Review for Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Synopsis
"Before I used it, the key had infinite possibilities.

Eleven-year-old Elise feels stuck. Her school locker-buddy squashes her lunch and laughs at her, every day. She doesn't want to go to school - and her best friend Franklin just makes things worse.

Now I was ready for something to be different. Anything, really.

One day Elise discovers an incredible secret. A secret that might just help her unlock her past, and take a chance on the future.

I decided that tomorrow I would see what that key opened up. It had my name on it, after all . . ."

Despite Eight Keys being aimed at the tween audience I was really eager to give it a read due to all the critical acclaim for LaFleur’s debut novel Love, Aubrey and I was surprised by how much as an adult I enjoyed it.

Suzanne LaFleur captures what it’s like to be an eleven year old girl perfectly. Right from the start I was back there with Elise understanding what she was going through and feeling. Eight Keys is a charming coming of age story about family, friendship, and crossing that difficult and unsteady road from childhood into the teen years. LaFleur expertly captures the growing pains of leaving childhood games behind and muddling through your first year at a new grown up school. Mixed in with insecurities, bullying issues and a lovely secret legacy left behind by her late father and Elise has a lot to contend with and a lot to learn! This story is narrated with charm, honesty and innocence making it hugely relatable and endearing to a young reader.

Suzanne has a magicial and moving way of telling a story and is a hidden gem amongst her genre. If you’re starting out at high school at the end of this summer or are a parent of or know somebody who is I would whole heartedly recommend this gorgeous story on growing up. I only wish that Suzanne LaFleur was writing books when I was younger!

Overall Eight Keys was a sweet and tender read that has the rare ability to capture the hearts of everyone even this slightly older than aimed for reader!
My Rating 4/5 stars

Thanks go to Puffin for sending me this book to review

Synopsis taken from Amazon

Review for Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Synopsis
"Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts, especially since her mother has worked as a fraudulent medium for a decade. Violet has taken part in enough of her mother's tricks to feel more than a little jaded about anything supernatural. The ghosts, however, believe in Violet and she's been seeing them everywhere. One ghost in particular needs Violet to use her emerging gift to solve her murder ...and prevent the ghost's twin sister from suffering the same fate."

Despite hearing a lot of praise for Alyxandra Harvey’s The Drake Chronicles, Haunting Violet is my first book from this author. Eighteenth Century London is a time period that fascinates me particularly society’s interest in mediums, séances and the like and Violet’s story really appealed to me from the start because of this. Add on top of that a mother whose a fake medium, Violet whose spent her whole life not believing in ghosts to suddenly being haunted by one and best of all a delicious murder mystery and this book might as well of had my name written all over it with big pointing arrows saying read me!

Haunting Violet was everything I hoped it would be and more. In some parts it was gothic and chilling which is what I would expect from a good ghost story. But at the same time it was romantic and luxurious with Violet attending elaborate debutante balls and parties. I quickly became absorbed in this book thanks to Harvey’s atmospheric writing style.

There’s so much going on throughout this book. Whether that’s with Violet trying to solve a murder, her learning to manage her new psychic abilities or choosing between her heart or a society marriage. There’s never a dull moment to spare and I loved the fast pace of the plot.

As well as the snappy writing and suspenseful plot Haunting Violet is chock full of endearing characters. Violet is a heroine you’ll really fear for, bookish and clumsy, I easily liked her. Violet’s best friend Elizabeth is also hugely likeable with her bright and bubbly personality.

As for the murder Alyxandra Harvey really keeps you guessing. Although I did suspect the murderer there were so many other suspects that it really kept me guessing. I won’t say anymore than that other than the intrigue of the murder will definitely keep you reading!

I adored everything about this book from learning the tricks of the trade behind fake séances to the extravagant parties Violet gets to attend. This is a historical ghost story at its best and whilst I think this book works well as a standalone I really hope Alyxandra writes more books about Violet in the future simply because I love her so much! In the meantime I’m definitely going to be checking out Alyxandra’s other books!
My Rating 4.5/5 stars

Thanks go to Bloomsbury for sending me this book to review

Synopsis taken from Amazon

PSST!! Haunting Violet is available on Amazon for only £1.99 on the Kindle, what are you still doing here? Go snatch it up now whilst the offer lasts! ;)

Book Thoughts: Ultraviolet and Birthmarked

Because I receive so many books to review I decided to create this feature Book Thoughts. I don’t always have time to review every single book that I read so in Book Thoughts I group together 2 or 3 books that I purchased myself and give a brief summary on my opinions after I’ve read them. Think of them as mini reviews! I’m going to keep them quick and snappy whilst still informative and I hope you guys find them helpful! :-)

Ultraviolet by R J Anderson

Ultraviolet is honestly like nothing I’ve ever read before. Our main character Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens after killing her classmate, popular and perfect, Tori. Except Tori’s body hasn’t actually been found and all Alison can remember is noise, pain and- she knows it sounds crazy but hey if the shoe fits!- Tori disintegrating piece by piece in front of her.

