SPOILER FREE: {bookreview} The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab (spooky, sausy and a little bit naughty)

Taken by @samthefangirl_

In 2019, I went to YALC, the ‘book con’ as I had decided to call it, of England. It was in the middle of a heat wave, my friend and I had to buy a fan for our hotel room but we were determined to not only survive the heat and the convention. On the Saturday, we met V. E Schwab and even though my friend had brought A Darker Shade of Magic and, I, the Archived, Victoria was promoting the relaunch of her first novel, The Near Witch. At the time, I didn’t want to buy it at YALC, mostly because it was full price and I’m not made of money. But when I saw it was on for buy one get one half price, I picked it straight up with Raymond. E. Feist’s King of ashes.

Taken by @samthefangirl_

This is what the Near Witch is about:

The town of Near doesn’t get strangers. But when Lexi wakes one night, drawn to the window only to see a shadow, or a boy, standing on the outskirts of the village. When children begin to go missing from Lexi’s village, the only thing that can be to blame is magic but the only question is who’s? Convinced that the strange is innocent, Lexi takes to the save the children of Near and find the answers of the wind.

Maybe one day the words will pour out like so many others, easy and smooth and on their own. Right now they take pieces of me with them.

I’ll say it now and I’ll probably say it again when I read another of Schwab’s books: there’s just something so magical about her writing style. It does more than just transports you, it consumes you. I make’s her books treasures. I loved Archived and The Near Witch is definitely a close favourite. The way that Schwab described Near was beautiful.

Taken by @samthefangirl_

The plot was so interesting. I think the only thing that I wanted more of was a twist. It all was a bit straight forward apart from the occasional bump in the road that didn’t really impact the overall ending. I think if there had been a plot twist that I hadn’t seen coming I would have loved it even more but alas. Overall, it was a kind of remedy to my reading slump, it was enough fantasy, enough coming of age, enough mystery to keep me happy for the moments I had to escape and just read.

Taken by @samthefangirl_

The characters were just amazing. I have to give it to Schwab, what she does with characters is outstanding. Already I’m missing Lexi and her fiery soul!

Thank ya for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

SPOILER FREE: {Book Review} Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami (short and sweet)

Book Review of Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

This short story was, well, short and for that reason this review will be as well. Despite the size of this story, I don’t see it as a good enough reason not to give it a full review because it was interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. I’ve never read anything by Murakami before but one of my closest friends has often bought his books when I’ve been in Waterstones with her (thank you for always letting me have the points from your purchases, you are a true friend)! This same friend though has told me that if I wanted to get into his books, I should first read one instead of buying them in the bulk, that his writing style isn’t for everyone, so when I saw this very short story for only £1.99 I decided this would be the introduction into the world of Murakami’s writing.

A bit about the story!

It’s her twentieth birthday. Instead of spending the day as she wanted, celebrating, she has to work. not that she doesn’t enjoy her work, she enjoys it quite a bit but a sort of dread filled her when she realised, she would be working. But on this birthday, something different happens. Usually the manager would take the owners meal to him at eight o’clock, but on this night the manager falls ill and, on this night, she is the one to take the meal to him.

There was quite a lot of aspects that I like about this short story, the ambiguity was one thing. We don’t know who the woman in the story is called, we don’t know about her background or anything, this ambiguity was almost refreshing in the sense that the reader can almost fill their own perceptions on who she was and what she was doing with her life. There’s also aspects to the end of the story (that I won’t go into because of spoilers) but ultimately I really enjoyed the fact that we never found out what had happened in regards to the meeting with the manager (its nothing dirty so don’t worry!).

I really liked the fantastical aspect of the story that was meshed in with the everyday side of the book. There were elements of the story that were obviously very much too out there and too coincidental that almost could have taken away from the story because there was no way that on this woman’s twentieth birthday would have be one of the first people to ever meet the owner but well… here we are. It added magic to the story. It made the story all the more enjoyable to read.

I really enjoyed the way that Murakami writes. It was simple and the imagery almost screamed off the page. I loved it.

Thank you for reading!xxxx

{Book Review} City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (Ghosts, ghosts and more ghosts)

What lead for me to buy this book is a very good question. Since this book release, I have wanted to read this book but I would be lying if I told you that I knew exactly what this book was about or that I had fallen into the “Schwab” fan club of the bookish community. I’ve never read a book by V. E. Schawb before this one, although I own A Darker Shade of Magic, I still have yet to pick it up. But don’t worry, I’m not completely ignorance, I have heard the hype. When I picked up this book, I was worried that what lay beyond the pages wouldn’t fulfil the hype that seemingly follows every word Schawb writes. I didn’t know this was middle grade. I didn’t know anything beyond the fact that I adored the front cover and that the word “ghosts” was plastered on it. “Ghosts” being one of my favourite words on the face of the earth.

Here’s a little about the book;

Cassidy’s parents write books about ghosts. They are given the opportunity to have their own tv show about the most haunted places on earth. It’s ironic really, that Cassidy’s parents travel all the way to Edinburgh to find ghosts when their own daughter is haunted. And she can see ghosts. But they don’t need to know that. Cassidy embarks on her own adventure in the streets of Scotland, with her ghost friend, Jacob, where she discovers more and more about her abilities than she ever thought she would.

What are my thoughts overall? Well, that I adored this book. I thought it was wonderful. The thing about me is that I adore a classic ghost story so this book was essentially everything I could have ever asked for and more. Although it was a middle grade and I don’t really usually read them, I was pleasantly impressed by every single sentence.

“Every time I get nervous or scared, I remind myself that every good story needs twists and turns. Every heroine needs an adventure.”

The writing style was simple and yet complex -does that even make sense? Probably not but I loved every inch of this book. Schwab defo does live up to her reputation as an amazing author.

“Usually, she’s tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up stories.”

