The Raven Boys- Maggie Stiefvater- 5 Star Review

Hello Readers, 

So I got another one off the bookclub list that is scary far more scary than the edits I'm doing. But I'm running on the high of the release of #MariesWorld2 so I can't get to worked up. This is the first of the series. I will try to read the rest of. 

The Raven Boys- Maggie Stiefvater

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Review: 

So to start off with I have to say that this is an emotional ride that I wasn't expecting. I was stammered in the beginning with the different POV's that she has going on in the book. That didn't take a star away because she managed to write it with so much class and care that it made it oddly work in her favor. 

I did think that there was going to be more romance in this book than there was. I was expecting more from Blue and Gansey. I like how she gets close to Adam then worries that he is the one that she might kill. The truth is though I would like to see the writer have explored this more. Knowing now its to be a series its encouraging me to pick up the rest of the series. I would have liked a bigger cliff hanger as I'm a huge fan of those. I do like though how she ended it even at times I argued with myself that it might be a little flat. 

I see a great deal of emotion in Gansey and Noah which made this a five star book for she handled those emotions well. I am interested in seeing how she will solve some of those threads and what will become of Adam. I will not say anything else as I don't want to spoil this book for any of you that have yet to read it. 

This is the sort of book that you will either love or your will utterly hate. I think that the author herself has a lot to offer us and I'm delighted to see that she hasn't stopped writing so I can get a better picture of her talents. She will be someone I will explore more. 

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Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you will come back to see my review for Storm Front by Jim Butcher. 

Kristal McKerrington 

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr- 5 star Review

Hello All,

Just a quick review for you between books, edits and of course now surgery. I hope to have more reviews up soon on The Raven Boys and Storm Front.

Wicked Lovely:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21^st century faery tale.

Review: 

I couldn't believe the gem that I found in this book. It was a book that I read earlier on this year and forgot to review. It held me captive from the first page as the plot was so detail and capturing that I couldn't escape. I am a huge fan of Melissa Marr's world of Fairies and the romance is so breath taking.

From the off set I was rooting for all the characters that were in the pages. I found myself sitting down and just getting so sucked in that I read it in one sitting. I found the romance not to cheesy or over the top it was done right and I think that this would be an awesome movie. I hope that you all agree.

This is a must read if your a Melissa Marr readers!

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Thank you for stopping by and come back soon!

Kristal McKerrington 

Never Always Sometimes By Adi Alsaid - 5 star Review

Hello Readers, 

So I dived back into my bookclub lists which are growing with a great number of books that I have to read before I catch up to them. This was one of them and it was bought in Waterstones which surprised me as they don't normally have the American trends all the time in the store. I think I will becoming more friendly with Amazon in the future if this keeps up. 

Never Always Sometimes- Ali Alsaid

Never date your best friend 
Always be original 
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken 
Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliche high school kids--the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, "ever" do in high school. 
Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, "never die your hair a color of the rainbow," or #7, "never hook up with a teacher." But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, "never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school." It's either that or break rule #10, "never date your best friend." Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. 
Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the cliches, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

5 Star Review

I have no idea how am going to do this review without spoilers but am going to do my best to do so. I took my time with this book as it was the first YA I was picking up after the Susan Hill Series of books that I have been reading from my library. I have to say that this couldn't be a better book for me to pick up on my road back to the YA genre. 

Ali Alsaid came up with the typical teenage problems and in a love story setting that reminded me of my own teens that doesn't feel like its all that far behind me. He captured the struggles that teenagers have with their emotions, The desire that they have to cling to each other, stand out and to be different than what people think they will be. Even the rebellion elements of Julia in the story were perfectly set up and designed to show a wonderful thoughts of what most teenagers think of as fun yet adults are scared of. 

Julia struggles are more troubled than Dave's are as she finds her fake of a mother who put her up for adoption to a gay couple has had a huge impact on her. She structured her life to impress her mother when it doesn't work then she is cut more a drift than she ever believes possible. 

Dave lost his mother young and finds himself clinging to Julia due to the cold exterior that Dave's father shows to him. The death of his mother has had a huge impact on his family leaving them all damaged in their own way. He sees some life return to his father when Gretchen comes into their lives and complicates Dave's even further. 

