Thursday 26 May 2016

Nina Is Not Ok - Shappi Khorsandi

Title - Nina Is Not OK
Author - Shappi Khorsani
ISBN - 9781785031366
Genre - New Adult > Humour > Serious Topic
Release Date - 28th July 2016 
My Copy - E-ARC
Format - Kindle
Where You Can Find It - Goodreads - Waterstones - Book Depository - Amazon UK - Amazon US
Nina is not an alcoholic, yes she likes a drink but what 17 year old doesn't? after being dumped by her boyfriend for another girl she deserves to go out and fun right?. But fun turns sour when you end up in a cab with your underwear in your hands, and you don't remember a thing. From that night everything is in a downward spiral Nina is drinking more having sex with random 40 year old men, and not to mention the guy she doesn't remember sleeping with went back into the club and is now in a relationship with her friend when the truth comes out she will have to deal with the backlash, and self hatred for something she isn't even sure happened and is 100% sure wasn't her fault.


I requested this book because i love stand up comedy and the author is one of my favourite female comedians and i had such high expectations for this book and it didn't disappoint. This books main theme is all about consent and alcoholism two subjects i personally haven't seen in fiction often enough. The way this book was written didn't make light of the situation even though it is a humorous book, it was as i said a very well written book that dealt with the topic in a  way that i truly commend the author for.

Nina was a very well written character at times cringe worthy, but with everything she was going through you understand what she does and why she does it. Every single other character in this book were all an integral part of the story every one of them brought something to the book even the 40 year old at the beginning to Katie her little sister every single person had an impact and that is an amazing feat to have in a book.

As i said this books main theme is about consent & at first i didn't really get where this was coming from, because there wasn't much in the beginning because we were reading it from Nina's POV and she doesn't remember what happened that night. It wasn't until near the end where you start to understand the extent that experience even if she doesn't remember it has changed her and towards the end it became a huge part of this story and it literally made me cry to read about her going through this and it was heartbreaking to watch her go through it not only with the consent situation but also with battling Alcoholism and Family and friend issues as well. This isn't a story of a 17 year old screw up who tries to get her life back on track like i originally thought going in, its a story about a 17 year old girl who makes some bad choices and ends up in a situation that she blames herself for and ends up drinking more and more until she realises that she is the only one who can make herself better again, but she also learns she has a very good support system and she doesn't have to do it all alone.

This was a heartbreaking, funny book that you can tell was written by a fantastic author and comedian. It was clever, sad & most importantly it didn't shy away from the truth of the situation to many women find themselves in today. It is one of the best book i have read so far this year, and was more than worth the tears and laughter reading it.

Until Next Time
Happy Reading
 


Thats What He Said Thursdays - Grant Carter - 26th May 2016

That's What He Said Thursdays was Created by Chapter Break and it is pretty much just a appreciation post for your favourite Male Protagonist's quotes to his girl.

So for this week i have chosen a character from one of my favourite series and i am slowly making my way through all off them...,

Grant Carter
Rosemary Beach - Abbi Glines




Until Next Time
Happy Reading


Wednesday 25 May 2016

Top 5 Wednesday - Characters You Defend - 25th May 2016

This was again really hard, i don't really like a lot of characters that need defending so i chose some characters some i ave defended and some i will defend if it ever comes up....


5 . Tyrion - A Song of Ice and Fire - George R R Martin

In the TV show he is one of my favourites and he is a lot of people's favourite as well, but in the books he isn't as liked, in the TV show they definitely left out some of his other qualities, but i would still defend him till the end.


4. Nan - Rosemary Beach - Abbi Glines

I mean don't get me wrong Nan has done some messed up crap, but then you would be messed up if you thought you'd been abandoned by one man only to find out he isn't your father and your real father also didn't want you, not to mention her mother. I feel so sorry for Nan because she really just doesn't know how to act she needs the attention she didn't have as a child.


3. Luke Castellan - The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

Again like Nan he had some abandonment issues and just wanted someone to care, not to mention he was being forced to do it. 


2. Bellamy Blake - The 100 - Kass Morgan

Bellamy just wanted to protect his sister and that is something he has done his entire life he isn't a bad person he didn't want to shoot Jaha but it was the only way he could get on the Drop Ship.


