Read All The Books

So I didn't end up giving this book a rating as I am still not sure how I feel about it. Don't get me wrong, I liked it but I'm not sure if I loved it. The story follows Lucy, who has just found out that her mother's breast cancer has come back. Lucy, a pastor's daughter soon starts to lose her faith. Shortly after, her long-term boyfriend suggests that they put their relationship on pause and her mother suggests that instead of going to Church camp for the summer where she has been a long time counsellor that she go to the 'hippie camp' for kids who have been tough times across the lake. This story is about friendship, family and faith and loss. This story is beautiful written and very diverse but there was just something off about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm also not 100% sure I liked the ending. It was Ok but I wish there had been more.

I loved this book! You have no idea how much! I read this book the day that I got it, the entire thing - that's how much I loved it. The storyline, the writing, the charcters, honestly everything about this book, I loved. The main character (Autumn) accidently gets locked in the library after hours. That right there is a dream come true for me. However, she soon discover that she isn't alone and that a boy (Dax) that she kind of knows from school is locked in with her. The both learn that people aren't as they seem and a friendship starts to grow between them. Autumn suffers with anxiety and learns throughout the book that you should take care of yourself first and not worry about what others think of you. Take mental health days when you need them. I think that is an important lesson to be learnt by everyone. I enjoyed the characters immensely, especially the friendships formed and how extremely real they seemed. This was a quick read for me as it was engaging ...

               So I read a lot of books in 2016 and I have narrowed it down to my top 5. Not all these books were published in 2016. So in no particular order here are my top 5. 1.        The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas This book had been on my TBR pile since the TV show 'Revenge' came out and I heard that it was based on the book. I finally got around to reading it and I wish I had read it sooner. This book is definitely in my top 10 favourite books of all time. The main character Edmond Dantes is a jailed for a crime he didn't commit. During his time in prison he learns about an island (Monte Cristo) and all the treasure hidden on it so he plans on breaking out, finding the treasures and using it to bring down the people responsible for putting him in prison. If you ever dreamed of getting revenge on someone, then read this book as plotting revenge is ha...

I'd been looking forward to reading this book as I am a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter series! I know this book is nothing like the Harry Potter series but I love the way J. K. Rowling writes. The was she weaves in twists and turns in her stories and the amount of planning and dedication she puts in. I still cannot fathom how she managed to put together the Harry Potter series. How she managed to plant pieces and hints in the story in the first few novels that came into fruition towards the end of the series still has my mind boggled. The Casual Vacancy opens with Barry Fairbrother's sudden death, a beloved parish Councillor and the effects that his death has on the families in the council and his friends in the small town of Pagford. The story then goes on to the conflict between the families in the small town vying for the seat his death opened up. I admit that when I first started reading this I found it somewhat boring and hard to keep all the characters straight and n...

WARNING: Contains some spoilers! Saving Luke is the sequel in the Pretender 'Rebirth' Series. Click here  for my review on the first novel Rebirth. When I heard that the reviews of Saving Luke were all very positive I was even more eager for it come out so I could get my hands on it and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. Jarod continues his search for poor kidnapped Luke in this novel whilst delivering much needed justice to the patients that were wronged in Rebirth via his own interesting methods. This novel is action packed and from the first chapter is just Go, Go Go!! The aerial battle chapter will have you on the edge of your seat as will the dramatic ending. Saving Luke played out in my head like an episode on TV which I absolutely love in a book. The characters came to life and sucked me into the Pretender universe. We learn a bit more about Sydney in this novel including his last name which is...sorry you'll just have to  buy  the book to find o...

This is the first book in the 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before' series. I believe this is a 2 book series. I'd read 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' series and the 'Burn For Burn' series (or at least what has been released so far) so I was very excited to read this novel as I enjoyed other Jenny Han novels. This story is told from the point of view of Lara Jean, a 16 year old priveleged middle child who was basically raised by her older sister Margot as their mother died when they were younger and their father, ob-gyn is often at appointments or on call. Lara Jean has had 5 crushes in her lifetime, one being Margot's ex-boyfriend and the way she gets over these crushes through the years is by writing each boy a letter about how she feels, sealing it, addressing it and putting it in a hat box that she keeps under her bed. (Might have to try this one day and see if it works!) One day she finds out that somehow her letters have been posted and s...

WARNING: Contains some spoilers! At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next. Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one… This book is written in the point of views of both Sydney and Ridge which is great because you get to see inside the thoughts of both the characters and feel what they're feeling. May...

Inferno is the fourth novel in the Robert Langdon series and much like, Angel & Demons, the Da Vinci Code and the Lost Symbol, it's a thrilling mystery adventure that takes you on a wild ride. The novel starts with Robert awaking in the hospital with no recollection of how he got there. One of the doctors that is looking after him, Sienna Brooks informs him that he stumbled into the Emergency room with a concussion due to having been grazed in the head by a bullet. He also learns that he is in Florence, Italy and that he cannot recall the past three days. A spiky haired assassin then walks in and shoots one of the doctors that's looking after him but before she can shoot Robert, Sienna grabs him and they make a run for it. At Sienna's apartment he calls the U.S. consulate and gives them his location. As he waits for someone to show up, he finds a cannister with a bio-hazard symbol on it in his jacket pocket and he and Sienna decide to open it. Inside they find ...

