An Apology

Dear faithful blog readers,

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been MIA for the last few weeks without warning and I apologise for that. Basically my personal life kind of took over everything, first with getting sick, then with it being my birthday, then with going on a mini break, then with getting into a reading slump, into then caring for my dad who has a leg injury. So that’s what’s been keeping me from the blog these past few weeks but I’m hoping things will continue to settle down now so I can get back into blogging, I’ve really missed it!

To get things back on track I’m going to first be concentrating on catching up with all of the reviews for the books I’ve been reading. I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed a single book that I’ve read this year! I’ve been reading some great and not so great books so I’m looking forward to telling you guys all about that and recommending some new 2012 titles! So yeah this is going to be a strictly review zone until I’m up to date, which I’ve got to admit I’m excited about as writing reviews are pretty much my favourite thing to do on the blog! I may also do some sneaky In My Mailboxes if things go well as with going to Oxford- home land of bookish awesome, my birthday, and weeks worth of book hauls missed I have a lot to show you guys although sadly I might not be able to show them all as I really have had SO many make a new home with me these last few weeks.

So can you guys forgive me? I’m sorry I’ve been a sucky blogger and forgot to be awesome. But I’m here now, if you’ll have me. Watch this space for the first of an abundance of reviews going up tomorrow; it will be happening, promise.

Happy reading till next time,

Jess x

Review for Divergent by Veronica Roth

I’d like to give a special mention to Cait and Lyndsey for the push I needed to finally pick this book up!

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 3rd May 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Goodreads Summary:
"In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her."

Review
It took me such a long time to get round to reading Divergent. I have no idea why considering dystopians are my favourite type of book to read. Maybe because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype or because I was waiting for a time when I wasn’t busy and could give it my full attention, or maybe I was just saving it for when I wanted to read a really good book, I don’t know. I think they all had a little something to do with it. But as I am surely the last person on earth to read it this review is to simply concur with all of the wonderful things said about this book, because this is a book that deserves it’s hype.

Divergent is the type of dystopian that I love best. It’s fast paced, I mean REALLY fast paced, not giving you a moment to even catch your breath and gather your thoughts. Considering it’s such a big book there is never a moment where the story drags on or the pacing drops. It was consistently exciting and action packed in a way that’s similar to dystopians like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. But at the same time it’s not a copycat and has a completely new story to anything else out there. Despite this book being just shy of 500 pages I devoured it in less than two days which is pretty speedy for me and a book of this size.

Our protagonist Tris is probably the most badass heroine I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, this girl is tough as nails, and I loved following her journey. Then there is Four, Tris’s instructor and love interest. I loved Four right from the start, he’s this really strong, tough guy with a heart of gold. I loved Four and Tris’s relationship as unlike in so many young adult books they were partners and equals who supported each other but didn’t need the other to babysit them. I loved how naturally their relationship developed and how despite the romance it didn’t take away from or slow down the action element of the story.

The plot is so well imagined and executed. If I’m nit picking the only thing that let this book down for me was that I figured out many of the twists before they happened. I would have liked to have been kept on my toes a little more regarding that but overall it didn’t take away from my love for this book.

Divergent is the best dystopian I’ve read in a long time and is perfect for readers who love their stories dangerous and their heroine’s bad ass. This was a mind blowing debut and a fantastic start to what promises to be a hugely popular series. I can barely wait for book two!

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

Review Books

Advent by James Treadwell
Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
Slide by Jill Hathaway
Desert Angel by Charlie Price

Bought

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Smoulder by Brenna Yovanoff

Gifts!

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and illustrated by Alan Lee ( HUGE thank you's to Ellie at Musings of a Bookshop Girl for this gorgeous early birthday present!)
Heist Society by Ally Carter ( Big thank you's also to my bestie Rachel at In the Library of LadyViolet for this Christmas present! I've wanted to read this one for ages!)