I love the use of Edinburgh as the first haunted place. There were places used in this book that when I’m lucky enough I’ll straight away go and see each and every one of them. They were so vividly described that I was captivated by the idea of them, I then googled when they looked like and funnily enough, with some minor details, everything that I was seeing in my head was what it really looked like. It this isn’t a credit to Schwab’s ability to place a setting into a piece of writing I don’t know what is.

“I know you’re supposed to want to be one of the popular kids, but the truth is, I never have. It just seems like it would be exhausting, trying to keep up with all the rules.”

The characters were lovable. More than lovable -they were relatable and funny in every sense of the words. Cassidy is a lively young woman, brave and talented as well, I also noticed the very kind heartedness of her character as not only did she look out for herself but she also made effort with her family and her friends -there were moments were the character was in moral danger and all she could think about was her parents -this was something that I could really relate to. A lot of the time I feel that some writers miss out on the opportunity to explore family relationships and I was very happy to see a tightknit family within a book -something that isn’t really found in YA books, rather there is the focus on damaged relationship which is still valid but I enjoyed this wonderful family dynamic.

“Embrace your strange, dear daughter. Where’s the fun in being normal?”

I also adored Jacob. He was adorable. Adorable, adorable, ADORABLE! I thought that as a character he was super hilarious, the fact that Schwab was so keenly exploring this POV of a ghost was really interesting. I feel that ghosts are either super evil, like the Woman in Black (recently watched this film and was terrified) or they are super good. Instead Jacob was just a person, a person who was a ghost. That humanity really came across in his character and for that I really enjoyed reading about him and his relationship with Cassidy. It was SO nice to have a boy and girl relationship and just know that nothing romantic was going on. Why aren’t there any boy and girl friendships anymore that are purely just friendship? I feel as though writers play into the hands of readers who are so focused on pleasing them that they just write a cute relationship that will get a few Aw’s and a few #relationshipgoals and then leave it at that. For once there was none of that and it was so so so refreshing.

“My camera was on the bedside table, the purple strap frayed and the viewfinder cracked. It was damaged but not ruined, changed but not destroyed. Kind of like me. A little special. A little strange.”

Overall this was an amazing book, a good old middle grade that’s just so enjoyable to read and really takes you back to your childhood and all the weird but wonderful books you used to read as well as the fantasies you used to have as you are in the car and you mind can wonder.

Thank you for reading!xxxx

Books that I’m taking to University with me (sad that I can’t take all my books)!

Due to be posted on @samthefangirl_

I suppose this is a bit of a life update as well as a little rant about how excited I am about reading all of these wonderful books. Tomorrow (or at least it will be tomorrow when I post this (if I can keep to a schedule) on the 22nd of September) I am moving to Chester to begin my university life. Let me very briefly list all the emotions I’m feeling right now: fear, excitement, sadness, nerves, worry, happiness and all those bad ones that make you want to glue yourself to your bedroom so you have an excuse to stay. But alas, tomorrows the day little Sam leaves the home she has lived in all her life with the people she has lived with all her life. From what I can tell about my roommates, they all seem really nice and lovely but its still daunting to think that I’ll be living with 6 other people I have never met in my life but I know they are probably thinking the exact same thing right now -not because I’m psychic but because it’s common sense.

1. The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

I was blessed enough (and lucky enough) to receive this from a giveaway run by one of my fellow bookstagrammers/ bloggers (thank you again!). I’m actually really excited to read this book, it sounds really interesting and something completely out of my personal reading comfort zone. Usually I tend to stay away from historical fiction because being the historian I am, instantly I’m picking them apart and looking for anything that isn’t historically correct. Which is strange. Now that I think about it I highly enjoyed “Stalking Jack The Ripper” by Kerri Maniscalco and “A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue” by Mackenzie Lee and they are both Historical Fiction novels so maybe I like the genre more than I think I do.

Here’s a bit about the book:

1838: Northumberland, England. Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands has been Grace Darling’s home for all of her twenty-two years. When she and her father rescue shipwreck survivors in a furious storm, Grace becomes celebrated throughout England, the subject of poems, ballads, and plays. But far more precious than her unsought fame is the friendship that develops between Grace and a visiting artist. Just as George Emmerson captures Grace with his brushes, she in turn captures his heart.
1938: Newport, Rhode Island. Nineteen-years-old and pregnant, Matilda Emmerson has been sent away from Ireland in disgrace. She is to stay with Harriet, a reclusive relative and assistant lighthouse keeper, until her baby is born. A discarded, half-finished portrait opens a window into Matilda’s family history. As a deadly hurricane approaches, two women, living a century apart, will be linked forever by their instinctive acts of courage and love.

2. Inferno by Dante Alighieri

I’ve actually already started this book/ poem thing and I can’t put into words how much I’m enjoying it. Poetry has very recently become a very big passion and part of my life, over the past few years I have been doing poetry because of school but it has only been over this holiday that poetry has become close to my heart. While doing A-levels I think that Keats and Blake might have very much kicked me into loving poetry but Inferno has only amplified this. I think what made me dislike poetry for so long was that fact I could barely understand it but Inferno is so easy to understand. It is littered with the names of God’s and historical figures I’ve never heard of and it has been a pleasure researching and throwing myself into the true underlying messages of the poems.

Here’s a little about Inferno:

Depicting one man’s horrifying journey into the depths of Hell, ‘Inferno’, the first part of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, is a soaring spiritual epic that continues to echo through the centuries with its moving portrayal of human sin and the tragedy of those condemned to eternal damnation.

3. A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab

So many people rave about this series and I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read this book! I’ve had this copy of the book since Christmas and yet still it remains unread.

Here’s a bit about the book:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

4. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Again, another book I’ve had for such a long time and haven’t gotten round to reading it. I also know a very limited amount about this book!

