All posts tagged: reviews

Book Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

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I heard about this book ages a go, and heard it was great, but with no ebook available, and it generally impossible to find anywhere, it did take me some time to get around to reading it. Seriously, make ebooks available people. You will make more money, and I wouldn’t have to die waiting for the next book to arrive. Anyway… What it’s about: A girl in an Amish community takes in an outsider during a vampire apocalypse against the advice of her elders. What I thought: Really freaking enjoyed it. The main character, Katie, is an Amish girl who wants nothing more than to go on her Rumspringa and see the outside world. Katie is generally considered a bit too headstrong for the Amish, but is essentially a very good person at heart. She’s sensible, she cares deeply about the welfare of others, and is the sort of person who will always do what she thinks is right, even if others disagree, and the consequences may be fairly severe. She’s also sensible and for …

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

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So many people have recommended this to me, and it took me a long time to get around to reading it. But once I picked it up I just couldn’t put it down. What’s it about: Narcissistic (yet hilarious and clever) boy stalks narcissistic (awful) girl. What I thought: Unlike most thrillers, this doesn’t revolve around a mystery, but is more of a character-driven story, and it’s all narrated by the stalker, Joe. And he is a great protagonist. I was sceptical when I had read other reviews of this book where people said that it’s difficult to not like Joe. I was like “how could you ever sympathise with the stalker? just no.” but despite the fact that he does awful, awful things, he’s also really funny with an excellent sense of humor and the social commentary is excellent. It also doesn’t hurt that the people he’s doing those awful things to are HORRIBLE. Beck, the stalkee, is just the worst, and it’s really difficult to feel sorry for her. There are so many awful characters in …

Book Review: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

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Morning Star is the third, and final, book in the Red Rising trilogy – if you want to check out my review of Red Rising, you can do so here, but this review wont contain any spoilers for any of the books. This review will not focus on any specifics, but be more general babbling about how much I love it, because I don’t want to give ANY THING away. What is it about: Well, Red Rising is kind of like The Hunger Games, only set on Mars (and in space!), and way better (that is my opinion and I will not apologise for it. The Hunger Games was good, but I believe this series is way better. It’s darker and a lot more clever). Firstly, we are dealing with a dystopian society where how much you are oppressed depends on your colour. Darrow is a Red (lowest of the low), and also a ‘Helldiver’ (super extreme miner). Things happen and he ends up joining a rebellion to take down the Golds (the most oppressive …

Book Review – Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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IT IS JUST SO AWESOME!!! READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. A BILLION/FIVE STARS!  

Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Reading anything by Neil Gaiman is always a really special experience, but it really doesn’t compare with listening to Neil Gaiman read Neil Gaiman. Although I have a physical copy of this book, I decided to listen to the audiobook of this because Neil Gaiman often reads his books himself, and he does it really well. What it’s about: This is the story of a boy who is raised by the residents of a graveyard (as in the dead ones, not like an old gravedigger named Joe. The ghosts) after his family is brutally murdered. What I thought: Loved it. Loved it. Loved it a lot. I don’t read a huge amount of middle grade books because I usually find that they tend to beat you over the head with obvious conclusions (which is fine when they are being read by their intended audience who may need that, but I tend to find it annoying). But I do occasionally dip my toe in the middle grade pool for books I think will be worth it …

Book Review – Lirael by Garth Nix

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This is the second book in The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix (sometimes referred to as the Abhorsen series), if you haven’t read the first book in the series, Sabriel, you can check out my review here (if you like. No pressure). As with most of my reviews of sequels, this one will be short and will contain no spoilers of Sabriel or Lirael. What’s it about: Sensible girls, less sensible boys, Necromancy, and sassy talking animals. So the first book in the series, Sabriel, is about a young girl who is the daughter of the Abhorsen (Big Daddy Necromancer). When her father goes missing, she must travel through the Old Kingdom, which is full of dead things that want to eat your face, to find him. And the fact that Sabriel is one of the most sensible protagonists I’ve ever encountered, just makes this book lovely to read. So what about Lirael? Lirael is the story of two separate characters, about 14 years after Sabriel. The story of Lirael starts off with poor …

Book Review: Railsea by China Mieville

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 “People have wanted to narrate since first we banged rocks together & wondered about fire. There’ll be tellings as long as there are any of us here, until the stars disappear one by one like turned-out lights.” What’s it about? Basically, it’s a retelling of Moby Dick, but instead of a whale, we have a giant carnivorous mole rat, and instead of a ship, we have a train. Sounds awesome? That’s because it is. This is one of China Mieville’s works that is more suited to a younger audience, but this guy can really write for any age. “As long as humanity has rolled on the railsea, the rigours & vigours & bloody triggers of the underground have been legendary.” What did I think? It’s completely brilliant. Go read it now. I’ve never read a more cleverly written book in my life. This was just brilliant. It has a non-traditional sentence structure that reads a bit like poetry. I actually found myself only reading this book home alone because the writing was just so wonderful …

Book Review: Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

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So just a quick review for this one. This book was released last halloween I believe, but I really enjoyed it, and thought it deserved a mention again this year. What’s it about: A haunted Orsk store (fictional equivalent of Ikea). When strange things start happening at their work, they decide to spend the night…. it does not end well. What I thought: I really enjoyed this book! There is something about it that gives it a zombieland (but with ghosts instead of zombies) vibe. It’s a really fun horror read. Having had my first trip to Ikea only recently, and having to miss my lunch plans because I was “trapped” in the store and couldn’t get out, I felt that this book perfectly captured that trapped feeling. I loved the store manager character, Basil. If Moss from The IT Crowd managed an Ikea, I think he would a a bit like Basil. The best thing about this book is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a really fun book. And it’s quite …

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

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Sorry I have been completely absent of late. I am currently writing up my PhD thesis. It’s been taking up pretty much all of my time. One might say I’ve been sciencing the shit out of things. On to the review. I’ve been meaning to read this for a really long time, but I finally got around to it and I loved it. What’s it about: An astronaut is left alone on Mars when his team leaves him for dead (whoops!). He has to try to survive alone on Mars until he can be rescued. What I thought: This book is so entertaining. Everyone I know who has read this all say the same thing: they read it in one sitting. It is absolutely impossible to put down. I though the format in which this book was written both worked and didn’t at the same time. Mark Watney (astronaut left on Mars)’s perspective is written in the format of his log. It works in one way because it’s absolutely hilarious. I found the whole end …

Book Review: Only Ever Yours by Louise O’neill

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This book is like a massive middle finger to gender inequality and the objectification of women in contemporary society. It is extremely harrowing and it literally gave me nightmares, but I think it’s so important for young women to read it. What it’s about: I think the author herself best described this book as a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Mean Girls. Set in a truly horrific dystopian society, where females are raised in ‘schools’ designed to prepare girls to be basically subservient wives or concubines (or the most horrible of all – Chastities – which are basically the teachers of the next generation). being pretty is of the utmost importance and slogans like ‘fat girls must be made obsolete’ following them everywhere. What I thought: This book is incredibly difficult to read, but I believe it’s incredibly important that people do read this book. It is extremely reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, but I feel it’s a bit more relevant to modern society and the pressures young girls are put under today. I …