Marked (A House of Night Novel) – P.C. and Kristen Cast

Vampires. Vampires. And more vampires. This fad is almost as bad as the zombie one…perhaps even worse. However, Vampires are a popular theme in this day and age and not just the Twilight twinkly vampires. Just like zombies there are many different interpretations given by lots of different authors and film writers. A supernatural being that drinks human blood is not the nicest thought and is possibly one of the worst nightmares for many people but; I am Legend, Twilight, Marked, Dracula are all about vampires in some way or another, vampires who have different needs in some cases. I really enjoy reading all these different novels and comparing them. Here I am going to share one of my favourites with you.

When sixteen-year-old Zoey is marked by a Tracker, she knows her old life is over. – The first line of the blurb got me thinking ‘oooh what’s this here then?’ a new kind of vampire…this time spelt ‘Vampyres’ and they don’t seem to focus on drinking blood! So I read the first one, then the second, then the third all in quick succession. I was sucked into their world as easily as one slices into butter. The storyline kept me interested with all the plot twists and romance issues. Zoey is a magnet for trouble and every book leaves us with a new problem for her to face, whether it be a new lover or a new plot to exterminate humanity. What I really liked about this series is that there was a cult feel to the Vampyres with all their special rituals and spiritual-ness. It was all very interesting to me as I love learning about cults and spiritual things because they are all so foreign…I was brought up in a world ruled by technology where these kind of things were brushed aside as silly games played by silly people. But there is a lot more to cults and spiritualists than you think, whilst at uni it was important for us to understand that in our seminars because a lot of the authors we studied dabbled in “magic” and cults.

However, as much as I loved this series I would not recommend it to those looking for something to read with substance. This series is what I call an ‘inbetween books book’, sounds silly I know, but whenever I have read several hard-hitting, hidden meaning novels I need to give my poor over-worked brain a break and this is how I do it. Have you got an inbetween books book? If you have I would love to know what they are, please leave a comment!

 

Hard Work

It appears that I have been slacking, not only in posting to my blog but the flat is a mess…I am a mess.

I have recently read a lot written by other bloggers and authors that complain about not being able to write. It seems that I have fallen into that trap. Or writers block? In any case it is a trap that springs on you at the most inconvenient of times, mostly when I feel like I have being doing rather well and then suddenly…not so well!

Another thing I have found in my month of writing reviews and just in general is that it is unproductive to write whilst bored, at least for me anyway. I have found that writing while I’m bored is just asking for a disaster. Nothing good comes from me writing while bored. I just writing boring things, and that includes my reviews. I have written several drafts of a Life of Pi review and each one I have deleted because it’s just not good enough…I wonder how long it will take for me to feel that I have done it good enough?

I am glad that I am not the only one who gets this, even the most accomplished of authors suffer with writers block from time to time. Reading their accounts is certainly helping me to come to terms with it. But I can’t say that I know how to deal with it. Some people say that you shouldn’t force yourself to write because, like I said, it can produce some inadequate results. However, others say that maybe forcing yourself to write will get you around the block. I suppose that it works differently for everyone. What do you think?

Happy Valentines Day!

Today is the day of love, flowers, kisses and cuddles! Today is a day where couples show their love for each other with grand gestures, whether it is with material gifts or just spending the day together. I have chosen to get wine, good food and some chocolate for me and my gorgeous boyfriend of 2 and a half years. I don’t get to spend the day with him but I do get the evening! What are you doing this evening?

Saint Valentine’s Day is so named for the saint Valentinus who was imprisoned for performing weddings for soliders who were forbidden to marry. Valentinus believed in love and so went behind the Church’s back so that these soliders could marry. He believed in true love, and didn’t want to stop people from showing their true love to each other.

I have to wonder though, is Valentines Day getting materialistic? Like Christmas, Easter, any holiday to be honest. It all seems to be about the biggest gift, the nicest card, the most expensive wine. I don’t want it to be like that, I just want to spend the day with the person I love the most. Of course, I want to be spoiled just a little bit…doesn’t everyone? But it is much more fun to just turn off the lights, snuggle up next to that special person and listen to some music or watch a film. Everyone loves getting a nice gift, but personally I would spend my time working on the perfect dinner and making the house look nice.

Every Valentine’s Day I hope that I will see the next with this person. I love my boyfriend, I hope to be with him for a long time. I hope you all feel the same and are having a great valentines day!!

The Chronicles of the Dragon Sisters – Peter Quatrine

Peter was born and still lives in London, diagnosed with dyslexia and mild aspergers as a child made reading and writing difficult…but that didn’t stop him – his debut novel The Chronicles of the Dragon Sisters is the first in a trilogy and here’s what I thought about it…

Eva and Jane, though twins, couldn’t be more different. Eva sticks to her video games while Jane keeps her head emerged in books and her ‘project’. The story starts off as a seemingly normal prose about a normal family with all the normal details, but this rapidly changes. We start to see deeper into the background of this unfortunate family – mother disappears mysteriously, the father drinks himself into a stupor and the twins are torn apart. Things start to get weird for the twins when the house starts to leave messages for them. An epic quest begins for them that won’t end until they understand each other again.

Honestly, reading the beginning I thought “uh-oh what’s happening here? Where’s the fantasy world.” I’ve gotten so used to picking up a fantasy novel and being thrown into a world full of magical creatures, different landscapes, cults, strange gods. I’ve never read a fantasy set in the modern world before however, I was not disappointed. Quatrine has perfectly connected the two worlds in interesting and clever ways. I have to admit, I giggled when the cullis gate was introduced, I loved the Fable games and they were the primary source of transport for your characters. Mystical gates of all sorts are rather famous in the fantasy genre so I was glad to see something so familiar.

As I am sure I have mentioned in a previous blog post I love trying to work out the ending of a novel, I love trying to figure out what’s going on before it happens. I know that’s something that you’re not supposed to do with a book – you’re supposed to let the author take you to another place, into another’s life. But no, I like to work things out. It’s fun! Well this book was perfect for that, just like the hobbit there were many riddles just waiting for me to figure out. I am happy to tell you, I figured them all out before the character!!

It’s not just the fantasy element that engrossed me in this novel but the complicated relationship between the sisters made me think about my own sisters (also twins) who, although they love each other, have their moments. Peter has created a story that not only entertains in a fantasy sense but shows the reader an amazing family that has to deal with very real problems.

Although I am relatively new to fantasy, I loved the way that Quatrine managed to stitch the magical world into the modern world, how he connected them through the sisters, the riddles, the house. It’s something I haven’t seen in the other fantasies I have read. As well as all this he has highlighted some very real issues for families in the real world. It’s a brilliantly crafted novel that I enjoyed throughout. I can’t wait for the next one Peter!

My Favourites List

Since it is still the beginning of the year everywhere you look there are recommendations from bloggers, bookstores, cinemas and more so I thought  that I would do my own.

Top 5 Books to read this month:

1. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) – A magnificent story about a young boy shipwrecked with only a male adult tiger for company. Will be putting up a review of this one in a few days time.
2. World War Z (Max Brooks) – The Oral History of the Zombie War. A novel full of first person accounts taken after the taking of the world by a zombie apocalypse.
3. Out Of Time (Gill Jepson) – Reviewed in January, a brilliant short novel cleverly set in different times.
4. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) – Because I don’t get bored of this book.
5. Priestess of the White (Trudi Canavan) – A fantasy set in a world with magic and other races. Ones who live in the water, in the air and more. If you are a fan of fantasy then give this one a read.

Top 5 Films/TV series to watch:

1. Spartacus (TV) – This series started in 2010 and the 3rd and final series has just started. Following the historical rebel Spartacus in his rebellion against Rome this is a brutal, sexy series not for the weak-hearted.
2. The Silver Linings Playbook – The 2012 movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper is an interesting film that deals with the issue of grief, mental issues and love. Both actors are at their best here, I thoroughly enjoyed this film.
3. Brave – I am a huge disney fan and cannot recommend this film more, it is fantastic for all ages, really funny and awesome music.
4. Call the Midwife (TV) – Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a midwife in 1950’s London. BBC has produced a masterpiece from these memoirs.
5. The Walking Dead (TV) – Currently in it’s third season this series keeps surprising me. Zombies, humans fighting for their lives, humans fighting humans. It’s such a good watch. Watch it!

Let me know if you have read/watched any of these, and your thoughts on them. I really enjoyed all these books and films, I hope you do!

Just an Update

So, I am really starting to get this blogging and reviewing thing up and running! I’m reading a lot, many books at a time in fact; I’m trying my best to get in contact with authors and publishers as well as making sure I go to all author events close to me. I went to Cambridge at the weekend to visit my sisters at university and there I met my first author who signed both his books for me. I have also started following him on twitter so that I can let him know when I have read and reviewed his book. Hopefully, if I keep on top of things I will be doing this more and more.

I never truly realised until now how difficult it is to start a life once you leave university, as I have said before I have been looking for a job since May last year…that’s a long time to be looking for work. It’s starting to really stress me out. I am glad that I have this blog, and the people who read it. It would truly be a boring life if I didn’t have SOMETHING to do. This is my something, and I will keep it up. I am determined. This is my promise to you – even if I get a job I will still be reading just as much and reviewing as much as I can. I have spent most of this morning browsing job sites, giving applications in and calling temp agencies…keep your fingers crossed for me! I’ll keep you all updated.

Anyway, this little blog post was to update you all. I am working on two reviews at the moment Peter Quatrine’s ‘Dragon Sisters’ and Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’ which I should be posting tomorrow and Thursday if all goes to plan. Look forward to it!