Here’s a bit about the book:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

5. The Kiss Of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

This is actually a reread because its been so long since I last read this book but I really want to continue with the series. The first book was phenomenal and I adored every last page of it. I remember reading it at my cousin’s house when I went there for a sleepover, I’m so sure I read this entire book in one sitting as well because it was so enticing.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 16th of October 2017

Here’s a bit about the book:

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor’s secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can’t abide. Like having to marry someone she’s never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

6. All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

posted on @samthefangirl_ on 3rd of november 2017

This is another reread. The first time I read this book little under a year ago, I was completely blown away by Maggie (yet again)! Her writing style it the most beautiful thing I have ever read and I just realized how much I wanted to read this book again no matter what plus it would no doubt inspire me to write even better when I’m doing my creative Writing Course.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 7th of november 2017

Here’s a bit about this wonderful book:

Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears:
What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

7. Children Of Blood And Bone by Temi Adeyemi

All I know about this book is that there is magic involved and that instantly makes me want to read it! plus the front cover is literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. But other than that I know nothing.

Here’s a little bit about the book:

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

8. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

This is the sequel to Scythe, one of my favourite books ever. Its no secret that Scythe blew me away, it was phenomenal and I still can’t comprehend the genius behind it. I can’t wait to read this book now!

Here’s abit about Scythe so i’m not ruining anything for you all:

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

9. Sonnets by William Shakespeare

I’m taking Poetry so I just through that I would need to read a bit of poetry so I can understand it more. Plus this edition is beautiful!

Here’s a bit about the poetry selection:

Shakespeare’s sonnets are lyrical, haunting, beautiful and often breath-taking, representing one of the finest bodies of poetry ever penned. They demonstrate the writer’s skill in capturing the full range of human emotions within a carefully prescribed form and creating something unique in every one. Some are familiar – Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? – others unexpected, but together they form an extraordinary meditation on the nature of love, lust, beauty and time.

10. Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch

This is the finale of the Snow like Ashes series and I am ready.

Here’s a bit about book one:

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

11. An Ember In The Ashes & A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 8th of April 2018

While I’ve read the first book in the series I have yet to read the second or third. All I can tell you about the first book is that Tahir does crazy things! She ain’t afraid to kill off some characters!

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 10th of September 2017

Here’s a bit about An Ember In The Ashes:

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Thank you all for reading! Lots of love!xxxx

{Review} Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (you’ve probably read this book wihtout realising it)

This is the classic recipe for fantasy novels and because of that there were parts of this book where there’s no doubt you’ve it read before. And really there’s nothing wrong with that, it was still a really enjoyable book but it was one that was very predictable and it was just kind of mediocre. There wasn’t anything in this book that really had me on the edge of my seat. There was nothing profound that had me thinking “wow that was unique” or just “amazing”. And for that, I suppose, meant I gave it a lower rating. Not because it wasn’t a good but just because it was just a good book. You know?

Here’s a little bit about the book:
Lady Thora is the Kaisers loyal subject. She kneels when he commands. She speaks when demanded to. She lives because he allows it. For the past ten years that is how she had lived, by the decree on another. Constantly being watched by shadows that she can never escape until someone from a life she should have forgotten comes to her. Now she must choose, whether she will remain Lady Thora or she will become Queen Theodosia, the rightful heir to the throne of her country.

Please ignore my chipped nail vanishxxxx

There are constant themes that seem to come up in fantasy books and this is when the protagonist “falls in love” with the “enemy”. It happens in this book, it happens in Ruined by Amy Tintera and it happens in To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo and it happens in The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. What I want to know is why this keeps coming up. Since when was it so popular? I think that Sebastian does this because she was trying to highlight that not all are evil when dealing with a monarchy of a horrible ruler. In a way it was profound. Like for once I actually liked the relationship that blossomed between the Protagonist and the “enemy” but still as soon as they were introduced I was like “oh here we go again” the reason why I didn’t like Ruined was because of this trope but in this book it seemed to make sense.

I liked the love interest. He wasn’t horrible. He did horrible things but there was just something so remorseful in everything he did. Like he was truly sorry for everything that had come because of the rule of the king and for that I liked him. But then saying this, he did do really horrible things so maybe I’m just being nice to him (I’m writing this at 1am so excuse me if some of this doesn’t make sense). Its strange how characters do things that in our society would be horrific and unforgiveable like murder and yet when they happen in fantasy books they are just one of those things… if you know what I mean.

“I take one last look at my reflection in the mirror. Ashes already flake down over my cheeks and nose, marking me. The red stain I used on my lips looks like fresh blood. Underneath, I see bits and pieces of my mother staring back at me, but twisted with hate and fury my mother never needed to know.
I’m not sorry for it.
I am angry.
I am hungry.
And I promise myself that one day I will watch them all burn.”

Oh and guess what makes a beautiful entrance. Because having the protagonist liking her enemy wasn’t difficult enough there had to be a dash of love triangle to the mix. {hear me groan with as much annoyance as possible} god I hate love triangles. I mean being a writer myself, sure maybe it’s a bit fun, I mean why not have characters that get loads of attention from their desired genders or others while we (I mean me) doesn’t get any attention at all -its nice to live vicariously through them. But still. Seriously? I had to live through the great Team Edward -Team Jacob love triangle affair and THAT was traumatic and exhausting enough to last me a lifetime. If I could I would never read about another love triangle in my life. Books should have a disclaimer about love triangles. Anyways, I’ve gone so off topic but nah well, let’s all just enjoy my 1:25 am rambles. Basically, there was a love triangle in this and it stressed me out and I didn’t know which boy I liked more for the protagonist but then I remembered it didn’t matter because who was going to listen to me, take note and then make the ending how I want it? I realised this probably with three pages left.

“We are not defined by the things we do in order to survive. We do not apologize for them,’ she says quietly, eyes never leaving mine. ‘Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike.”

The world was actually really cool I think. It was really distant in a way and I think that this was really well done because in the same way that Theodosia didn’t know anything about her home country, neither did we. I hope with the way that the book left off there would be some way to explore more of the lands because the map is literally massive and if they don’t explore all of the places then what was the point? But still I think it gave a opening for the other stories, I think that it would be really cool if they could have some different perspectives because although I enjoyed the point of view of Theo there is a possibility to add more people to the story. When dealing with fantasy books having many perspectives really adds to it.

“I was a princess made of ashes; there is nothing left of me to burn.
Now it’s time for a queen to rise.”

The magic system was quite basic in my opinion. It was just something that I had read so many times and I was just waiting for there to be this massive plot twist but there wasn’t really one. When it was all introduced there was a part of me that just knew where it was all heading towards and for that reason I wasn’t enjoying it.
The writer wasn’t bad at writing, there were parts of this book that I really enjoyed. I thought that it wasn’t too descriptive but then it wasn’t overly dialogue orientated either. So, for that I did enjoy reading this book but saying all of this I can’t think back to a time where I was breath taken or anything by anything that was said.
Overall, I do recommend this book to people who don’t tend to read fantasy all the time, for you this book would be amazing but for those of you who are like me and enjoy reading loads of fantasy books maybe read this book with caution.

Thank you for readingxxxx

{Review} Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls (feminist AF as everything should be)

All of last year I was studying civil rights in America from 1865-1992 and one of the topics was gender equality so I can tell you so many different statistics on the position of women through that period. This book put those statistics and matched them with faces. It gave me a perspective on the fight for votes in the UK when although it wasn’t what I had studied last year, it was still the same ball game, all the same inequality and double standards that I had learnt about (and had literally ranted about to my mum every time I was either revising or just happened to think about it-thanks mum for listening and getting angry with me lysm). This book gives an insight into the fight for the vote that you can’t get from learning the statistics of how many people were involved or how many women were unable to work. It reminds you that all of the things that happened, happened to families and in some instances, they shattered them but in others it made them stronger.
On the back of the book there is a quote taken from the Times that says “Nicholls has brought alive the young women of the past to empower the next generation” which I completely agree with. When speaking about a topic that has not only changed history but has also influences so many different women’s lives over the past 100 years, it does empower the women of our generation. As a reader, when you compare how people were living only 100 years ago you do see how far the world has come, how much women have accomplished. But it also makes us realise that there are sexual inequalities in the world still but like women did 100 years ago in so many countries across the world and what they remind us with their history that there is nothing that a woman cannot accomplish. I think that’s the underlying real message of this book, not only to educate us on what happened but to remind us that there is nothing that can’t be changed if you have the courage to do so. God look at me trying to be really deep and meaningful with my post, but it’s honestly how I feel and there is so much I could say about this book! I just hope that all of my thoughts can come off coherently.

“Evelyn was struggling with herself. At last she burst out, “But it isn’t fair! Really it isn’t, mother! Why should Christopher have everything and I have nothing?”
There was quite a bit Evelyn’s mother could have said to that. But she contented herself with the standby of mothers and nurses the world over. “Well, dear. Life isn’t fair, you know.”
“No,” Evelyn agreed, “but it ought to be.”

 

About the badges in the photo above.

Top left {green shield looking badge} -The Orignial round enamelled badge first appeared in ‘The Vote’ in 30 October 1909. Top right {the lady by the window while loads of birds fly in} -The Orginal tin badge was designed by Sylvia Pankhurst for the suffragette Campaign. Bottom left {the purple and green circular badge} -The image comes from an original badge issued by the Women’s Social and Political Union to promote the Suffragette message. 1890-1910. Bottom right {the red, white and green badge} – The orginal round badge was in enamelled red, white and green. iscribed “National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies”. From Waterstones £3.99.

Here’s a bit about this phenomenal book;

The year is 1914. The campaign for the vote for women shakes the core of England, the demands from each Women’s group echo through each chartered street of England and three young ladies each hear it the most. It calls to them in the night. It causes them to get up from their different backgrounds and take action. Evelyn should have more open doors than most women for she is rich and clever but still she cannot go to university -this single inequality is that causes her to demand things to be “fair”. She embarks on a personal conquest for her own liberation of the shackles trapping her and stopping her from claiming the life she wants but that small personal quest becomes one with the magnitude of women on a mission. Two of those are May and Nell. Although they are different in principle, they find more similarities in each other than they have with any other, and they find love in each others arms. But their differences threaten to get in the way of their joint dream for Nell is from a working background and May lives with her single mother and their maid in a proper area in proper London. When war comes calling these three lives change course, everything they knew and love is questioned and tests occur to see just how much the Women of England will sacrifice for the vote.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was just how raw it was. There was no sugar coating of what had happened to women or the aftermath of the quest for the vote or the war. There wasn’t any sugar coating of the actual movements of the women either -the things that they did, especially the Suffragettes who did do extreme things like smashing windows and doing violent things to gather attention. What I liked most about this book was just how accurate it was -of course you can’t be completely accurate when you are writing a nonfiction book based on real events but it was refreshing how close it was to the truth. Nicholls uses real events to influence the women in this book like the March on Buckingham palace, it makes this book all the more better at showing what it was like back then and the courage it must have taken to stand up against the “mans world” that has told them to stay down all along. It was shown through her characters who each went to the march and it was all shown in the differences between the characters. Nell was an advocate for using violence in defence while May was a pacifist. Despite their differences Nicholls was able to use to their relationship as an extended metaphor for the actual movement in general -while there were divisions in the ways in which to bring about change at the end of it, it was all for the same changes. The way that Nicholls was able to do this really made me enjoy the book more just as it gave a more whole view of the movement in general.