So that's what I got over the past week and the week's in which I was taking my holiday blogging break! As always big thank you's to everybody who sent me books I'm so excited to read them! 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!

So how did I do with my 2011 challenges?

In 2011 I participated in The Story Siren’s Debut Author Challenge, The Bookette’s British Book’s Challenge (now hosted over at The Overflowing Library) and set myself the goal of reading at least 75 books on goodreads so let’s see how I done…

Debut Author Challenge

Goal: To read 12 2011 debut’s
Read
1.) Entangled by Cat Clarke
2.) Across the Universe by Beth Revis
3.) Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
4.) The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
5.) Chocker by Elizabeth Woods
6.) Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
7.) Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
8.) Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
9.) Clarity by Kim Harrington
10.) Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
11.) Flawless by Lara Chapman
12.) Wither by Lauren DeStefano
13.) Swim the Fly by Don Calame
14.) Forgotten by Cat Patrick
15.) Die for Me by Amy Plum
16.) Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien
17.) Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
18.) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
19.) Soul Beach by Kate Harrison
20.) Frost by Marianna Baer
21.) Saving June by Hannah Harrington
22.) Fury by Elizabeth Miles
23.) Divergent by Veronica Roth
24.) Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt
25.) Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

25 debuts! Not too shabby! I’m so glad I took part in this challenge as it really pushed me to try out some new authors I may not have tried and by doing so I’ve discovered lots of new favourite authors who I can’t wait to read more from.

British Books Challenge

Goal: To read 12 British books in 2011
Read
1.) Entangled by Cat Clarke
2.) The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
3.) The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
4.) To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell
5.) Rockoholic by C.J Skuse
6.) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
7.) It Happened One Summer by Polly Williams
8.) Stolen by Lucy Christopher
9.) The Truth About You by Melissa Hill
10.) Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton
11.) Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon
12.) Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton
13.) Bad Sisters by Rebecca Chance
14.) Velvet by Mary Hooper
15.) One Day by David Nicholls
16.) Soul Beach by Kate Harrison
17.) Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly
18.) An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson
19.) There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
20.) Last Chirstmas by Julia Williams
21.) One Minute to Midnight by Amy Silver
22.) The Night Before Christmas by Scarlett Bailey

So my planned 12 turned into 22! Taking part in this challenge was another great experience. I love me some American authors and the majority of books I read do tend to come from the US so it was really nice to read some books by authors with home grown British talent and some of these made it into my favourites of the year!

75 Book Challenge

Goal: To read 75 books
Read: 82 (see the full list here!)

Yay! I’m quite a slow reader as I really like to take things in so was really chuffed to not only reach 75 but also to surpass it!

Overall I’m really proud of myself for not only meeting but surpassing all of my challenges this year. So what’s next for 2012? Well nothing actually… That’s right I’ve taken part in some sort of challenge for the past 3 years now and so I’ve decided to take a break from them this year and just read what I want to read.

Even though I managed to meet my challenges I’m quite a rebel and don’t like being told what to do so I’m doing a little self-experiment this year to see if I actually do better without the pressure of any challenges. Even though the last year’s been great and I’ve loved taking part I’m excited to be doing my own thing this year without feeling like I should be reading something else.

So that’s all from me challenge wise this year. Best of luck to those of you who are taking part in challenges in 2012 and well done to those who completed theirs last year!

Divergent gets a make-over! And INSURGENT UK cover reveal!

Some of you may know the Divergent and Insurgent cover’s as this…

and this...

However here in the UK the publishers are giving this series a make-over with completely new covers and here they are!

Divergent

Insurgent

I think the new covers are absolutely gorgeous and will definitely appeal to UK YA fans, but for me personally there’s just something so striking and unique about the US and original UK covers that really made them stand out to me. I do however LOVE the burning leaves on Insurgent and I’m a sucker for a purple cover!

What do you guys think of the cover change and which set do you prefer? Insurgent is out in the UK on the 1st May of this year and I for one can’t wait!