1. Henry Tudor - The White Princess - Philippa Gregory

Now this is more defending a character from an author and people who believe said author than from people hating on this character. So in the White Princess Henry is portrayed as a rapist and a ruthless, evil, and also had a mistress. NOT TRUE, Henry never took a mistress, he rapidly declined in health and also in running the country after Elizabeth's death and he was inconsolable when he found out she had died. He brought her a lion and you can see on his expenses that he would give her money so she could buy herself little trinkets and also indulge in cards or chess. And i just really hate the fact that he was portrayed as a rapist that really bugged me.


Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey
Currently being run By  ThoughtsOnTomes
Here is the goodreads page

Here is the full list of participants - Wednesday-Ers

Until Next Time
Happy Reading

Monday 23 May 2016

Ravenspur - Conn Iggluden

Title - Ravenspur
Author - Conn Iggulden
Series - Wars of The Roses #4
ISBN - 9780718181420
Genre - Adult > Historical Fiction
My Copy - Purchased
Format - Hardback
Where You Can Find It - Goodreads - Waterstones - Book Depository - Amazon UK - Amazon US
This novel from bestselling author Conn Iggulden is the fourth book in the critically acclaimed Wars of the Roses series. Following Stormbird, Trinity and Bloodline this novel will continue through the brutal Civil War that we now know as the Wars of the Roses.
*** DISCLAIMER *** 
This is a spoiler free review but some the only thing i will be "spoiling" will be history i have a belief and that is if it is history i will say it and it isn't a spoiler, but i wont spoil the story or any twist and turns
I loved this book, it is on par with my favourite book in this series (Book #3 Bloodline), it was an amazing end to a fantastic series, that is probably my favourite Historical Series of all time. 

Again it had all of the characters POV's and i loved how it started and Finished with Jasper Tudors POV, because it just seemed fitting. This was also a different take on Edward IV & Elizabeth Woodvilles marriage one i personally haven't seen before and i loved the different take on it. Richard III as well hew wasn't evil like in Shakespeare or a hero like in Philippa Gregory's books, he was in between and that is probably the most truthful portrayal. Henry Tudor was also a very good portrayal as well, he was portrayed as a quiet and smart and calculating, again a very true to life portrayal. 

I feel like because it covered 15 years and it was only 453 pages long it did leave quite a bit out, like it had to skip a couple of years here and there but since i know the time line pretty much of by heart this didn't bother me so much. But at the same time, it flowed perfectly.

I liked where the book ended but i would have liked to see Henry VII and Elizabeth of York meeting or getting married, i really want him to do a continuation series on the early Tudors. Iggulden is such an amazing author and this series was a journey from the very first page to the very last.

Until Next Time
Happy Reading



   

Love Lies & Lizzie - Rosie Rushton

Title - Love, Lies & Lizzie
Author - Rosie Rushton
ISBN - 9781853409790
Genre - YA > Retelling
My Copy - Purchased
Format - Paperback
Where You Can Find It - Goodreads - Waterstones - Barnes & Noble - Book Depository - Amazon UK - Amazon US
What would happen if the traumas of teenage life and love from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice were transferred to the twenty-first century?
When Mrs. Bennet inherits enough money to move into the kind of village she has always dreamed of, her daughters find themselves swept up in a glamorous life of partying and country pursuits.
But Lizzie and her sisters soon discover that, beneath the very smart surface, lurks a web of intrigue and rivalries...





I don't know how i feel about this book, i liked it but at the same time i felt a tad strange about it because so much was changed and i was also  comparing it to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and for me there was a lot changed that didn't need to be changed like Mr Darcy's name has changed from Fitzwilliam to James, Charlotte to Emily, Katherine De Burgh to Katrina, Georgiana to Jenna. I honestly think most of these names could have been modernised and not changed completely so that bugged me.

Like i said i did enjoy it, it had a different take Story wise, and the ending i liked but it was just the characters and the way some of them acted so different from their original characters and it was too different for me. I have a feeling some people will love this book and some like me wont really know what to make of it and that is why i gave it 3 stars. 

Until Next Time
Happy Reading

 

Thursday 19 May 2016

Thats What He Said Thursday's - Ross Poldark - 19th May 2016


That's What He Said Thursdays was Created by Chapter Break and it is pretty much just a appreciation post for your favourite Male Protagonist's quotes to his girl.