There were things which occurred in this book that were actually very true to the movement. For instance, Evelyn goes into prison and completes a hunger strike. The details of that ordeal were horrible to read but they were something that I needed to read because women did that all the time just so that we could have the vote -a self-sacrifice just as Emily Davison scarified herself for the movement. It made me remind myself just how important it is for me to vote. I’m eighteen and so the last local election in my city, I was right there voting and it still made me proud and just grateful. Because of their actions I can vote when there are still so many who can’t. Then also the sacrifices that Nell has to go through, required to work in order to help her mother with money, having to give away her childhood to work in factories.

Like any story based in our world, love is usually involved and this book is not the exception. The love in this book was beautiful in my opinion, it captured everything that I love about love and for once I was living for it (instead of hating every single park of it and cringing like hell). In this book Nell and May fall in love and it was wonderful to see two young girls, one of them experienced in the knowledge of lesbianism while a second not so. But they learn together in a sense. They were adorable. I loved them both individually and together.

“Girls, though…girls were beautiful. Everyone agreed on that. She didn’t see why anyone would rather marry a boy over a girl.”

The relationship between Teddy and Evelyn was finally what I had been looking for in a book. It was full of support and love and commitment. Teddy supports Evelyn through everything that she goes through with the movement. He’s there when she gets arrested (when he asked her not to do it because he knew what would happen) and he was there with her at the march on Buckingham, he was there for her when she came out of the prison after her hunger strike and supported her education when neither her mother nor her father did. The thing with Teddy that made him such a good representation of what the feminist man is like, is that even though he didn’t always agree with what Evelyn was going to do for the vote, he was still there to support her. He was just wonderful. And from him we were able to learn more about the war and the front through his letters to Evelyn. The thing about love, something that I’ve always thought at least is that you are supposed to feel completely home with that person… that’s how Evelyn felt with Teddy and that’s why I adored it.

“Mrs Leighton nudged her and pointed upwards. There was half a bench of women in suffrages colours, all waving. At the end of the row -and Evelyn felt her heart give an enormous bound -was teddy. He wasn’t waving. He was leaning forward, he hands gripping the back of the bench in front of him, staring and staring and staring at her. His face was set, and very pale, and his eyes burned.
Evelyn -it was the strangest thing -felt as though something inside her had burst open. Seeing him there was like coming home. Like feeling safe for the first time in what left like her whole life.”

The war wasn’t so much a massive part of the book in the fact that we weren’t having scenes about the battles from any one’s perspective, it was all the affects that the war was having on the home front. All of the workers, all of the people, all of the women who were having to be not only the “breadwinner” but be the mother at home. This book really highlights the efforts of the women and the struggles they had to face, because out on the battle field wasn’t the only place of a war going on. It affected the soldiers as much as it affected the people back home and yet the struggled of those left behind are almost forgotten or limited in comparison in history but explored by Nicholls.

“When they writes up the history of this war,’ said Nell’s mother. ‘I hope they tells about the wives and the children starving to death!’.
‘They won’t,’ said Nell, gloomy socialist. ‘It’ll be all “Our Boys”, and everyone enlisting and people doing without chauffeurs to help the war effort.”

Overall, everyone should read this book. It’s a book that I feel needs to be read but it also deserves to be read. Its beautifully written. Its empowering and it reminds us just how far we have come and yet just how many things we also need to ask on to achieve full equality.
Thank you all for readingxxxx

SPOILER FREE {Review} Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (i cried when i read this book!)

Simon Vs is one of my favourite books, I can’t deny it and I wont because it is. And that may sound strange coming from someone who claims to be a fantasy person through and through but here I am. Admitting that I am a huge fan of this authors work and I adore everything she writes. Not only did Simon touch my heart, the Upside of Unrequited did as well so the moment I found that Leah on the off beat was coming out I lost my shit. But it took me a while to get around to reading this book mainly because I was scared to go back into the Simon Verse. As soon as in the blurb it says there’s trouble in one of my fave books I’m instantly like nope. I won’t read it any then it won’t happen. Everything will still be fine that way. That’s my mentality which is kind of unhealthy but I can’t help it -I just avoid things that stress me out. But I decided that it was time to bite the bullet and read the book while I was on holiday in France. And by god it was beautiful. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. As you can tell by the title of this blog post, this book also made me cry. It doesn’t really take a lot to make me cry because as my mum has always told me, I feel things “ten times more than the average human being” but still this book made me ball me eyes out and fall uncontrollably with characters in a very “healthy” way.

Picture a burning Sam on a beach, trying to read this beautiful book while sand got everything with my mum snoring four metres away… it was lovely (the book was at least) ;p

Here’s a bit about the book if you didn’t already know anything about it;

Leah is anything but “just a girl”, she has an amazing friendship group – a best friend that books are written about -, she is a drummer in a band, an artist and she’s bisexual. She doesn’t know why she hasn’t told anyone even her fore-mentioned best friend who is openly gay but she hasn’t. The moment just hasn’t come but as her High School life comes to an end, as she begins to think about College and the next big step in her life, and thinking about those changes almost calls for things to change, and they do. In her friendship group it all gets that bit more complicated as people fall out, more things are revealed and Leah realises that maybe, after all this time, she likes one of her friends more than she ever thought she would.

this may look like i was trying to take a really cool picture with the book on a angle but really i was trying to cover up the two gaps from missing books! posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 28th of July 2018

