Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Hey everyone,

Due to my self-imposed book buying ban I forced myself to wait until Christmas before getting a copy of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, making me one of the last people in the world to read this book. Amazingly I managed to avoid any spoilers despite all the hype surrounding this book. Being a fan of Harry Potter, Fangirl and M/M romances I was excited to read this book for myself. Keep reading to see what I thought!

The book:

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

My Thoughts:

As the blurb of this book would tell you Simon Snow is the worst chosen one ever chosen. He can’t really control his magic and  mainly survives due to sheer dumb luck and the help of his friend Penelope. Also for all the years he has been part of the magical world he has yet to learn anything about the Humdrum he’s suppose to be defeating. Instead Simon has spent most of his time obsessing over his roommate Baz Pitch. In fact for the first third of the book Simon is constantly wondered why Baz isn’t at school, where he could be and what he is doing. This isn’t because he likes Baz of course but because Baz is evil and clearly up to evil things to advance his crazy, rich and powerful families plan to overthrow the mage. 

Everyone’s still gossiping about where he’s been. The most popular rumours are “dark coming-of-age ceremony that left him too marked up to be in public” and “Ibiza.” 

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Hey everyone,

I started reading The Lunar Chronicles in 2015 after renting Cinder from my local library. I’d seen so many people raving about this Young Adult series on Tumblr that I became intrigued. I devoured Cinder in one night, quickly followed by Scarlet and towards the end of last year I found the time to read Cress...

The book:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

My thoughts:

Cress focused on two of my favourite characters from the previous novels Cress and Thorne. I was immediately drawn to the character of Cress who we only see glimpses of in Scarlet and now that I’ve finished the book I think her and Thorne are my favourite couple so far. I loved Cress for her child-like enthusiasm. Her belief in Thorne’s inherent goodness and also her bravery. Even before she meets Cinder, Thorne, Scarlet and Wolf she is willing to risk everything because it is the right thing to do.

Maybe there isn’t such a thing as fate. Maybe it’s just the opportunities we’re given, and what we do with them. I’m beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don’t just happen. We have to make them ourselves.

The House of Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Hey everyone,

So its Halloween and being British and a slight cynic it isn’t a holiday I celebrate; I mean I may have baked a chocolate cake, opened a bottle of cider and read an amazing book but that’s not celebrating. For a start there are no costumes, scary or otherwise in sight! Secondly I have yet to have a single trick or treater, however, I appreciate this holiday is extremely popular in America and perhaps in other parts of the world (Is it? Does anyone know? I’ve never even thought about it before) so happy Halloween everyone and as a gift from me to you I give you a review of The House of Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory. I’m nice like that... Well some of the time at least.

The (audio)book:

The tiny nation of Swansgaard is a lovely place with abundant natural resources, including the royal family, which has been blessed with twelve daughters and a son. As this boisterous baker's dozen approaches adulthood, the king and queen lovingly tell their daughters, "You must make your own fortune, for we cannot enrich you without impoverishing our people or leaving our lands defenceless, and that we will not do."

Clarice, an expert swordswoman, is the first to depart. Disguising herself as Clarence, she signs on for a voyage to the New World. The captain is vile and blackhearted, and the crew soon mutinies. Clarice becomes first mate - and finds her heart captured by the new captain, Dominick, who is, to his own surprise, increasingly attracted to Clarence.

Now outlaws, Dominick and his crew turn to piracy - though their hearts are not entirely in it. They soon run afoul of the Pirate Council, who orders them to retrieve the Heart of Light. All who have searched for this great treasure have vanished, with neither ships nor crews ever seen again and no sign of their fates ever discovered. But none before have carried with them the sorceress Shamal, who stakes a claim of her own on Dominick's heart.

My Thoughts:

Pirates, magic, romance and fantasy all combine in The House of Four Winds to the wonderful narration of Emily Sutton-Smith. As soon as I read the blurb I was desperate to read this book, so much so that I rashly brought the audio version as it wasn’t available in Kindle format in my country. I am so glad I did. This story swept me away into a world of intrigue and adventure upon the high seas. Set in a fantasy world that was arguably similar to our own in the 17th and 18th century it follows the story of Clarice, a Princess who must make her own way in the world, who chooses to make her fortune as an expert swords(wo)man. To do so she disguises herself as a male and goes by the name Clarence; the cross-dressing trope is perhaps one of the oldest in the romance world, I mean just look at Shakespeare’s comedies. Yet Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory pull it off beautifully.