I decided to check out this novel as it's one of the most recommended stories at the moment as the movie comes out in a few short months. The story follows young cancer patient, Hazel, who's mother has pushed her to join a support group for cancer survivors even though she would rather stay home and read 'An Imperial Affliction,' a novel she is quite obsessed with and which is mentioned throughout the novel. At one of the support group sessions she meets Gus, (currently in remission but who has lost a leg to osteoarcoma) though Isaac, a friend who lost an eye to cancer when he was younger. After a witty conversation with Gus, she agrees to go to his house to watch a popular movie which she has never seen and thus their friendship and romance begins. I knew before reading this novel that it was a sad story and thus why I kept putting off reading it but I did not find it depressingly so. Yes this book is tragic, it will hurt your heart, the tears will fall but mo...

Rebecca is a classic love story written in the 1900s and has a Jane Austen feel to it. The story begins with the heroine recalling her dream of Manderlay, the old house, the garden, the pet dog etc. until she realises that Manderlay is no more. The novel then goes back in time to when the heroine (she is never named in the novel) was working as a lady's companion in Monte Carlo and when she first laid eyes on Max de Winter, the infamous owner of Manderlay who's wife died tragically the previous year. When her employer becomes sick with the flu, she strikes up a friendship with Mr de Winter and they spend two weeks together seeing the sights and enjoying each other's company in secret. After her employer gets better she announces that they will be leaving Monte Carlo for New York. The heroine is heartbroken but goes to say 'goodbye' to Max who quickly proposes marriage. She accepts and is taken to Manderlay where Max turns into a different person as the memo...

I can't tell you how excited I was to read this book. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are two of my favourite authors to read and the Pendergast series is one of my all time favourite book series (second only after Harry Potter). White Fire is the thirteenth book in the Pendergast series about FBI Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast but you do not have to read the previous 12 before you read this book if you do not want to, (I highly recommend it though) you can read it as a stand-alone book. Even though the book is a Pendergast novel, it's mainly told through Corrie Swanson's (Pendergast's protege and first seen in 'Still Life With Crows') point of view. Corrie currently enrolled at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is working on a thesis which takes her to 'Roaring Fork' an exclusive ski resort in Colorado to examine the remains of 12 miners who were mauled to death by a bear 150 years previously. The prologue set in 1889 takes ...

WARNING: Contains some spoilers! Ok so where I do begin! First I should probably explain how BIG of a Pretender fan I am. I basically grew up watching this show. I was 10 when it first aired and I even remember seeing the first advertisement on TV announcing that it was coming on and I was already hooked. After a 30 second ad I knew I needed to watch it. Watching the show was basically my childhood and early teen years. Any chance my sister and I had we would be watching it (we used to record the episodes on VHS - this was before TiVo) and re-watching it and re-watching it. We saw the 'Bank' episode (our favourite at the time) so many times that we could quote the ENTIRE episode word for word. Every word! Words that we didn't even understand. Whenever we got sent to bed early we would start quoting that episode and 40 or so minutes later we were done and more awake than ever. Are you getting how BIG a fan I am now? I was so devastated when the show got taken off air an...

WARNING: Contains some spoilers! I decided to read this book would you believe it after watching a video on Youtube. I googled the title to find out a little of what the story was about and it sounded pretty interesting so I thought I would give it a go. I've never read a book by Rainbow Rowell before...in all honesty I'd never heard of her before but after reading Eleanor and Park, I can honestly say I'm a fan. Eleanor and Park is a YA novel about 2 teenagers who couldn't be more different but are bought together by their love of comic books and music. At first Park does not wish to share his bus seat with new girl Eleanor, a chubby red head with questionable fashion sense as she attracts too much attention from the bullies at the back of the bus. Eleanor also does not wish to share a bus seat with Park the stupid (but not stupid-stupid) Asian kid but has no other option as the other kids tend not to pick on her when she is sitting next to him. Park do...

WARNING: Contains some spoilers! Life turns on a dime! I love this saying and it is very fitting. It pops up a lot throughout this novel.  11/22/63 is a novel about Jake Epping a divorced high school teacher who is one day summoned by Al Templeton the owner of a local diner that he frequents and it is here he discovers that there is a time portal in the pantry that leads to September 9, 1958 at 11.58 am. At first Jake is hesitant but after a short trip to 1958 he is convinced. Jake learns that Al is dying with cancer and wishes Jake to go back in time to change history as he will no longer be able to. Al explains to Jake that he wants him to continue his mission of going back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy which happened on November 22, 1963. He also explains he can spend any amount of time in the past but when he returns to the present only 2 minutes will have passed. A reset is also possible by returning back. Jake decides to test this by going back...