Desperately Seeking: An Explanation

Dear Everybody,

Once again, I am left feeling terminally out of the loop? Why? There is a literary phenomenon happening and I missed it. Missed it! Someone must pay.

What is this phenomenon, I hear you cry? Why, it is something called the Fifty Shades trilogy, and all of a sudden it is clogging up my Amazon homepage while I am in the midst of trying to order things. Important things. But I digress.

Everyone is reading these books. My nan. The security woman at work. Someone in college (who should be too busy to read at this time of year!). And you know what else? Apparently these are DIRTY books! Ooooh!

I don't know if I want to read dirty books, especially as my nan is also reading them. That's a bit odd. But I am curious. Has anyone read them? Or been bothered to Google them? Seeking explanations below...

Grrrr!

Grr. Yes, Grrrrrrrr! Angry face. Why angry face? I am busy. Too busy. College has moved into that hysterical it's-it's-nearly-the-end-of-the-semester fever pitch and work is just mental! I'm doing all these extra hours because too many people are getting married.I HAVE NO TIME TO READ! Sniff. Cry. Sniff, again.

This is doubly tragic, because I got some amazing books in the post this week (two of which I forgot I ordered...bad). These were:

Heist Society by Ally Carter
Starters by Lissa Price
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Johnson
The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

What was I thinking? Have I forgotten that I am in my last semester as an undergraduate and THAT I HAVE NO TIME TO BREATHE LET ALONE READ/???!!

And then I get an email from the Book Depository, telling me books I preordered months ago, have been released. The postman is now calling for me to be committed to a home for the terminally insane and obsessed.

It's not my fault. Between work and college I haven't really done anything or gone anywhere in months. Instead, I order books. Sue me, it's not a hobby but what's a girl to do?

Sweetly

Book: Sweetly
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Hodder
Covetability: Get. It. Now!

I love fairy tale retellings. Love them. I even enjoyed the movie version of Beastly, for which my friends deemed me a massive loser and refused to go to the cinema with me ever again. Well, for about a week anyway. Where am I going with this? Sweetly, my friends, Sweetly.

Hands up who loves Jackson Pearce? Lots of you? Good. She is all kinds of awesome. I have had her upcoming contemporary novel Purity in my Amazon wishlist forever. I also adored Sisters Red, but you know what? I think I love Sweetly more.

That said, if you have read Sisters Red you have a bit of a leg up, because though it’s not a straight sequel, Sweetly is a companion novel and uses the same mythology. Not that you can’t completely love Sweetly on its own merits because it is just fantastic.

The central character, Gretchen, hasn’t had it easy. Her twin sister disappeared when both girls were little, after they were chased in the woods by something very unseen and very creepy. Now, twelve years later, Gretchen and her brother Ansel have been thrown out by their nasty stepmother and are forced to hit the road. When their truck breaks down in a tiny, one-horse town they are taken in by the mysterious Sophia Kelly, who the townspeople are all terrified of. Sophia runs a chocolate shop, but nobody ever seems to visit it. Then Gretchen meets this mysterious local called Samuel, who warns her to get away from Sophia while she and Ansel still can.

Can you see where this is going? Can you guess what fairy tale it’s based on? Doesn’t matter if you can-I’ll bet the ending while surprise you anyway. I loved, loved, loved this book. It may well have been one of my fave picks of 2011, and I loved everything I read last year, by and large. It’s Lola good, and I don’t say that lightly.

Rating: 10/10

I love Hunger Games!

More books arrived this week.

My postman now thinks I am an absolute nut of the first water; not my problem. Had I been American, I’d be able to buy these in a bookshop but I live in Ireland, so they must come in the post.

So this week, I was on the receiving end of:

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Scarlet by AC Gaughen

The Disenchantments by Nina LeCour

I haven’t read any of them yet. Oh no. I chose this week to discover the Hunger Games instead.

Now, I know I have moaned about missing things in the past. I didn’t miss the Hunger Games; I just never got around to them. But then I started the first book because I was seeing the movie and well…no college work done. Friends neglected. Dog ignored. Whole series finished in two days. Felt like a complete idiot for not reading them before now, and like an even bigger idiot for not savouring them, seeing as there won’t be another book. They were beyond brilliant…if I was being picky I wasn’t overjoyed by the ending but the first book especially was just fantastic.

And the movie? I was really impressed. I hate it when films deviate too much from the book (like when it was implied that Hogwarts had a rowing club in the last Harry Potter movie I was not a happy bunny) but this movie was soooo faithful to the book; it all looked exactly how I imagined it, or pretty close.  Also, Liam Hemsworth? Hello. There is some ridiculous DNA in that whole family. I thought Jennifer Lawrence was a great Katniss and the scene with Roo was heartbreaking. I’m going to see it again with a Hunger Games obsessive this week and I bet she’s going to love it too.  

Oh, and the soundtrack! The Civil Wars, who I adore, have a great song on it with Taylor Swift called 'Safe and Sound'. Hearing it was the closest my heartless little self has come to crying in forever. There's also songs by Maroon 5 as you've never heard them before and a boatload of other awesome people. Go and see it now, regardless of whether you've read the books or not. It won't disappoint fans but is a great standalone film in its own right.

Review: North of Beautiful

Book: North of Beautiful

Author: Justina Chen Headley

Publisher: Little Brown

Shelfability: Get!

We all moan about our looks from time to time. Take me: I spent my life giving out about the state of my pimply face and the size of my butt (it’s not small). But deep down most of know that we’re basically okay-looking, right? This is what I kept coming back to when I was reading North of Beautiful. The narrator, Terra, is a beautiful girl-tall, blonde and skinny, but all people can ever look at is the red birthmark that covers half of her face. Her mother spends most of her time trying to find the wonder treatment that will leave Terra clear-skinned and ‘normal’ looking, while her father devotes his energies to belittling and undermining his wife and daughter at every turn. Then by chance Terra meets a boy with a scar of his own, and her world tilts on its axis.

I loved this book. Terra was such a great narrator. I really warmed to her and admired her obstinacy and determination. But I also understood when she did something weak; after years of her father chipping away at her fragile self esteem I was surprised she had the strength to bring the novel to the conclusion it eventually reached. The supporting characters are also really well written; I Terra’s mother and her love interest Jacob. I nearly wanted to skip ahead to the end of the book because I HAD to know if they ended up together.

I’d recommend this book to anyone. It really reminded me to worry less about the small stuff.

Rating: 9/10

Book Haul

I am posting twice in one week.
I never do that, but I have the day off college and I’m making the best of it. Also, I have had a little book haul, which is exciting. Well, I’m excited about it, even though our postman hates me now, because apparently he doesn’t like ringing the doorbell to drop off packages. Well, I’m sorry about that and all but I’m still excited!

My postman is actually called Pat incidentally, whic always makes me smile.

So this is what arrived today:

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (Body Finder #3)
The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
The Traitor and the Tunnel by YS Lee

Now I have a problem. I have all these lovely books, plus another few that haven’t arrived yet, and I don’t know what to read first. I’ve been sitting and staring at the pile like a right weirdo all morning, and I still haven’t decided.  I might read The Last Echo first, purely because I loved the other two Body Finder books so much, but I just don’t know.

I think I’ll do eenie meenie. It worked when I was little and sadly, I haven’t changed that much.

And there's still more to arrive. I need to delete my Amazon account or else I'm going to end up really poor.

Lola and The Boy Next Door

Title: Lola And The Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Source: Amazon/Book Depository
Shelfability: Get! Get now!

Oh my God. I say this about authors all the time but I don't undestand how on earth I missed Stephanie Perkins. The only excuse I have is that she hasn't been published in Ireland yet, which is a travesty of such epic proportions that I think I should write to the government or something. I'm sure they have more important things like the recession to worry about, but hey, maybe somebody knows somebody who can FIX THIS NOW!

Anyway, Lola! Lola popped up on my Amazon recommended reads and I liked the cover, so I looked her up on Katie's Book Blog and oh, my God, I'm glad I did because this book is amazing.

Lola is seventeen and about to start her last year of school. Things are looking rosy-she has a gorgeous, older boyfriend, a job she loves and she wears amazing costumes that she designs herself in her bedroom (which made me jealous enough to root out my sewing kit, I won't lie). But all of ths suddenly pales into insignificance when Cricket moves back in next door.

Cricket, as you may have guessed, is Lola's first love who broke her heart when he and his family moved away. But suddenly they're back-Cricket, his parents, and his stuck-up, nasty twin sister, who Lola hates. What's Lola going to do? Can she put up with the evil twin sister? Can she forgive Cricket for breaking her heart? Can all these things be accomplished while wearing a fabulous outfit? Read on and see...

If you have a shred of sense, you will beg, steal or borrow a copy of Lola (I do not condone stealing, it's only an expression and so on and so forth...). You need this book in your life. It's sweet, funny, romantic and really well written. Stephanie Perkins is my new idol. Now stop reading and go and get this book!