It’s obviously based in our society, with all the same problems and all the same judgements. The way that Albertalli addressed them in order to make them a central piece of the story in itself is so masterful, for instance there is addresses to racism and body shaming and sexuality. It is so gently and get drastically addressed that I couldn’t help but relate to the thoughts about body weight and sexuality. She makes this book about being able to see our own thoughts in the characters. This is a story about a bisexual and to be honest I am beyond happy that Leah was one because there is a vast absence of bisexuals in the book community in comparison to the gay and lesbian community -I was reading an article about it before I read the book and it only made me want to read it even more. On the topic of elements that reflect our everyday society -university. I am going to university in September so all the anxiety that was being presented in the book was just like reading a book about my own fears. The way that Albertalli makes this realistic world around her characters is just one of the many reasons why this author is so popular!

i want the dress Leah is wearing the more i look at this cover

Leah… what can I say about this amazing protagonist? Other than the fact I love her, I respect her so much. There is so much strength in her character -you can see by the way she speaks that she is so heartfully her. Sometimes one of the issues I have with contemporary novels is the fact that characters are sometimes different to how they are in their dialogue in comparison to how their inner narrative voice is. But with Leah is was all her. There was no hiding and I loved that. I respected her in the way that she didn’t apologise for who she is, she didn’t just follow the crowd she was just herself. The insecurities that she has with people and socialising and her perception with her body (that she loves) are so relatable. Her character put a whole new spin on being plus sized, for being curvy -she loves herself and it was just lovely to read a book where finally a girl with curves doesn’t think they aren’t beautiful. Because I know I’m curvy and I know I love my body. It was just nice to see it finally in a book!

I don’t mean to be dramatic BUT READ THIS BOOK

The characters, what can I say about the characters. It was like coming into a room full of your favourite people on the face of the earth and having a good old catch up since I had last seen them. Simon vs was a beautiful book that touched me so much. Simon is one of my favourite characters ever so just to see how he and Blue was doing was just beautiful and maybe slightly over due. I had been to see the movie a few months prior so I was already feeling really reconnected to the characters and then I read this book and fell in love with them all over again. It was hard because there was a break up (I won’t tell you who) and it was sad to see. But it was a nice thing because it shows that realistically not all relationships last and that’s okay. Its healthy.
mmm… my favourite characters… well I love them all but I was really happy because we got to see more of Garrett. We didn’t really get to know him much in Simon vs but now he was literally everywhere and I honestly thought he was such a cutie (and possibly my type of guy so my newest book boyfriend from a contemporary book (I know, who knew I would add a contemporary character to the sacred book boyfriend list that was originally exclusively fantasy characters?!?!?!?)). Abby. Well Abby is an adorable little cinnamon bun that at times I was just as confused as Leah was about her character but I loved her so much. She is so fun and clever and real. Honestly I think the world of her. But at the end of the day, everything in this book is perfection in my mind, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about it -which is unusual for me since I find problems everywhere -I just love love LOVE this book!

 

do i look like a potato? yes. do i slightly regret taking this photo while a number of people stared at me? not in the slightest. do i enjoy using questions while trying to make a really cool caption? why yes, yes i do. 

There is something that is just so easy about reading Albertalli’s books. I notice that all the time I’m constantly looking at what page I’m on with other books and it can sometimes go by so slowly but with this book one minute I was on 23 and the next 159. That’s how easy this book is and how lovely it is to read. At times I was like no you need to read slower just so that it would last longer but alas I don’t have that will power! And I am so happy to say that myself and one of my lovely bookish friends (who I met through bookstagram) are going with me to meet her in October I AM SO EXCITED AHHHHHHH!

Thank you all for reading!xxxx

Favourite Fantasy Books that speak to my soul.

Fantasy is my genre. There is no denying it. It is my soul mate, like if the fantasy genre was a human being it would be my perfect match. It just speaks to my soul on a spiritual level. It may sound funny but there is something about it that I believe way more than I believe contemporary novels. The combination of characters that you would literally die for and settings that make my life worth living and magic…. Magic makes everything better (true fact)!

Over the eighteen years of my time spent on this planet I have developed a –what people could call- expertise on the topic of fantasies. Because of this, I have decided that I have the skill and the knowledge to make a list of fantasies that all should read and for it to be a very accurate and representation of my type of fantasies. Here are 11 of my favourite fantasies in no particular order;

1) Throne of Glass by Sarah. J. Maas.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 5th september 2017

This book will always have a special place in my heart. I remember the day I found Throne of Glass in a small bookshop in a little town that I always go to with my family. I remember thinking after I finished the first chapter that this book was going to change my life and four years later, only a few months away from the last instalment of this epic series, I can honestly say it has. I won’t bore you with all the cringy things it has taught me or the how attached I am to every single aspect of this series but know that it has heavily impacted my life and I think it will continue to do so even after the series has ended.

Since we are now blessed with seven books right now in the series, I’ll give you a little blurb of the first book, written by yours truly.

Celaena Sardothien has been a slave in the Endovier Salt mines for a year. It nearly broke her. It nearly destroyed her. But the King of Adarlan, the man who had her enslaved, is holding a competition for one to become his champion (a pretty name for his assassin) and Celaena is chosen by the Crown Prince to be his competitor. If she wins, she can be free after serving the King for 4 years. Victory seems to become less and less important as the vicious games begin, as Celaena begins to realise that her life may be in just as much danger as her freedom. As ancient secrets and games unravel, Celaena must decide what she will sacrifice for the world’s safety.

“You could rattle the stars, if only you dared,” she said, “and that’s what scares you the most.”

2) Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 17th of August 2017

Nevernight is defiantly a much darker fantasy in my opinion but don’t we all adore a twisted tale? To this day, one of the passages in this book is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever read in my entire life. I am all for unique perspectives and by god did Kristoff do the most amazing thing in that first chapter. It’s not exactly a spoiler and if it is then look away but in that first chapter he does his dual perspective running side by side of the main character having sex for the first time and killing for the first time. It was just an idea that not only sits so well with the erotic intensity of this story but also creates this overshowing of the battle between desire and bloodlust that continues through the book. It’s just the idea of sex and killing being so similar and being so tied together was just undoubtable clever and something I had never thought about before. It was truly just amazing. I have just raved about it to so many people and I will always do for ever and ever!