I loved the fact that this book is told from the point of view of somebody who is seen to be mentally unstable. As the layers of this story unfold you can’t help but question everything Alison tells us. Especially as the story gets more and more crazy and unbelievable! Is there some kind of strange phenomenon going on? Or is Alison simply an insane and imaginative narrator? R J Anderson certainly keeps you on your toes and I absolutely raced through this book for answers. Anderson’s writing is so beautifully descriptive and this books ending completely blew my mind. I adored this books uniqueness and individuality and it comes with my highest of recommendations and a warning that once you pick up this intense psychological thriller you won’t want to put it down!
 5 stars.



Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien

Unfortunately this book fell a little short for me. There’s no denying that Caragh M. O’Brien’s writing is gorgeous her descriptions really sucked me into our heroine Gaia’s harrowing world but unfortunately the rest of the book didn’t really do anything for me.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting from this book but with it being a dystopian I went into it expecting something futuristic and instead Gaia’s world despite being set 300-400 years in the future if anything has gone back in time and instead of the “code” that’s talked about on the cover being all high tech and extreme like I imagined it was all fairly simple and dull compared to what I’d built up in my head.

That being said when I got over my disappointment surrounding the books plot and the code I could appreciate this book for what it was. Gaia’s a strong likeable heroine and the future she inhabits is brutal and terrifying. O’Brien isn’t afraid to make her world unfair and cruel. With Caragh’s haunting writing she really paints a picture in your mind of a shocking future that’s easily believable. Is this the best dystopian story I’ve ever read? No. But would I recommend it? Sure.
3.5 stars.

Book of the Month! Featuring Purple Covers, Magic, and Pet Lobsters

Hi guys, welcome to July’s book of the month and monthly round up! This is a feature to sum up for you my reading and recommendations for the past month and to share with you the exciting things that have been going on on the blog and books I’m looking forward to in the following month.

July's Book of the Month is...Ultraviolet by R J Anderson

Last month I hit a bit of a reading and blogging slump. I didn’t read as much as I would have liked and a couple books I was really looking forward to just didn’t hit the mark for me. Being less passionate than normal about what I was reading definitely affected my book blogging and I just didn’t feel motivated to blog at all. However this month’s book of the month was the first book I read in July and remained my favourite and only 5 star book. Ultraviolet is a highly original, mind splode of awesome and I absolutely devoured it, this book is crazy good and I’ll be doing a book thoughts post on it shortly.

Best Plot: Ultraviolet by R J Anderson
Best Writing: Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Best Cover: Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon
Best Characters: Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton
Best Ending: Ultraviolet by R J Anderson
Best Romance: Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton
Most un-put-down-able: Ultraviolet by R J Anderson
Most Memorable: Ultraviolet by R J Anderson
Best Moral: Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton

Books read this month
43.) Ultraviolet by R J Anderson (5*)
44.) Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon (4*)
45.) Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey (4.5*)
46.) Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (3*)
47.) Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton (4.5*)
48.) Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (4.5*)
49.) One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt (3*)

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Ultraviolet, Katy Carter Wants a Hero and Blood Magic

Bookish Highlights of the month
Not many to be honest! It’s been a not so good book month. Book related it was possibly going to see the last HP movie and book shopping with the bestie after :)

Bookish Lows of the month
Reading slump, blogging slump- it wasn’t the best.

Book’s I’m looking forward to in August
Nothing like a bunch of sparkly new releases to get me back in the reading mood! Let me see... well first of all the book I’m most excited about has to be Bloodlines by Richelle Mead I’m a HUGE fan of Richelle and the VA books and Bloodlines is probably my most highly anticipated book of the year never mind the month! There are also a few chick-lit titles I have my eye on like Bad Sisters by Rebecca Chance, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? by Claudia Carroll and What You Don't Know by Lizzie Enfield. I’m sure there’s more but those are the ones that stand out in my mind! Can’t wait! Love a sparkly new book me!

So there you have it my July reading summed up for you guys. Have you read any of the books I’ve read this month? What were your thoughts on them? Leave me a comment and let me know and don’t forget to treat yourselves to Ultraviolet! – You won’t regret it! ^_^ Here’s to a month of better reading and more productive blogging. Reviews on all the books I’ve read this month will be on the blog soon now that I’m back in the swing of things :D

My Summer Reading List for 2011

Hello my fruits!

I’m back from my little blog break after finally seeing HP7 Part 2 and it was phenomenal! But that’s a story for another time and I don’t want to go into it too much for people who haven’t seen it yet I will say however that I loved it so much that I’m going to go see it again next week! ANYWAY since I’ve been gone British summer time has officially begun with most schools breaking up for the summer. I LOVE summer stories, in fact, most of my favourite books revolve around summer time take Jenny Hans The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and my beloved Sarah Dessen collection. And so I got to thinking about what books I really want to try and get around to this summer. I’ve been perusing my bookshelves and have put together a list of 12 books that I really want to try and read, knowing me I might go off course a little but I want to try and read as many of them as I can so here it is my summer reading list!

1.) The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
2.) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
3.) Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
4.) Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
5.) Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
6.) Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors
7.) Stay by Deb Caletti
8.) Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
9.) A Year in Europe by Rachel Hawthorne
10.) The Single Girl's To-Do List by Lindsey Kelk
11.) The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
12.) The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Let me know if you’ve read any of these and if there are any I should move to the top of my to be read pile, what books are you looking forward to this summer?