***Review*** I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter

On the Back of the Book


"Do you ever feel like you're invisible? I know I do - just call me Cammie the Chameleon. But at my school, that's seen as cool. Why? Because the Gallagher Academy might say it's for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies."

Cammie Morgan might be capable of killing a man in seven different ways, but she's about to begin her most dangerous mission yet: falling in love.


Pre Read Thoughts


I never intended to read this series but then I got this book in a five piece boxset that cost me £5. I figured now would be a good time to read it as I'd just finished a heavy novel. The cover's quite boring if I'm entirely truthful, it's not eyecatching enough for my taste. The title is pretty amazing, if a little on the wordy side. It was enough to make me pick up the book and glance at the synopsis... which I liked until the final three words. I hate it when something cool is sacrificed for romance. So it's not going well for the book so far. Let's hope that the actual story makes up for some of this.


Post Read Thoughts


This was a nice, light read. I found that not much effort was required from me while I read it. The writing was simple, nothing was over complicated and I liked that. The first 50 - 100 pages were a little slow for me and I found myself clock watching instead of reading. Once the book had found its stride though it was pretty easy to just read the story. I found the book to be a little boring though as there were no major plot twists or turns. It just followed a plan. The spy stuff could've been cool but it felt like it was pushed aside in favour of Cammie and Josh.

Speaking of, the characters are nice. Even the bad girl is nice and that's rubbish. None of them really stood out for me. Cammie was an okay MC but she got very repetitive and by the end of the book I was a bit annoyed with her and wnated to throw the book against something. Another thing that frustrated me is that she was always going on about how pretty everyone else is and she just isn't. I didn't want or need to know that in every chapter. I couldn't really tell you much about the others as she's all about Josh (who I thought was a bit dull) and doesn't really say much about her friends (apart from how pretty they all are).

Overall I liked the story even though it brought nothing new to the YA genre and is probably more suited to a younger audience. It was cute and easy to read, I had it finished in a few hours. There's no swearing or sex and only a bit of violence (which is self defence) so there aren't really any issues with content. I'd heard so many good things about this series and the author but I feel like I'm missing something. Maybe I'm a little too old for books about spy school now.


My Rating

3 stars - While there's nothing particularly bad about this book, there's nothing particularly good either. I definitely think this is aimed at the younger end of YA audience if not even younger. There isn't a great amount of depth to this so it's definitely good if you just want to read something without thinking about it afterwards.

***Review*** The Forest of Hands & Teeth (Forest of Hands & Teeth #1) by Carrie Ryan

On the Back of the Book


In Mary's world there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future - between the one she loves and the one who loves her.

And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?


Pre Read Thoughts


I've been meaning to read this book for ever such a  long time and when a buddy read was started for it in my GR group Basically Books! I decided to go for it. I picked this up in WHSmith for £6.99 which, as I point out a lot, is a reasonable price for a brand new YA paperback, in fact it's the RRP. Moving swiftly on to the cover I feel that it's way too bland. Nothing draws me to it, in fact I hate it so much it just looks as though the publisher couldn't be bothered to create a semi-decent cover for it. I like the synopsis and the title, they're the two things that made me take this book to the counter.


Post Read Thoughts


The only word I can use to describe this book is "meh". Everything was either okay or rubbish. Nothing was good and it was certainly nowhere near amazing. The writing was okay, nothing to write home about. I personally don't think that the 1st person POV worked as you're stuck in one person's head and that leaves you with little to no answers. The plot was okay, although some of what happened frustrated me. The pace was slow, it dragged and my mind wandered constantly away from the plot. I think I'd have liked more backstory. I want to know more about the Sisterhood and the religion that they force on the villagers.

I didn't like any of the characters but the most annoying by far was the MC, Mary. Being stuck in her head is torture. She's shallow, selfish, obsessive and dull as dishwater. I detested her, she just never stopped blithering on about irrelevant stuff. She had three main trains of thought: Travis, Gabrielle and the ocean, not necessarily in that order though. None of the other characters really stood out for me in any way so I don't feel that I can comment on them.

Overall I didn't really feel much for the story. I felt that the author went about the story in the wrong way and that pretty much ruined it for me. I don't mean to be rude but this book didn't get anything from me. I just don't see the appeal of it. The pace was so relaxed that not even the "exciting" parts got my heart beating a little faster. I think that the word I'm going to sum this book up with is generic.


My Rating

2 stars - This book could have been really good but it falls flat. I would've given this 1 star but it didn't get my blood boiling so I can't even give it that. For a book to have 1 star I have to hate it with a passion because I don't give out 1 star ratings lightly. I think I'd recommend this to diehard fans of YA dystopian. There isn't any sex or swearing but there are some decapitations.

