Covers So Lovely We'd Lick Them! (15) and update

Hi guys, so it’s been a week since I last posted and I feel like I owe you guys an explanation. Things are kind of crazy for me personally right now. I have been SO busy with day to day life and have barely had any time to read never mind blog. On top of being super busy I’ve been having computer troubles again, it’s very on and off at the moment (quite literally) and seems that I’ve been having so many problems with it that it looks like it’s on its last legs. This means that I’m going to have to save to buy a new laptop and in the meantime work with what I have with far less posts going up until the foreseeable future. On top of computer troubles I’ve also been having crippling ear ache, I went to the doctors yesterday and it turns out I have a nasty ear infection. At the minute I am quite literally deaf in one ear so that’s really been bumming me out and is incredibly painful. Overall it’s not been happy sunny times over here at the moment resulting in my unexpected week from blogging. I guess I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m still here and have some exciting things planned for the blog there just having to take a bit of a backseat at the moment with real life getting in the way. Hopefully I will have some posts up over the next few weeks for you guys and will be back to full time blogging with a brand spanking new laptop in a couple of weeks :-) In the meantime here’s another fresh batch of cover loveliness…

The new feature co-created and co-hosted by LadyViolet and Jess hearts books where we show off a book cover which we find so damn scrumptious that we'd actually be willing to lick it! Every week we each pick a different cover so be sure to check both blogs!

My Pick for this Week

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

I love, Love, LOVE this cover! The cover for the first book in this series Halo completely rocked my socks off and is definitely up there with my most favourite covers ever. I really didn’t know how they were going to create a second cover to live up to it but I think they’ve done a fantastic job with Hades. While the first book had a softer more romantic cover Hades looks full of action and danger. I love the colours and the shadow effects and how it all looks very sinister. Whilst it’s a very different cover compared to Halo I think it can proudly stand next to it and will have readers very interested to find out what’s going to happen next. I think the detail on the motorbike is gorgeous and it literally looks as if all hell is about to break loose! Honestly who wouldn’t want to pick up this book to find out what happens? I love this cover and can’t wait to see it in the flesh come August! So that’s my cover for this week. Feel free to leave me comments letting me know what you think of this week’s pick and if you ever get insane lust over a book cover, does a lovely cover influence you buying the book? Let me know and don’t forget to stop by Rachel’s blog to find out what cover she’d like to Lick this week!

Covers So Lovely We'd Lick Them! (14)

The new feature co-created and co-hosted by LadyViolet and Jess hearts books where we show off a book cover which we find so damn scrumptious that we'd actually be willing to lick it! Every week we each pick a different cover so be sure to check both blogs!

My Pick for this Week

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (UK edition)

I bought the US hardcover of this book a good while back now because I’d been hearing AMAZING things from bloggers across the pond. At the time I didn’t realise it was being released in the UK and now I wished that I had waited because I’m completely in love with our cover. This cover to me is completely different to anything else out there on the market and I would certainly pick it up based on the cover. I love the cool duck egg blue of the background and I think the way the girls face forms around the words is awesome! I also love the pop of colour with the purple flowers making sure it stands out. I think whoever created this cover was a little bit of a genius and I’m contemplating replacing my copy with the UK version just for the pretty! (I can be very shallow when it comes to book covers) for me this cover is 100% lickable. So that’s my cover for this week. Feel free to leave me comments letting me know what you think of this week’s pick and if you ever get insane lust over a book cover, does a lovely cover influence you buying the book? Let me know and don’t forget to stop by Rachel’s blog to find out what cover she’d like to Lick this week! P.S I’m not sure if Rachel will be doing Covers this week. She started a new job yesterday (yay!) and has been busy with that and family stuff so I haven’t had chance to find out. If she has done a post head on over for more cover loveliness and if not you should check out her blog anyway because she’s awesome :P

