Hello everyone! Welcome to my first real blog post. Recently, I was scrolling through Amazon looking for new books to read and I spotted that they had a really good offer on: 3 paperbacks for £10! It was only from a selected group of titles but there were hundreds to choose from! I already knew one of the books that I wanted and I found two more that I just had to have too. I've just finished reading the last one and I though I would tell you all about them. (There are no spoilers in these reviews)
So, here are the three books I bought with a review of each.
City of Bone by Cassandra Clare
City Of Bones is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series of books and I really enjoyed reading it.
The main character, Clary, lives in New York with her mum until she runs into a group of people in a nightclub that lead her to discover the world of Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters kill demons and the group that Clary meets are her own age, around 16. The Shadowhunters Clary meets are Jace, Isabelle and Alec. She gets drawn into to their world because she wants to know about her family and where she comes from.
Overall, I loved this book and it really made me want to go and see the film. I'm planning on ordering the next book soon. There are six in the series but there is also a prequel series containing four books. I found that theses books reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter because of the magic and the 'bad guy', but that's really where the similarities end. If you like books about magic and other worlds then I think you would really enjoy this but if you don't then you might find it a little weird or boring. The plot and characters are really well done but at some points I got a bit confused between characters because some of them have more than one name but it's quite easy to tell who's who if you pay attention. In total I would give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
The main reason I bought this book was because I was told that it was as good as The Fault in Our Stars and just as sad. I loved TFIOS but this book was quite disappointing compared to it.
This book is about Greg, he is in his senior year at school and wants to keep a low profile in order to survive the year but this plans fails, badly. Greg makes films with his friend Earl, they're not great and they don't ever show them to anyone, but they enjoy making them. One day Greg's mum tells him that Rachel, a girl that he knew from Hewbrew school when they were younger, has cancer. Greg's mum insists that he talk to Rachel because no one knows how long she has to live.
The book is mostly about their friendship and how it grows and there is a couple of arguments in there too but I didn't really find it that interesting at all. Greg and Rachel are not in love and the book isn't really that sad. Keep in mind that this is my opinion so you might find it sad but personally, I didn't. In the end, Greg and Earl make Rachel a film which is a nice idea but that's really the only cute part. Some of the book is told in a kind of movie script style and the rest is normal book style which I found slightly confusing. Overall I'd give this book 3/5 stars because I enjoyed the parts where Rachel and Greg were talking but I found the rest a bit boring.
Extraordinary Means By Robin Schneider
I've definitely saved the best until last here! I bought this book because I liked the sound of the blurb and it managed to replace The Sin Eater's Daughter as my new favourite book, which was not easy to do! Extraordinary Means is about Lane, a seventeen year old that is sent to Latham House because he has Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (TB), which can't yet be cured and is very contagious. Latham House is a boarding school for teens with TB and when Lane arrives there he thinks that his life could be over. But he spots a girl in the canteen who is a bit of a troublemaker and he recognises her from summer camp when they where thirteen. After some misunderstandings, arguments, fun and close-shaves, Lane becomes friends with Sadie and her group of friends: Nick, Charlie and Marina. They show him that life at Latham House doesn't have to be boring and together they break rules and have a really good time. Sadie and Lane fall in love and it's adorable but things happen and it ends very badly. Because this book was written this year it's really up to date and talks about things that are relatable to us like Tumblr or fanfiction. I loved how this book was narrated by Lane and Sadie (They do every second chapter each) because you got to hear both of their views and thoughts. I found this book even sadder than The Fault in our Stars and just as heartbreaking. This book deserves 100 stars but that would ruin my system so let's go with 5/5.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my reviews on these books and that it gave you some reading ideas! I'll definitely be ordering more books soon from Amazon. If you have any questions or requests then please comment them. Please follow this blog and stay tuned for next Saturday because I'll be posting my Autumn Favourites!
Gillian x