***Review*** 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope #1) by Maureen Johnson

On the Back of the Book

If your free-spirited aunt left you 13 little blue envelopes:

Would you follow the directions?

Would you travel around the world?

Would you open the envelopes one by one?

Inside envelope 1

is money and instructions to buy a plane ticket

Inside envelope 2

are directions to a specific London flat

Inside envelope 3

tells Ginny: Find a starving artist

Because of envelope 4

Ginny and a playwright/thief/man-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together, with disastrous - though really romantic - results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes...

Pre Read Thoughts

I've had my eye on this book for a long time so when I saw it as part of a 3 for £5 deal I just had to pick it up. I'd like to point out that it was the first time I'd seen this book in my town and I'm not meant to be buying books online. Technically I'm not meant to be buying books full stop but that's another story. I'm not a huge fan of the cover, it's quite boring and doesn't really stand out from the crowd. This is a title book for me, it always was. The synopsis intrigues me just as much as the title and I can't wait to read this.

Post Read Thoughts

I read this book with a stupid grin on my face, it's just that adorable. I love the premise of the story and the way it was executed. I was really sucked into the story and had a really hard time putting it down. I thought the writing was good but I had a couple of issues (I know, issues again! I'm sorry, I will read a book that doesn't have any one day). I don't know what it's like in America but in the UK a bank pin is only 4 digits not 5 so the answer wouldn't actually work and we don't say "you look tan" we say "you look tanned". I realise that these are minor things but they really stood out for me. I am so fussy when it comes to stuff like that and what's more I actually remember.

I liked Ginny, I thought she was pretty cool and some of the scrapes she got herself into were hilarious. I don't think the story would've worked if she'd been one of those really popular girls but she wasn't and now I'm going round in circles. So moving on I thought Keith was a good love interest but he wasn't a character that blew me away. He was nice. I like that he wasn't constantly all over Ginny and practically stalking her, that's an alarming custom in YA right now. Where did it come from? It felt far more realistic and that's never a bad thing. The final person I want to talk about is Peg. I love her personality and how the book is just as much about her as it is Ginny. It was a lovely touch to be able to discover them both at the same time.

Overall this book is a great escape from life for a few hours, and when I say a few hours I mean that. This is a really quick read. I loved so much about this and I wish that I had the 2nd book in my house so that I could read it now. The characters were wonderful, the pace was just perfect, the plot idea was amazing and I liked the writing. I'd definitely recommend this to people who like their YA to be a little different from the norm. I actually think this would be a great beach read so if you're going on holiday somewhere sunny you should pack this.

My Rating

4 stars - It's really high on the scale of 4 but I couldn't give it a 5. It's just not quite as good as the books I've given that rating to. I really enjoyed the story and would say that it's suitable for the younger end of the YA audience as there's no sex, violence, swearing and all the rest of it. What are you waiting for? Go buy it!

***Review*** City of Glass (Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

On the Back of the Book


Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders - or against them. Meanwhile Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?




Pre Read Thoughts


So here I am, about to read the "final" book in the Mortal Instruments "trilogy". I'm only reading this because I have to find out how it ends for myself. My luck ran out when it came to my hunt for a used copy of this and there was no way I was going to the next town to look there. It would have to be a fantastic book to make me get travel sick. Oh and when I say "luck ran out" I mean my brother very kindly bought me a brand new copy of this so it cost me nothing. (Cheers Dave.) It set him back £7.99 though and that's £1 more than the average YA paperback novel. So I'm going to move on before I start ranting about that. I don't like the cover, I'd like to see the characters eyes and there's a quote from SMeyer. I can't look at it because of that. The synopsis is pretty pathetic, it's literally two sentences, there's creating mystery and there's stupidness. That synopsis is the latter.


Post Read Thoughts


I'm not a sucker for happy endings and I hate cliches and this statement leads me to a question: why did I ever think I would enjoy this series? Well since I actually had to read it for my GR group (technically I share it with the two most awesomesauce mods ever) I guess the answer is that I didn't. I've actually just noticed that I'm rambling because I don't know what to say. I'll give it a good go anyway, there wasn't any improvement with the pace and the predictability was just as bad if not worse. This is incredibly disappointing because I was constantly either pages or even chapters in front of the charcters so I couldn't concentrate on where I was. So either I'm a genius (unlikely) or the characters are exceptionally dense (probably).

Speaking of the characters, please can I bash Clary's head in? I never really connected with her but she seems to be slipping further away with every book. She like smoke. Any individuality she may have had has just slipped away with every book and by this point she's pining after Jace like a lovesick puppy. I don't like Jace either, I never did, he's a complete idiot. Nothing he does in this book endears him to me. I think some of the things he does get some girls swooning but not me. Valentine is the dullest bad guy I've read in a long time. His "climax" had me yawning. I wanted more than I got and I felt like I'd been ripped off. I've met people in real life that are more evil than him.

Overall I didn't like the book, the further in I got the more I realised that I just didn't care and without that initial hatred this book is less than nothing to me. I guess that's why I don't really have much to say about it. I wish I'd never read these books, they haven't given me anything except for ranting material, I didn't gain any enjoyment from them and especially not this one. Needless to say I don't recommend this.


My Rating

1 star - I'm speechless. It's horrific, I really don't get all the glowing reviews. I think I'm missing something. I would like the time that I've invested in this series back but since that's impossible I'll settle for a refund... The glimpses of okayness (there are a few) are few and far between. So in memory of the tree that died for my copy of this book I'm going to stand next to the mini-forest next door to my house and have a little sob.

***Review*** Candy and the Broken Biscuits Candypop #1 by Lauren Laverne

On the Back of the Book


This cannot be my life.
Seriously.

*****THE PLAN*****

• Stop Mum marrying the World's Boringest Stepdad tm
• Track down BioDad for Happy Ever After
• Achieve world domination with my band
• Enlist supernatural Fairy Godbrother to assist in the above*

*Not part of the original plan but you've got to roll with the punches.

There must be something better. Something bigger, louder, faster, MORE...


Pre Read Thoughts


I found this in my local branch of The Works. They have this 3 for £5 offer on a massive range of paperbacks and I use it as an opportunity to try books I normally wouldn't read. Two things attracted me to the book: 1. The cover, I love the guitars. I love books about wannabe music artists and music lovers so I had a feeling I'd like this. 2. The synopsis, It's really quirky and I love quirky ones because they intrigue me and I'm curious. The reason I've started reading this is because my mum has demanded that I read a "happy book". I think she may be a bit bored of the Cassandra Clare rants...


Post Read Thoughts


I really liked the story of this. It did take a few chapters to get going as the author found her stride with the plot though. I've decided to forgive her though as this is her debut novel and there are bound to be a few teething issues. The plot isn't too serious and is a bit far-fetched but I liked that. It was a nice escape from the more serious YA that I've been reading (If you can call Mortal Instruments 'serious' that is). There were quite a few laugh out loud moments. I also really liked the writing style and the fact that I didn't have to put too much energy into reading it.

I loved all the characters. I'm going to start out with my personal stand out character: Holly a.k.a. Pirate, Candy's best friend, crazy person and legend. She's easily one of my favourite characters of the year. Moving on to the MC Candy, I enjoyed being in her head, she was funny without trying too hard to be. There were some scenes where I just had to laugh, even though it was really late at night. I can't move on until I've mentioned the other important character though, Clarence B Major: Candy's Fairy Godbrother. First of all: What a name! It's awesome, I never thought I'd see a character called Clarence. I think he's crazy cool, he's absolutely 100% bonkers but I do like him, he's the character that made me giggle the most.

Overall this is a quick, fun, easy read. The writing's simple to understand, the pace improves the further in the story you get, the characters are hilarious and I personally adored the plot. I quickly want to to point out that the joke about Candy feigning lactose intolerancy when people get all cheesy made me smile. It's one of my favourite jokes, I use it all the time. Not that anyone gets it when I do...


My Rating

4 stars - This is a solid debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The further in I got the more it grew on me. This was a great bargain buy that I don't regret buying. I'm now so excited for the sequel. What could possibly happen next to Candy Caine?



A Final Note


There's no content that you need to worry about, I just wanted to apologise if this review doesn't make sense. I wrote it at midnight and I've just edited it as best I can.

***Review*** Sister, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

On the Back of the Book


It's been two years since the events of Girl, Missing and life is not getting any easier for sixteen-year-old Lauren, as exam pressure and a recent family tragedy take their toll. Lauren's birth mother takes Lauren and her two sisters on holiday in the hope that some time together will help, but a few days into the holiday one of the sisters disappears, under circumstances very similar to those in which Lauren was taken years before. Can Lauren save her sister, and stop the nightmare happening all over again?



Pre Read Thoughts


The second I saw this book in WHSmith I knew that I wouldn't be leaving without it.  As I am poor, this involved me sidling up to my big brother and looking immensely cute. You may mock me but I'm about to read the book so it obviously worked so cheers for the book Dave. I have no idea how much he paid for the book but the RRP is £9.99. Now I know that sounds a bit dear but it is a hardback. I love the cover, it's clean, it's simple, it's eyecatching. As the synopsis tels you this is book 2 so I'm hoping I don't need to remember too much from Girl, Missing.


Post Read Thoughts


Wow. I thought Girl, Missing had a solid ending and didn't nees a sequel but I sure am glad that Sophie McKenzie disagreed with me. I loved it and I nearly shed a few tears over the end. The writing was superb. I've been a fan of McKenzie for quite a few years now and this book just tells you why. I do have a couple of tiny niggles though (to be honest when don't I?). Issue 1: The ransom money as Annie and Sam are American surely the life insurance would have been in dollars not pounds? Issue 2: I guessed a bit of the plot. I know that doesn't seem like much but it was a big revelation to Lauren and I would've liked to have shared her shock.

Lauren is a well written character and being in her head is a joy. She's realistic, she has flaws, she has conflicting emotions and all that makes me love her more. Madison is as cute as a button, I hate kids and even I can see that. Jam is awesome. It's nice to have a leading man that treats his girlfriend with some respect. It's such a refreshing change to half of the guys in YA lit.

Overall I loved this book. It's hard to put down and at 250 pages it's a relatively quick read. The writing was good, the story touching and the characters felt real. Also the lack of supernatural creatures made returning to YA after a few dodgy books a pleasure. I don't regret reading this book, it's a must for fans of Girl, Missing.


My Rating

 4 stars - I don't have any words left to describe how much I enjoyed it. I hoope this book does as well as its predecessor. It deserves great reviews and awards because it just paints an awesomely terrifying concept. Hats off to Sophie, She's delivered again.

***Review*** City of Ashes Mortal Instruments #2 by Cassandra Clare

On the Back of the Book



With her mother in a coma and her father hellbent on destroying the world, Clary Fray is dragged deeper into New York City's terrifying underworld of werewolves, demons and the mysterious Shadowhunters. Discovering the truth about her past was only the beginning. Now the fate of the world rests on Clary's shoulders, but can she master her new-found powers and control her feelings for a boy that can never be hers?



Pre Read Thoughts


I'm not looking forward to reading this. Reading book one involved lota of *facepalm*, *headdesk* and the occasional rant. Different people have said different things to me about the rest of the trilogy but the general consensus seems to be that I'm gonna hate it. I have to finish what I start though so I'm going forth and everyone I know is taking this opportunity to hide (I assume, I would if I were them anyway). Once again I managed to get a used copy, this one's a bit battered but no worries, it cost me £2.50 and the money went to a great cause (British Heart Foundation for the record). I have the creepy face cover, I don't like it, not even the fact that it's shiny can save it. Once again I don't like the synopsis, it's very cheesy, or do I mean cliche? Either way I wouldn't have bought it for that.


Post Read Thoughts


I don't know what to say without sounding like a broken record. I guess I'll start with the explanations or rather lack thereof. After two books I still don't have a clue what a stele is. It does some things but not others, why is this? The serpah blades: Why are they named? Why can't they be called 'Raziel'? Am I the only one thinking these questions? I also disliked the use of 'bitterer' on page 89. If you want to be intelligent and use the archaic form of 'more bitter' then that's jolly nice but in schools today a kid would be shot down in flames for using it. Surely an author should be using more recognisable terms so teens can learn correct spelling and grammar while they read a book that they enjoy?

Don't get me started on the characters, oh actually I've started now, I may as well continue. Clary and Jace, it's disgusting. Or am I the only sane person that read the end of book one? I mean it just made me physically sick. As for the Simon storyline, it screamed cop out. Seriously, you set it up for something good to happen and you kill it. The Inquisitor was transparent, I knew exactly what her motives were. Luke is as dull as very dirty dishwater and Valentine is one of the worst baddies I've ever come across. By 'worst' I mean 'awful' not 'scary', just to clear up any confusion.

Overall I was thoroughly unimpressed. The pace was intersting if you like being put to sleep and then just as you're dozing off "BAM" something happens. The plot was predictable, the characters were boring, explanations of the world just don't exist and the ending, it was a cop out. I swear on my kitty's very regular washing habits (what? He likes to be clean!) that this is one of the worst books I've come across this year.


My Rating

 1 star - I can't bring myself to give it any more. I am horrified by some of the plot and I wouldn't give it to anyone under 16 because of that. Also carrying on with a point I've made before. The trees! The trees! I'm devastated that yet more of them are being sacrificed for this, if you want to waste precious electricity reading this as an e-book then go ahead but please, not the trees. They can't take anymore. Needless to say, I don't recommend it to anyone.


A Final Note


There's some swearing and a lot of violence. I just want to make you all aware of this.