 I have Chosen this guy because i love in in TV and Book form both are amazing and also the TV show is one of the closest adaptations i have ever had the pleasure of experiencing...

Ross Poldark
Poldark Saga - Winston Graham





Until Next Time
Happy Reading


Wednesday 18 May 2016

Top 5 Wednesday - Summer Reads - 18th May 2016


So i had a lot to choose from but i still ended up choosing two books from the same author, so lets get started ....

5 . Amy & Rogers Epic Detour - Morgan Matson

This was the first book i read in 2014 and that was in January but it really made me feel lovely and summery in the cold English winter


4. Girl Online - Zoe Sugg

Its the cover that is summer for me all those bright colours and also the story set in America and also Brighton a lovely sea side town.  


3. Fallen Too Far - Abbi Glines

I think its all the descriptions of the Beach on the Gulf that makes this book a summer read for me, it makes you want to be right there lounging on the beach.


2.The Summer i Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

This is all about a girl who goes away for the summer and its the summer boys really start noticing her. 


1. Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

The Cover, the story, the characters, and the setting all contribute to this book being a summer read it is perfect for summer and i am going to re read it this summer.


Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey
Here is the goodreads page

Here is the full list of participants - Wednesday-Ers

Until Next Time
Happy Reading

Thursday 12 May 2016

That's What He Said Thursday's - Henry VIII - 12th May 2016

That's What He Said Thursdays was Created by Chapter Break and it is pretty much just a appreciation post for your favourite Male Protagonist's quotes to his girl.

I never thought i would have this Man in this list because he is known to be a tyrannous ruler but in the book i read last month he really did love his first wife, until circumstances ......


Henry VIII
The True Queen = Alison Weir


I desire you above all women, i love you,  and i have longed to Wed you for yourself.


Until Next Time
Happy Reading

 

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Top 5 Wednesday - Characters You Are Most Like - 11th May 2016


So this was actually more difficult than i thought it would be but i managed to get 5 so lets get started...

5. Abby Abernathy - Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire

I am like Abby in the sense that she has some major Daddy Issues, and so do I.


4. Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Katniss' love for her sister is one i hold very dear, i have 3 older siblings and we would do anything for each other.


3. Katy Swartz - Lux Series - Jennifer L Armentrout

I mean she is a Book Blogger, what do i have in common with her HMMMMM


2.Harriet Manners - Geek Girl - Holly Smale

Harriet is a huge Geek who loves facts and sugar cookies and i am the same and extremely awkward as well


1. Cath Avery - Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

I am like Cath because i don't like meeting new people and i would do everything she did if i was in that kind of environment, and i am also a huge fan girl and love fanfiction.


Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey
Here is the goodreads page

Here is the full list of participants - Wednesday-Ers

Until Next Time
Happy Reading

Saturday 7 May 2016

The Hollow Crown - Dan Jones

Title - The Hollow Crown / The Wars of The Roses & The Rise of The Tudors
Author - Dan Jones
ISBN - 9780571288023
Genre - Historical > Non Fiction
My Copy - Purchased
Format - Paperback
Where You Can Find It - Goodreads - Waterstones - Barnes & Noble - Book Depository - Amazon UK - Amazon US
 Dan Jones tells the history of one of the most turbulent times in English history the civil was known then as the Cousins War and more commonly known now as The War of The Roses. Jones tells the tale from Henry VI to the Rise of the Tudor dynasty 


Honestly this is the first Historical Fiction i have finished and I'm glad that i read this book, even though it was a Non Fiction it didn't feel that way it was thrilling and exhilarating to read and it was packed full of information. 

When it came to the information it gave, 99% of it was perfect and completely historically correct but i did find one fault and that was mix up of two of the Woodville Brothers John & Edward. this wasn't something that bothered me because i knew the truth when i read it but if someone doesn't know the truth then it is giving them false information. 

But like i said it was a thrilling read and it read like fiction and not non fiction but it was so good that you do realise that it is non fiction because of the amount of information you are getting, it felt like a film in my head as i was reading it.

I gave this 5 stars because of how informative it was and just the way it is written, this is one of the best non fiction books i have ever read and it has made me want to read Jones' other book one i have mentioned before as a book i would probably never finish because of how big it is, but now i really want to read it.


Until Next Time
Happy Reading