Book Haul!

Yessssss! I moan about reading ruts, then come home from work and there are packages! Yip yip!

I have gotten:



The Night She Disappeared by April Henry



The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison



Purity by Jackson Pearce 

Aaaaaaand:



Siren by Tricia Rayburn (I already had this but I wanted it in hardcover so that when the new one comes out they all match..I'm just weird that way. Totes soz).

Oh, what to read after the Kody Keplinger marathon?

Rut!

Oh, god.

I think sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Like, I've read some amazing books in the last couple of weeks that now, every book I pick up is disappointing me.

Well, there's one exception: I read Revived by Cat Patrick last week and that was really good:



I feel like I should have read it before Unravelling, though; they were in a similar genre and now I compare everything to that book (Ben and Janelle FOREVER! Sniff, sob, cry).

This week is Kody Keplinger week. I am aiming to get through The Duff, Shut Out and A Midsummers Nightmare before Friday. Wish me luck!

    

My Life Next Door

Book: My Life Next Door

Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publisher: DIAL

Dude! I read Unravelling last week and I genuinely thought that that was going to be my top book of 2012. No contest. Then My Life Next Door arrived on my doorstep and, well…..move over Unravelling! (Which I still highly recommend!). 

This book is amazing. I just loved it. I felt like making up a whole new rating system because I felt it deserved a million out of ten. It's that good. 

 Our protagonist is Samantha, who is a seventeen year old perfectionist-perfect hair, perfect grades, and a perfect senator mother. Who doesn't really pay all that much attention to her perfect, wonderful daughter...unless she steps out of line. Next door to Samantha live the Garretts, who are loud, messy and boisterous. Samantha is fascinated by this loving family-and when Jace Garrett climbs up her trellis one night, her whole world is changed utterly. Samantha feels properly loved for the first time in her life-but then something terrible happens, and Samantha worries that she might have lost her fleeting happiness forever.

Things I loved about this book: Jace. Perfect, sexy Jace....sigh. Next thing: Jace’s little brother George, who is four and worries about everything. I just wanted to eat him up. And the baby, Patsy, whose first word was ‘boob’. Bless! I also liked the fact that Samantha knows she has it good. Her Mum might be completely self absorbed and disinterested, but she provides her daughter with a nice life and a comfortable home. I’m always annoyed by protagonists who are whiny when they have nothing to whine about, you know?

This is also a proper romance; it’s lovely. The relationship between Samantha and Jace is sweet and relatable and real. It made me pine for the sexy neighbour I’ve never had (sniff. Cry).

Rating: Ten out of Ten.

Get. Read. Now. 

News, Reviews...and New Sheets

I'm so excited. I bought new sheets today. Mmm-hmm.
Life in a bridal registry means I'm exposed to a ridiculous amount of linens, but I have my faves...Cath Kidston is the prettiest.



Behold! It's pink, flowery and reversible. Boom!

Thing is, I only changed my sheets yesterday and I don't really want to change them again...but I really also want to put my new sheets on.

This is my life. These are the things I fuss about. Sheets and laundry. I need a new boyfriend.

I'm reading a classic this week, just cause:



It's Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym, which is a Virago Modern Classic. Virago are really important publishers in womens writing; they've reissued titles from 'forgotten' females like Kate O'Brien and Elizabeth Jenkins, and are generally all high-brow and worthy. Until shortly ago I was an English major type person so I do feel like I should read grown up books occasionally and this one is very good. I may even review it just to make me feel accomplished and to give my brain something to do.

Next week (hopefully it arrives as promised on Monday) I plan to be reading THIS:



EXCITED! I've been waiting on this book since I saw someone get an ARC of it in January and I cannot wait for it to arrive. Squeal!

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Book: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

I somehow ended up with two copies of this book. Not sure why, but there is now a much-battered paperback of it doing the rounds amongst the clan Kitty and I have a pristine hardcover on the shelf. Yay.

Dude: not holding back, this book is frigging awesome. As in, if we leave out Anna and Lola it's my favourite book that I've read so far in 2012. It's that good.

Story? Janelle is a fairly normal sixteen year old. If you ignore the fact that her dad is an FBI agent, her mum is bipolar and she basically acts as a whole parental unit to her younger brother. But all that's cake compared to what happens after Janelle gets killed by a speeding pickup truck and the local stoner Ben brings her back to life. Now there are all these things she can't explain-why is there a countdown timer photographed in her dads office? Why are there bodies turning up covered in radiation burns?  Why is she falling in love with a strange boy she barely even knows? How did he save her life? And, most importantly, what terrible event is the timer counting down to-and how can Janelle  stop it?

This. Book. Is. Amazing. It's was so hyped up that I was afraid I was going to be disappointed, but if anything it exceeded my expectations and that almost never happens. I loved Janelle and Ben, and Janelle's best friend Alex; they were all so readable and so likeable. The writing is fluent and tight, and the numbers counting down at the start of every chapter really heighten the pace. This book is seriously white knuckle and I stayed up all night to finish it. I couldn't put it down.

A word of warning though. There are lots of sad bits. And I bawled at the ending like a big sobbing baby. It was tragic and cliffhangery.  Which is why I am hoping and praying for a sequel. Please, Elizabeth Norris? Pretty please? Like maybe if I give you cake?

Rating? Eleven-yes, eleven-out of ten. I love this book.

Snow White Picture Book!

Behold the above!!!! It is a the standard Snow White fairy tale story, only fifty times more awesome because it has such pretty illustrations inside. Love. Even though my mother did mock me for buying this instead of what she would call a 'proper' book, but hey: it looks so nice on my shelf.

In other news, I finally got to go and see Snow White and the Huntsman. Yes, this is book related because there is now a novel of this movie, and that is my justification. Ahem. Anyway, see below:



I believe I may have outlined previously how much I love all things Hemsworth, and I was not disappointed by the axe wielding turn of the elder one here. He's all grubby and Scottish. And he has bar fights and wants to avenge his dead wife. But somehow is turned to hard-man mush by a short girl who spends most of her time running around after vampires...oops, wrong movie. Basically, Snow White looks at a big deer and the Huntsman turns into a decent and worthy puddle.He's great onscreen. Get this though: Thor or no Thor, this movie is so, so good! I had read all these mean reviews for it and I wasn't expecting much, but I absolutely loved it. Charlize Theron as the Wicked Queen was the star of the show. She was as unhinged as a box of frogs guys, but in a good way (from a movie-goers perspective anyway, I wouldn't have liked living in that kingdom for real).
Then there are the dwarves-one of them is in this excellent Irish TV series called Love Hate and my brother (who came with me) was all "yeah! Represent!".

I should add that my brother believes he is both a) American and b) from 'the hood'.

If I was being super-critical, I felt the dwarves could have been a bit more multi-faceted, but what can you realistically achieve in a two hour movie? You can't exactly give eight dwarves a detailed character profile and back story in that window of time, can you?

Then on to my biggest bug-bear: Prince William. Did anyone else feel like he was a bit pointless? Just thrown in there to create a love triangle where there shouldn't really be one? Cause as far as I'm concerned, it's Snow White and Eric the Huntsman for the win! Ahem.

I kinda want to go and see it again. Which I only ever did for the Harry Potter movies. And Hunger Games, but that was special.

Also....I wonder what the next big fairytale movie is going to be?

Movie Books

Have just finished watching the MTV Movie Awards (and bemoaning the fact that both the Hemsworth men are spoken for) and am devastated-Hunger Games didn't win best film! OUTRAGE! Still...Liam Hemsworth is so darn pretty. Too bad he goes out with...her. I refuse to type her name.

As I have screeched  in the past, I love the Hunger Games. I have a Catching Fire Countdown widget. It doesn't even have a proper release date, but hey. It'll get here eventually. It's a book movie, and I love book movies.

On this topic, I stole my mam's Glamour magazine, and, apparently the Fallen Series is getting made into a movie?????? WWWHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTT!!!!????

I am beside myself at this news. It was like when I heard they were making a film of the Mortal Instruments. Who's will play Luce? And Daniel? Ahhhhhhhhhh! This is a great series. And I can't believe I heard this news the week Rapture is coming out. Squeal. Squeal.

I need to lie down now. Please excuse me.