Again, here’s a little blurb all about the first book written by me;

They stole her life. Mia Co will never forget and she will never forgive those who took everything from her. The darkness drinks her fear, her hatred, her bloodlust. It is those three things that make her seek out the Church. To find those two can teach her how to destroy and reek the chaos that Mia so desires. But when it comes to her revenge and what is good and true, how will Mia choose between the two? (yes, read that line again, it rhymes).

“The books we love, they love us back. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us. I can see it in you, sure as I see it in me. You’re a daughter of the words. A girl with a story to tell.”

3) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 8th of April 2018

It’s been two years since I’ve read this book, us

ually I would have forgotten most or maybe all the details surrounding the plot and the characters but not with this book. I remember more than I thought I could and that just demonstrates just how this story has stayed with me. There is gore and heartbreak and tension and rebellion and dark elements and death and hope, so much hope in this book. I remember vividly from the first time I read this book that there was this scene and I remember balling my eyes out because I was heartbroken and I was so shocked. There’s one things about Tahir’s twistedly beautiful mind that I can’t fault and that’s how wickedly fantastic she is, there were scenes that only a daring writer would do, and she did them. If you want a read that will have you on the edge of your seat, that’s nail bitingly good, that causes you to become a sweating and crying hot mess then this is the series to read.

Here’s a bit about the book;

Two characters. Two stories.
Laia is a scholar and has lived in fear all her life. The empire has broken the nation, it has forced people to be oppressed, but that oppression exceeds that of the millions into the very foundations of the nation. Elias is just as afraid as Laia, living as a product of the empire, he has been set on the path of being a mask –one of the elite soldiers of the empire. But these two stories become one when they are thrown together. Together they have the power to return to their everyday lives, to ignore the tyranny of the empire, but they also have the power to create a revolution that could end the empire all together.

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength.”

4) The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 22nd of october 2017

Samantha Shannon is one of my favourite authors. I was lucky enough to meet her a year ago and she is inspiring and so intelligent which really translates into her work. Each word is just placed into a sentence and it’s there for a reason –you really feel this –all the effort and the thought placed into each word is just all amazing and inspiring. I adore this series, for me it was slow in places especially in the first book but it is such a complex plot that those slow bits are actually nice as you can actually absorb what’s going on. The second book in the series is by far my favourite in the series.

I honestly doubt that I could do this book justice with me trying to explain it without giving away any spoilers so instead I’m just going to give you the blurb of the edition I own.

“The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant –and in her world, the world of scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.
“It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years and controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race called the Rephaim. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.”

“There was no normal. There never had been. “Normal” and “natural” were the biggest lies we’d ever created.”

5) Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

When I started really getting into buying books and reading dedicatedly, after I decided I was more a paperback and hardback girl instead of reading all the free books on my kindle, I decided to read Graceling. I remember the time I started to read it and I remember how much it impacted my perception of books, before I was more a contemporary girl because they were the free books on the kindle (a girl has to get the bargains when she has no money at the age of 13), Graceling will always have a special place in my heart. It showed me that women were powerful and its okay to be alone because let’s be real, how many female characters fall in love and stay with their love interests by the end of the book? –which is completely fine and great –but in this book there’s a woman who is so full heartedly her own that it changed my life. It was a breath of fresh air.

Here’s a bit about the book;

People in the Seven Kingdoms are graced. Or at least some. Those who are graced have an exceptional skill which exceeds that of normal people. Katsa has the grace of killing. Her uncle, the King of one of the seven kingdoms, exploits Katsa into being the killer her grace wants her to be. The day that the King of Lienid’s father is kidnaped, a monarchy of deceit and brutality comes crashing down on Katsa and other allies she finds on her journey. Katsa must not only rely on herself but also other people for the first time in her life to end suffering and to save a young girls life.

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

6) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

I adore these two books of gold dust. Throne of glass was the only series (at the time of reading this book) that I had fallen completely and uncontrollably in love with. Every aspect of the story had grabbed my heart and was making me utterly invested in the story –and then came along Leigh Bardugo, with a missile into my life and destroy that small part of me that thought I would never be able to love a series as much as Throne of Glass. And I am so happy she did. From her writing style to her amazing characters to her amazing plot, Bardugo made and destroyed me and made me again all in the span of a chapter, over and over again. In my opinion these books were too short and need to have another sixty books and even then, there won’t be enough to satisfy me! This series is a must. But a word of warning. Get through the first few chapter. They are slow. They are long but they are worth it and this book will change your life.

Here’s my lil blurb!

The Dregs are dangerous, they are powerful and they are reckless. The most dangerous, powerful and reckless of them all is Kaz Brekker. He is offered a job, one that is all of those three things and maybe if Kaz was anyone else, he would have declined it but the sum offered is too tempting and he has too much faith in the team he acquires. So he takes the job and embarks with five other misfits to infiltrate a prison, steal a prisoner and get back to their isolated island –sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Well in a plan as dangerous and as deadly as this, things are bound to not go according to plan. In a world as unexpected as theirs, the six must learn to trust each other when many of them barely trust themselves.

“Many boys will bring you flowers. But someday you’ll meet a boy who will learn your favourite flower, your favourite song, your favourite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won’t matter because he will have taken he time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.”

7) The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 25th of March 2018

There is a feeling you get when you read a book that you love. It’s probably different for each of us but when I read this book a few months ago it came back like a wild fire. I usually go through areas in my life where I barely get this feeling, I read disappointing book after disappointing book and then finally a book like this one comes along and changes everything. It had everything I could have ever wanted in a fantasy. A lost crown, a evil king, a magical presence and an awesome main character. The presence in the book was so different to what I had read in any other book, like it may sound like a classic fantasy book but there were so many elements to the story that made it so unique and that was why I loved it so much. And the romance was the best because it wasn’t instant love (one of my most hated things) it was growing as the characters grew (one of my favourite things)!