Review for Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

""Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it." "Okay." "Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?" "Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?" According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie—-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago. Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer." I bought this book back when it very first came out in 2009 before I’d even heard any reviews for it purely because the synopsis sounded so freakin’ good! It’s rare that I’ll buy a book before reading some reviews on it first but for Twenty Boy Summer I didn’t need to, I knew it would be the kind of book I enjoy. I love coming of age stories especially if the coming of age takes place during a summer vacation with lots of sun, tans and boys! I’m a big fan of Sarah Dessen and the synopsis reminded me of the kind of book she would write and so I’ve been saving this for the perfect summer’s day and that day finally came along last week. I expected this book to be a lot sadder than it was, I expected to cry and get angry and throw things like I do when a book really moves me but I didn’t. Whilst this is the story of a girl whose boyfriend died the twenty boy summer takes place a year after Matt’s death so although the characters are still grieving they’re not in the first heart wrenching all-consuming grips of bereavement, so although this book has it’s sad parts when Anna’s reflecting on Matt, his death and their relationship the majority of the book reads like a fun summer novel. I really enjoyed Sarah Ockler’s style of writing mixing the past with the present, sunny days and friendship with ghosts and salt water tears. It was a light, quick, fun, summer read which was exactly what I was after mixed in with change, growing up, moving on and letting go. The plot was original and thought provoking reminding me of other summer authors I love like Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen. The only thing that let this book down for me was the characters. I didn’t not like them exactly but I just found them to be a little undeveloped. They aren’t the most memorable characters in the world and if I had to pick a favourite it would be Matt-who was dead- yeah… So although the characters weren’t the most accomplished it didn’t really effect my enjoyment of the book as I got what I was after – a quick, fun, coming of age summer story. I’ve always wondered what was with the cover for this book and why there was only one piece of red sea glass (I get curious about these kinds of things) and it *is* relevant to the book and is actually a nice touch to the story when you find out how it fits together. All in all Twenty Boy Summer was exactly what I was looking for. It’s the perfect book to take with you to the beach or to read on a hot summer’s day in the garden like I did. It’s not too demanding and the plots compulsive enough to keep you turning the pages in a haze of sun, sea and sand. Overall I would recommend this as a summer read and am excited to read Sarah Ockler’s second novel Fixing Delilah later this summer. My Rating 4/5 stars **** Synopsis taken from goodreads

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hello fellow readers, I’m bringing this week’s IMM to you a little earlier this week as I’ve just finished my current read and thought before I get stuck into another book I might as well do my IMM post. I got some pretty good books this week and received my very first Random Acts of Kindness gift which I was uber excited about I’ll leave a linky here in case you guys want to find out a little bit more about the wonderful meme where lovely people can send you books off your wishlist and hopefully you can return the favour to them or somebody else at some point. I think it’s such a lovely idea making peoples book wishes come true! Anyway let’s take a peek at what I got this week!

Bought

Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan After by Amy Efaw The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

For Review/ Borrowed/ Gift

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (for review from the publisher) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (for review from the publisher) Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (ARC borrowed from Lyndsey, thank you!) Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (Gift from Lisa, thank you!) So that was all the awesome I got this week big thank you’s to everybody who sent me books! If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another week of fantastic reading ahead :-)

Review for Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

"Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still. When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all." With the big build up for City of Fallen Angels the fourth Mortal Instruments book by Cassandra Clare I decided to finally pick up and read Clockwork Angel. Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices series a prequel to The Mortal Instruments. Although it’s not mandatory to read this book before City of Fallen Angels Cassie herself does recommend on her website to read them in release order to get the full experience so I decided to do just that! Clockwork Angel is set in the same world as The Mortal Instruments series but the similarities pretty much end there. This series is set in London during 1878. Our main characters are Tessa a downworlder like no other who can shift forms and wear the appearance of another person. Will- ancestor to the infamous Jace- is a bad ass shadowhunter who shows that attitude and good looks run in the family, and then there’s Jem the gentle and kind natured shadowhunter and best friend to Will who seems to be hiding a big secret of his own. Clockwork Angel features some names you may recognise from The Mortal Instruments and some excellent new characters that I very much enjoyed getting to know. I think I actually preferred the characters in this series better than Clary and Co as there wasn’t one person who got on my nerves or who I didn’t love. I loved both Will and Jem as different as they both are and could relate to Tessa in a way that I never have with Clary. Tessa’s bookish and smart and her unique ability makes for fascinating reading. I also loved the character of Jessamine, flaws and all; it was interesting to read about a shadowhunter who doesn’t want to be a shadowhunter and what that entails for her. This book also features the warlock Magnus Bane one of my very favourite characters from The Mortal Instruments. I loved seeing what Magnus was like in 18th century London before glitter and other extremities that he’s so fond of in modern day New York were invented. I loved the setting for this book and learning what life was like for shadowhunters and downworlders at this period in time. As always the plot was fantastic with an unexpected twist at the end. The only complaint I have to make as was with City of Bones and City of Ashes I felt the book was longer than it needed to be and I found myself getting bored in the middle thinking that Cassandra Clare could get to the point a little faster. Cassie had definitely grown as a writer since City of Bones with her writing and ideas getting stronger with each book. She’s definitely grown to be one of my favourite authors as her books have gone on. Fans of the Mortal Instruments series or Historical fiction with a supernatural twist are going to LOVE Clockwork Angel and I think this series has the potential to be as big or if not bigger than Cassie’s first series. I love the direction the author is taking this series and I’m excited to finally be all caught up ready to read City of Fallen Angels. This book finishes on a bit of a cliff hanger something I wasn’t expecting as Cassandra usually ties things up nicely at the end of her stories. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cliff hanger as I like all things finished and tied up neatly but I must admit it definitely has me pining for the next book in The Infernal Devices to get some answers! I’m already so in love with this series and the characters and can’t wait to see what happens to them next. If you haven’t yet checked out any of Cassandra Clare’s books then I highly recommend that you do. If ever a book deserves all the hype it gets it’s a book by Cassandra Clare. My Rating 4.5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads