, happiness, sadness, excitement and more. There's a reason why so many of these books are sold in shops, they're amazing! You literally cannot get any of the books out of your hands. I think my favourite one is Twilight, as your introduced to the new idea, it's the first time you meet the characters and it's just written so well. Twilight is a book that I love and I know many others do too. The films are great, but the books are amazing and you should all read them.

What do you think? Which is better, in your opinion? Have you read them both? I'd like to know what you think.

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance [Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin]

2011-02-16T08:11:00.000Z

Here's another guest review, this time from 13 year old Saba:

Jenna and Jonah are teen celebrities whose on-screen romance is followed by millions on a hit TV show but its their off-screen love life that has made them really famous.
there's just one problem - they cant stand each other!

when the paparazzi blow their cover, Jenna and Jonah have to disappear to weather the media storm. Once off the Hollywood circuit, will they discover that there is more to each other than shiny hair and a winning smile?

Rating:
Cover: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Story-line: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall rating: A*

Other information:
Pages: 229
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published on: March 2011

This was a great book! It had loads of twisted plots and make you want to never stop, I read it all at once!
I could find *no* fault! and trust me I tried hard to but not a single problem. It was by such amazing authors, Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin who draw you in so you have to keep reading.

The story-line is so unique, and well thought out. Having to love someone against all your will, hating them really disliking them but your forced to be around them, hold there hand have to kiss them etc.
Jenna and Jonah are trapped on an island where there only food is fruit from the trees, how will they put there difference's aside? how will they try to keep away from each other? how can they stop themselves from the worst thing, one thing they never wanted to do for 4 years? fall in love.

This comedy/romance novel is so funny and a great little book, you should all read it. The characters are so well detailed and their personalities are so clear, and are described as the characteristics of real love struck kids not trying to feel, not trying to hurt. The writing flows so well, it is written in 1st person style and the first chapter is written from charlie aka Jenna's point of view and the second is by Feilding aka Jonah. It has light explicit swearwords but nothing to harsh or too rude. Also, It has a nice cover that stands out, simple but bold.

It’s a really great read for young teens and above and is now one of my favourite really glad I got a copy.

Thanks Saba!

The Vampire Diaries- Shadow Souls [L.J Smith]

2011-02-12T21:20:00.003Z

Here's a guest review from my friend Rimsha, on the 6th book in The Vampire Diaries- Shadow Souls:

If you’re a vampire lover, you need to pick up this book. Wait- even if you’re a supernatural lover. Vampire Diaries, Shadow Souls, is not the end of the books, but it neatly binds all of them and leaves you on a dangling cliff-hanger.

The book is built around compelling and mysterious Damon and Elena- and they’re on the run. Elena’s beloved, Stefan, is locked away in the deep dimensions and she will do whatever she can to get him with help from best friends, Meredith, Matt and Bonnie. But with every passing minute around Damon, she soon discovers that she actually doesn’t know which brother she really wants. The book is definitely a must read for everyone that loves the bad guy, good girl romance. Back in Fells Church things seem to be getting out of control. Caroline is in a vile situation and paranoia seems to be sweeping the small town.

I don't love this book- I ADORE it. And, I'm not only saying that because I'm in love with the TV series. Everything about the books are so compelling- the characters, the writing, the structure. L.J Smith needs a lot more credit for her amazing techniques. Personally, my favourite character is the brooding and mysterious Damon Salvatore. Gorgeous, funny and dark. The perfect combination. Everyone loves a bad guy, but what makes Damon stand out is that he has a soft side. And when he shows it, he's so vulnerable it makes your heart melt. I also have a soft spot for Meredith, she's so cold. A bit like an ice queen. But the chemistry between her Damon, being that there is very little of that, is enchanting.

The book is warmly constructed with laughs, romance, action and tears. Some bits pull on your heart-strings, while others make you grip the book even harder than you possibly can. But you do need to read the first books to understand the story. Vampire Diaries books are just as addicting as the series and if you haven’t already read them, what are you waiting for? Sink your teeth in.

I don't know about you, but this review makes me desperate to read the book. Thanks Rimsha!

Delirium- the song!

2011-02-11T16:32:00.000Z

Yes, you saw right, it's Delirium the song! I've listened to it, it's amazing! The band, Minnie Birch, are wonderful. A bit like Florence and the Machine/Ellie Goulding.

The song is just... WOW. You can listen to it by clicking here, which I recommend you do. It's a great song, which I have listened to countless times!

In other Delirium news, the book is now available for you to buy! And a Kindle edition is already out, for all you kindle owners. Speaking of kindles, I really should use mine a bit more.

Also- thank you to everybody who commented on the New Blog? post. I don't think I will do a new blog, based on the fact that I'm too lazy! And thanks for those of you who emailed me with news on L.J Smith. An email has been leaked, though we're still not 100% sure if it's true, that she's been fired.

P.S Look at the new Delirium cover I found. I think I prefer the UK one!

