Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

Graceling is a fantasy novel with a side romance story. It's quite a long story - reaching over 400 pages at relatively small font - and one that I did struggle to get into at first. I managed to persevere through my initial struggle, and aren't I glad I did! The plot grew and became increasingly captivating; by the end of the book I truly found myself itching to finish it and eventually read the last 50 pages in one sitting!

The Book Cover

Graceling follows the story of a lady named Katsa and her mission to discover herself, as well as to solve a mystery sweeping over her world. The world in which the story takes place is split into seven kingdoms, each led by a King or Queen. The title of the novel comes from those of the world who are "Graced"; this means that they posses a magical power and a pair of distinctly unique eyes. For Katsa, she is one of those Graced and therefore quite unique in her fighting abilities. The story develops as a young prince named Po enters her kingdom in search of help; he too is one of the Graced people among the world. As the two travel in search of answers, they grow close and begin to learn a lot from and about each other.

Hopefully my plot summary isn't too detailed in such a way that gives the plot away to you as a reader; I think it's a decent amount of description... I hope!

I'm not sure how far in it was that I truly began to feel myself becoming engrossed in the story, but it was the development of Katsa - and her journey with Po - that drew me in. Whenever a story shows a character's personal growth, I'm instantly in love with the story. I find it difficult to read books where all the characters remain in the cookie cutter shape that they were originally depicted as.

Katsa (From Alternative Book Cover)

There is a sequel to this book, entitled Bitterblue, that takes place eight years after this novel. Those who read Graceling will understand the title and I'm sure will be just as excited as I to read it. In addition to this sequel, there is a side story entitled Fire which takes place in the same world and kingdoms, but follows the story of a new character; my library does not stock this novel and therefore unfortunately will not be reading it, but please do and tell me your thoughts!

The Set of Three

I would rate Graceling 3.8/5 because I did struggle in the beginning to want to keep reading it, but it did become extremely good in the end!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Forever (Maggie Stiefvater)

Forever is the third and final book in the Shiver series, and it is definitely by far my favourite of the three! This one is again a supernatural/fantasy romance novel, however it puts less emphasis on the romance between Sam and Grace and more on the wolves' survival; this is probably why it's my favourite.

The Book Cover

Just as the second book does, Forever alternates between the first-person perspectives of Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole; there is an addition of Shelby's perspective during the prologue, but that's the only time you get that. I didn't enjoy the four perspectives in the second book, however I didn't mind it too much in this one. It could be that I got used to it or maybe perhaps I was too quick to judge it badly when I first experienced it. All that aside, I definitely enjoyed having the full round of perspectives in this plot.

As I said in the second book's review, I can't talk too much about the plot - or the characters - without giving it away. So I'm not going to talk about plot!

What I will mention instead is my overall feel for this series and what I got out of it. Upon completing the full series, I feel uplifted in a sense. It could be the experiences that the characters face and how they grew from it, or it could be something entirely different, but I just feel grateful...? I'm not even quite sure if that's the word I want to use, but for me personally (having dealt with a lot of barriers to overcome) this book showed me that they can be overcome if you stick with it. I guess the moral of the story was to never give up on hope or the idea of a better future, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

I would rate Forever 5/5 because it was by far my favourite of the three in this trilogy and I was never left bored or wanting more. I was fully satisfied with the story and how it ended!

Definitely take the time to read the full trilogy: Shiver, Linger, and Forever!

The Shiver Trilogy

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Linger (Maggie Stiefvater)

Linger is the second novel in the Shiver trilogy and it was just as good as the first one! After 24 hours, I had already finished half of the book and really had to try to pace myself whilst reading the remainder of the story.

The Book Cover

Much like the first, it remains a supernatural/fantasy romance story. The plot itself picks up where the first left off, not losing any pace, and has the same "feel" to it. There is one big difference between the first and this one:

... there are FOUR first-person perspectives. The first two are the same as the first novel, that being Grace and Sam. The third is the perspective of Isabel and the fourth is that of Cole. 

I'm still not too sure how I feel about the four perspectives. In some cases it added to the depth of the story and the emotions, but in other cases I felt lost or confused as to who I was. That second case was even more true in certain chapters when the perspective changed three times in one chapter. This story really begins to show character development amongst all four of the characters.

I can't really talk too much about the plot or the characters without giving away the suspense that I felt. It's a story that you really need to experience for yourself!

I would rate Linger 4.5/5 because I felt that having four first-person perspectives to be a little too much to follow. Of course, as always, that is only my opinion and you might think differently.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater)

Shiver is a short novel that I came across whilst browsing my library's online database. I had never heard of it before or heard of anyone talking about it. Upon collecting the book from my library, I discovered that it is actually the first novel in a trilogy. I had made a personal decision, after reading many trilogies, that I didn't want to read another trilogy for a little while because I really wanted to a find an excellent single book; however, looks like it's time for another trilogy!

Shiver, like I said, is the first novel in a trilogy. The story is a supernatural/fantasy novel with the main storyline following the developing romance between Sam and Grace. The book itself does switch between first-person perspectives of those two characters, and I think that it is important to the plot and emotions of the characters. Grace is a girl with an unusual past who has a fascination with the woods behind her house, and the animals that roam within. Sam is a boy that is far from ordinary as he is not quite himself through the winter months. Their lives become entwined when Sam is faced with an injury that changes him.

The Book Cover

The characters - and even the story itself - drew me in drastically and had me struggling to put the book down every night. I can't say much about the storyline itself because it would definitely ruin the surprise and suspense of the novel. What I will say is that I found the style of writing (and the story) to be very refreshing and simple. I say simple, but it is also a unique story.

I would rate Shiver 4.9/5 because I am always wary of given a story a perfect rating. There were a couple of spots where I found myself skipping over some paragraphs, but I can't decide whether it was because the story was slow or if it was more just my excitement to get to the end.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Erebos: It's A Game. It Watches You. (Ursula Poznanski)

Erebos: It's A Game. It Watches You.
Where do I even begin with this review? I read this book in less than 24 hours and I'm sat here - having just finished reading it - unsure of what to say other than, WOW! If you haven't read this book before, then you are seriously missing out.

The Book Cover

Erebos is a book that I'm also unsure as to how to classify it. It's not supernatural, although at times it feels as such, and it's not fantasy, but again you could say it has aspects of it; it's a book that stands on it's own as far as I'm concerned. The story follows the life of Nick Dunmore and a mysterious computer game that begins to circle around his school. However this game is not like a normal game as it seems to live, breathe, and think like a human. The virtual world begins to tie itself to the real world, harmless at first but quickly becoming daunting and trying to those who play the game. As the back of the book says, "Erebos watches its players and begins to manipulate their lives in frightening ways. It soon becomes clear the game has a deadly agenda. When Nick sets out on a dangerous mission, reality and the virtual world begin to blur..."

As far as characters in the story go, I can't say that I felt a personal connection to them; however, in the case of this book, that was necessary. The story itself and the game in which the people play was enough to hold my attention completely!

I know this review is short, and I've really only discussed the plot, but you must read this book!

I would rate Erebos 5/5 because it's left me speechless and wanting more!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment telling me your thoughts on this book or a suggestion as to what I should read next.

The Gravesavers (Sheree Fitch)

The Gravesavers came to my attention while I was searching for a different book on my library's online database. It appeared on the side bar entitled 'Recently Rated', as someone had given it 4 out of 5 stars; the title of the book, as well as the cover, intrigued me. I immediately put a hold on the book and began reading it without any prior knowledge of the storyline. Upon arrival of the book, I noticed that it was both a Canadian novel as well as a Red Maple Award winner; for those of you who may not know what that is, it is (simple put) a reading program offered to students in Grades 7 through 9 with a small selection of books on which you get to vote on at the end. I was excited to read the story since it was a winner of this reading program because I once participated in this program myself.

The Book Cover

Upon beginning this novel - about one third of the way through - I would have placed this story into a Historical Fiction category; however, as I approached two thirds of the way through, the storyline took a different path that I would instead class as a Supernatural Fiction category. This novel actually is composed of not one, but two story lines that become entwined:

The first story follows the life of a young girl named Cinnamon "Minn" Hotchkiss who is forced to go spend the summer with her grandmother following a rather unfortunate event. Much to her distaste, Minn actually begins to enjoy that summer upon discovering the graveyard in the town at which she is staying; however this grave site is in terrible condition and is not faring well to the sea.

The second story follows the life of a young English boy named John Hindley in the year of 1861. His family decides to uproot and travel across the seas on the magnificent SS Atlantic.

SS Atlantic

The stories entwine as Minn discovers more about the graves and the connection they have to the past, and more specifically John Hindley's family. I won't say much more as I hate over sharing a novel's plot, however I wanted to intrigue you readers to perhaps try a different genre other than the Science Fiction novels I have reviewed previously.

I instantly fell in love with the character Minn because she, in a way, reminded me of myself. Her imagination is wild and when she becomes passionate about something, she truly sees it through until the very end; I found her character to be a breath of fresh air.

As for the plot, I loved it. I really am at a loss for words because I think it's a book you need to read for yourself to understand the feeling I got. I wasn't in tears, it's not that type of feeling; if anything, I think I felt at peace at the end. The main message I got out of it was, "the past may be unsettling and may never quite leave you, but if you find a way to come to terms with it and let it go, you will find a sense of happiness and peace."

I would rate The Gravesavers 3.9/5 - which may seem low - only because I found the story to be a little slow and over descriptive at the beginning, otherwise it was a very good book. It's not my usual pick of genre, but I am very glad to have read it.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment telling me your thoughts on the book or a suggestion of what I should read next.

Update :)

Hello Fellow Bookworms :)

Before I start talking about the main reason for this post, I just want to start off with a huge thank you! I am overwhelmed by the amount of interest since I started 6 and a half weeks ago. I've had more page views than I ever thought I could accomplish in a year - I'm sure it's minimal compared to most blogs on this site, however I am very grateful for each and every one - so thank you from the bottom of my heart <3

Is this too cheesy to add to this post?

Anyways, onto the main reason behind this update post!

I finished my first year of University last week on Friday, and also finished all of my pre-written and scheduled book reviews. That means two things for this blog:

1. Since I have finished University for the year, I will be "off" for 4 months; the off is in quotation because I'm currently having interviews for jobs, which means I don't know how much free time I'll actually have. With that said, that means I will have more time to read and often in the summer read books a lot faster. Of course this is because I will binge read a book whilst sitting outside in the sun with a cool glass of fresh lemonade. Therefore you can expect lots of reviews in the upcoming future! I have a list of books lined up that I want to read - both single novels as well as series - and I can't wait to get started.
2. Since my scheduled posts have run out, it means there will be a delay for the next review. I am currently halfway through the novel I am reading now, and I am hoping I will have it done in time to review for Friday; however, there will definitely not be one up on Monday, unless I find an old book I've read to review that I still have a clear memory of.

Therefore, that's both good and bad so I hope they balance each other out! Also, I would love it if you bookworms would leave a comment suggesting a book that I should read.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)