Here’s a little taste of this book;

Just as shores divide countries, the mental divide between Maevana and Valenia is just as true and strong as the ocean. Brianna is caught between the two, adrift as a piece of wood caught in the current, her heritage is mixed and therefore she is regarded internally as an outsider. As Brianna tries to unlock the secrets of her past, who her family is and who she is, she stumbles upon a key that could help peace come for so many also caught in the current of being an outsider from their true homes. Although at school studying knowledge, her passion, it seems that all she has learnt and all she will learn way be the pebble that sets the current off course.

“She waits with grace upon the clouds, and the stats knows her by name

8) Caraval by Stephanie Garber.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 25th of April 2018

Simplicity always comes to mind when I think of this book. I don’t mean in the sense that this book wasn’t complex or that I didn’t enjoy this book –quite the opposite- it was simply in the way that it was written. It was effortless. It was strung together by someone who understand the complexity of a sentence and yet decided that the story in itself was complex enough to not need endless sentences or big words. And it was like taking a deep breath after holding one in for so long. The story is based in, what you could call, a trick come to life. As someone who loves carnivals I was beyond excited to read this book. I loved it. All of it. From the romance, to the relationships between families to the never-ending twists and turns –just as you think you know what’s going to happen WHAM! There’s another plot twist that leaves you lying on the ground questioning everything you ever read. Stephanie is a mastermind that deserves all the recognition she is intitled to.

A little about the book (I decided to do the blurb from my edition because again I couldn’t I think of any way to successfully write it without giving something away):

“This year the week long game is on Legend’s glittering Isla de los Suenos, where the winding streets are an elaborate snow-covered maze and the people are never who they seem. At midnight on the first day, the show begins and the visitors become players. Each of them is vying for the coveted price: a single wish. All they must do is unravel the mystery of Caraval. But in a game where danger hides behind every charming smile, winning isn’t without loss, and their wish might be their last.”

“Hope is a powerful thing. Some day it’s a different breed of magic altogether. Elusive, difficult to hold on to. But not much is needed.”

9) The Shadow Queen by C.J Redwine.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 9th of November 2017

Like many people, I love a good old retelling. This book is by far my favourite retelling I have ever read. Redwine took the original story of Snow white and really made it her own, she transformed the dependent snow white who waits for a prince to wake her from her slumber into a powerful protagonist who doesn’t need a prince at all. (although the one in this book isn’t too bad). It is empowering! As a young woman who grew up on those tales of women waiting for their prince charming’s and instead this book teaches us to go make something of our lives without them. Because at the end of the day, no prince is going to wake us up, it’s us that’s going to get up and fight the fight.

Here’s my little blurb for you!

An evil queen. A lost princess. A throne that needs to be reclaimed. The evil queen stole everything from Lorelai, everything but her brother and her protector. But she needs to rid Ravenspire of the queen’s evil touch, but things get complicated when the prince from a neighbouring country comes and falls under the queen’s power. He is to hunt her. He is to destroy her. Worse, he has the ability to transform into a dragon, it seems that the queen isn’t the only enemy Lorelai has.

“Gabriel’s voice was strong and sure. “I believe in you, and I’ve fought for you, because in a world full of people who crumble before an evil too terrifying to comprehend, you put up your fists and fight.”

10) A shiver of snow and sky by Lisa Luddecke.

This is a good read. It’s a fact. Known by all who are blessed enough to read this book. It was exciting and enticing and I just all round enjoyed every part of this book. It was empowering and it made me feel like I could take on the world which is everything that you want when and you finish a book, isn’t it? I recommend this book to anyone who just wants a good, straight forward and classic fantasy novel.

Here’s a little blurb for you all;

There’s a myth in the land called Skane. A myth that is more a warning. When the lights in the sky turn red, it’s the goddess warning the people on her land that danger is coming. A plague caused chaos before, and when they light the sky red, Osa won’t just stand by and let her people die. She decides to leave her abusive family, the only love she has every found in her best friend, and her home on the edge of being attacked by the Or. She goes to find the Goddess, to beg her to stop the plague. She goes through land untouched by her people for centuries. With danger coming from every angle, Osa will learn just how red the future ahead could be.

“There was a solace in a snow-laden forest wrapped in night found nowhere else, a loneliness that made me better acquainted with myself.”

11) The Last Namsura by Kristen Ciccarelli.

posted on @samthefangirl_ on the 31st of december 2017

Dragons… this book has dragons. Is there any other reason to read this book that’s necessary? When I got this book the only thing I knew about it was the fact that there were dragons and I was instantly like throw my money at you and take it so I can have this book in my arms.

Here’s a bit about the book (and guess what I can’t think how I would write this so here’s the actual blurb);

“Asha is a dragon-slayer. Reviled by the very people she’s sworn to protect, she kills to atone for the wicked deeds she committed as a child –one that almost destroyed her city, and left her with a terrible scar. But protecting her father’s kingdom is a lonely destiny: no matter how many dragons she kills, her people still think she’s wicked. Even worse, to unite the fractured kingdom she must marry Jarek, the cruel commandant. As the wedding day approaches, Asha longs for freedom. Just when it seems her fate is sealed, the king offers her a way out: her freedom in exchange for the head of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard. And the only person standing in her way is defiant slave boy.”

“Asha glanced up. The look in his eyes made her breath catch. It was like looking into the heart if a star; bright and burning.”

Thank you all for reading, i really enjoyed writing this post. it’s about books that i really enjoy and just really made me want to keep writing and writing about each and every one of them.