Best Cover?

2011-02-08T21:50:00.000Z

Which one is the best one?

Personally, I love them all! They all have the same theme, a simple image in the centre of the book. The writing in white against a black background and an image with white and red and blood dripping off the image. I think this is great! My favourite, however, is the 1st and 2nd book [the one with the apple] as it's just so creative! Which one is your favourite? Do you like these themes? I'd like to know what you think!

New Layout?!

2011-02-08T19:34:00.001Z

I've had my layout for almost a year, but I'm not sure whether to change it or not. I've become quite attached to it, and I've tried changing it a few times, but I can't tear myself away from this one! It's not especially special, but I love it.

However, I'm not sure if it suits the blog. I haven't been able to find any layouts I like more than the one I have [so far!], but I'm definitely looking!

I've seen some layout I like on other blogs, but haven't found 'the one' for my blog. If you have any ideas, please comment [yes, I know my last 3 posts have been asking you to get in contact about various things! Thank you to those who have (: ]! I love the blog, and have started writing posts more often- so I was thinking a new layout for an improved blog [which I hope it is!]? But then maybe this style suits the blog? Also- do you think I should post more reviews? I really want to know what my readers think about the blog.

I would love to hear what you think,

thank you!

The email address is the-beaucoup-review [at] hotmail [dot] com (:

Another blog?

2011-02-08T18:37:00.001Z

I'm thinking about doing some other reviews, films, clothes, music etc. I was wondering what you all thought? Should I make another blog for it? Do the reviews on this blog? This is a book blog, should I keep it that way, or try to spice it up by doing something else? I don't know! Please help me, guys! I've done a film review on here before and it was really great fun to write, so I definitely want to do some more. But I don't know whether it would work on here or whether another blog would be needed to be made. A personal blog, including these reviews, but also about my day, music I like etc. What do you all think? Those of you with more than one blog, is it too much work?

Please comment or email me [the-beaucoup-review [at] hotmail [dot] com].

Thank you!

The Vampire Diaries; L.J Smith fired?!

2011-02-07T20:02:00.000Z

Okay, so I am a BIG L.J Smith fan- she's utterly amazing! My best friend, Rimsha, got me into the books and the TV program and now I'm in love.

So when I heard the creator of this magical series had been fired, I thought 'WHAT?!'. This is what I know: L.J Smith has signed The Vampire Diaries over to her publishers and they want Stefan and Elena to end up together and less of Bonnie [Elena's friend], whilst Smith wants Damon and Elena and loves Bonnie. I wasn't sure if this was true, I'm still not!
I mean, how could they fire L.J Smith?! She created this series. She created the characters. She IS The Vampire Diaries and it won't be the same without her.

If anybody has any news on this, PLEASE contact me by commenting or email me [the-beaucoup-review [at] hotmail [dot] com].

This may all be a rumor, o don't take my word for it. However, if this is true- I'll be involved in petitions etc and I hope you will be too.

P.S In support for Smith, Narrative Speaking has done a great post/giveaway on the topic. Click here to get involved and for your chance to win the first 5 books of the series.

Sophia Bennett: Blog tour!

2011-02-06T13:10:00.000Z

Here's a sneak peek from Sophia Bennett's new [amazing and fashionable] book, Sequins, Stars and Spotlights. It's the final book in a trilogy based on 4 best friends. 1 who is set to change the world, 1 actress, 1 designer, and one fashion lover. I don't want this to come to an end :'( But anyway, here's the sneak peek from chapter 22:

******************

I’ve often wondered what interns do. And now I know.

They make a LOT of tea. And coffee. Plenty of coffee. They are experts at packing and unpacking clothes samples, getting the photocopier to work and asking people if they need help, which generally they don’t. Senior managers DO NOT come up to them and say, ‘Our top designer’s off sick today – can you run off a quick collection and have it in by teatime?’ Although interns spend a lot of their time dreaming that this will happen. Usually while waiting for the coffee machine to percolate.

This is fine, though. My original dream was to make the tea for a big designer. Even though my dreams have grown a bit since then, I’m still happy to produce hot refreshments for major fashion retailers while I’m learning.

It’s lovely being back at Miss Teen’s headquarters, which are just off Oxford Street and basically in Fashion Central. Whenever I’ve been here before, it’s been with Crow for a meeting to talk about her designs. That was exciting, but stressful, especially if it involved the boardroom and Andy Elat being upset about something. Now I get to mix with all the people who make the high street collections happen and watch what they do, but the only stressful thing I have to worry about is who wants which sandwiches for lunch.

That, and wondering what to wear every morning. Miss Teen girls and boys are fashion forward. They don’t wear the current favourite looks, but what’s going to be cool in a few weeks, or a few months. They even have fashion forward hair. I would join in, but next season apparently, is going to be all about a major goth revival and I can’t bring myself to wear black velvet and lacy gloves at the height of summer.