The overall writing of the characters and plot couldn't have been done better. He showed so much style and thought when it came to this. Ali Alsaid shows that he is a writer of depth and can do even more great things with his plots than most writers can. He shows that there is more to teenage love and heartbreak than just romance. I take my hat off for him trying this and pulling this off so well. 

It didn't even cross my mind to not give this book 5 stars. He has out done my expectations for this book and I look forward to reading more of his work. I invite the author himself to share his future releases with me for honest and more personal reviews. Even sending them to him before I post them online. 

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Thank you so much for stopping by the blog and seeing what I'm up too. Next up is The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. 

Kristal McKerrington 

The Woman In Black- Susan Hill- 5 Star Review

Hello Readers, 

So today I finished the list of Susan Hill books that library had. I have been delighted to write a review for this author who resides in the same country as me. I hope that these reviews will encourage more readers to try her books and of course to keep her writing her great short stories. 

Now down to work. 

The Woman In Black-Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose.

5 Star Review: 

From the beginning I did wonder what the hell this book was about as I dug deeper then I started to understand. That was the only sticking point I had with the story. I found myself moving by it and it still earned the five stars for the detail, care that she put into the story itself. The characters were relate able. There was a great deal of moments that I found the story rushed however she seemed to make up for this flaw with other areas of the story and despite it not being written in the format that we are all use to. None of that took from the great style of writing that she continue to use. 

Susan has a way to make you feel like your apart of the story and continues to create a world around you even if its under 200 page books. I found that my copy of this particular novel was 200 pages. I didn't know that this was a film until I saw the sticker on the book when I got it from the library. She has done another book that fits in with what you expect from this great English writer. I know that she has a lot more to offer us. 

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Thank you for stopping by and come back for the next book in my tbr list. Never, Always, Sometimes, Ali Alsaid which is up next. 

Kristal McKerrington 

The Monk By Mathew Gregory Lewis - 5 stars

Dear Readers,

I'm not one for the Classical works of literature however I managed to read one today that has a great effect on not just me but generations upon generations after it was released. Its a book that was surrounded in legend and mystery for me. I am delighted to have had the chance to read it. Please continue down the page to read my review.

The Monk By Mathew Gregory Lewis: 

'The Monk was so highly popular that it seemed to create an epoch in our literature', wrote Sir Walter Scott. 

Set in the sinister monastery of the Capuchins in Madrid, The Monk is a violent tale of ambition, murder, and incest. The great struggle between maintaining monastic vows and fulfilling personal ambitions leads its main character, the monk Ambrosio, to temptation and the breaking of his vows, then to sexual obsession and rape, and finally to murder in order to conceal his guilt. 

Inspired by German horror romanticism and the work of Ann Radcliffe, Lewis produced his masterpiece at the age of nineteen. It contains many typical Gothic elements - seduction in a monastery, lustful monks, evil Abbesses, bandits and beautiful heroines. But, as the Introduction to this new edition shows, Lewis also played with convention, ranging from gruesome realism to social comedy, and even parodied the genre in which he was writing. 

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

5 star Review: 

From the outset this book was surrounded in legend for me. It was one mentioned in the works of Jane Austin. I wasn't sure that I wanted to read the book to learn it wasn't what I imagined it to be but there was a sense that this was one of the greatest pieces of literature right away. I got swept up in the mans words and realized he must be dyslexic as I caught a couple of mistakes that he made. 

What Matthew Lewis created sent shivers down my spine and I found myself impressed that he was able to pull the carpet from his characters in such a simple method. He really did create a lot of the tools that we see being used in fiction today and he also set the bar for what is considered the most filthy of pieces of horror ever created. 

Each of his characters truly had their own voice and upon its ending arriving the book was tied up into a nice neat parcel. His poetry was wonderful and showed that he was truly a well rounded writer and that is a truly rare thing to find. For a man to whom wrote plays the book flowed perfectly and showed a great deal of attention. I suggested that this was a book that he couldn't stop writing from the moment he started. 

I highly recommend this book for those who love horror who want to experience some of the best writing that the fictional classic novels can offer you. Beware of its content before you buy the book but I think for serious readers that this is a must read to understand how we have come with story telling. 

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Thank you for stopping by to check out what I have been getting my teeth into and for checking out the blog site. 

Kristal McKerrington