Instead, I wear things to cheer myself up. Things I’m quite sure Mum wouldn’t approve of. Colourful, silly things from around the house that will probably rip or tear and are quite often not entirely clean, but make me smile when I put them on. Things that Crow has made for me over the years, that don’t necessarily fit me any more, but work in an ironic, babydoll way. I hope.

I’m in one of these outfits when a Senior Buyer comes into the room where I’m having a quiet argument with the photocopier and asks me to get her a coffee.

‘I’m sorry to be such a pest,’ she says. (She is a very nice, polite Senior Buyer, which is a rare species.) ‘But I’m on a deadline and I need caffeine. A Starbucks triple shot latte, basically. It’s the only thing that works. Here’s a fiver.’

She hands me a note and looks apologetic. I grab it cheerfully. I am Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada. I’m getting coffee for a Serious Fashion Person and the fact that I’m not doing it in a teeny-weeny little print shift by Marc Jacobs and vertiginous heels doesn’t matter.

‘No problem,’ I say. ‘Sugar?’

She looks at me as if I’m talking a foreign language. Then I remember. Serious Fashion People don’t do sugar.

‘I mean, skinny milk?’ I correct myself.

She nods gratefully and I dash across the road on my mission of mercy.

And straight into Keep your head down Friday.

When I get to the front of the queue, a familiar pair of aquamarine eyes meets mine and widens with surprise. It’s Liam. My second-favourite unattainable boy from French class. The one (actually, one of the many) who saw that picture of me in the kimono and wondered what possessed me. And didn’t seem to mind too much when I smiled at him in class.

‘Hi,’ he says. There’s a question in his eyes. I’m lost and confused. It takes me a while to remember that I’m in a Starbucks, and he’s behind the counter, and I’m supposed to tell him some sort of coffee order. I know I had one. I just can’t remember what it was.

‘Cappuccino,’ I say without thinking. ‘To go.’

He marks it down on a cup and passes it down the line.

‘Anything else?’

He gives me his half-amused smile. Seeing it close-to, and in the context of Starbucks, not French class, I suddenly realise what an impressive smile it is. I think he’s quickly becoming my joint-favourite unattainable boy. He’s still looking at me. I realise I haven’t answered his next question. And then I remember what I really came for.

‘I mean, no – sorry. It was supposed to be a triple shot latte. With skinny milk. Oops.’

The half-amused smile becomes fully amused. Liam glances down the line, where my original cappuccino order is being dutifully made by one of his colleagues.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort it,’ he says. Then, ‘Triple shot? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?’

‘Oh, it’s not for me,’ I assure him. I’d be high as a kite after a triple shot. I wouldn’t be able to sleep for days. I’d be tossing and turning …

Oh my God. I’m thinking about my bedroom, sort of, and that’s embarrassing, sort of. He’s staring at me oddly. But not at my face (luckily – it’s burning). At my outfit.

Oh no.

I pay him for the latte and head for the pick-up point without another word.

Apart from the one kimono incident, he knows me as the safely dressed, white-shirted girl from Keep your head down Friday. Today I’m in a skirt made out of an embroidered, fringed tablecloth of Mum’s, a tie-dyed top that Crow did for me a while ago, a bag I made out of old CDs of Harry’s and, to top it all off, a belt made from Harry’s bicycle chain.

I can almost hear the Belles laughing in the background. If ever Liam needed proof that I really am a mad, style-challenged freak, this is it. No wonder he was staring at me. I picture him telling the other boys from class about it when he sees them. It’ll probably make a great story.

At least I made myself a bracelet out of liquorice and Polo mints, for emergencies. This is an emergency, so as soon as I’m back I dismantle the bracelet and eat a Polo. It helps, but not as much as I’d like.

‘Is everything all right?’ the Senior Fashion Buyer asks me, when I hand over the latte.

‘Fine,’ I lie.

She clearly doesn’t believe me, but she’s too busy to do anything about it, which is good.

******************

I've read the book, and it is amazing! I just don't want it to end :( I am begging you to write another fashionable series Sophia!

Thank you for sending this to me, a review will be up soon. I really do recommend you read this, it's great!

Delirium Winner and Delirium Week round-off

2011-02-05T10:14:00.000Z

So this post was supposed to be published 2 days ago... sorry!
But Delirium has now been released! it's now on bookshelves!
And you had a chance of winning a copy as well as a copy of Lauren Oliver's first book Before I Fall. So who won? Who's the winner?
Well, the winner of the giveaway is....

NicoLa!

Congratulations Nicola. I've emailed you, so please send me the address you want it sent to.

Delirium Week is over, but on Monday or Tuesday- I'll have a little Delirium themed surprise for you all so be sure to come back and see what it is.

Thanks to everybody who commented/read the Delirium week posts and to everybody who entered the giveaways. Also to Luisa Plaja for donating a great prize, commenting on my posts, and being great. And Leni fro Hodder for the Delirium+Before I Fall giveaways my copies, the interview and for being so nice. Ah, I do love blogging!