Top Tep Tuesday - Ten Book Series To Read If You Loved The Hunger Games

If you loved The Hunger Games series, here are ten recommendations for other series that you could possibly enjoy.

1. Unwind, Neal Shusterman




2. Divergent, Veronica Roth




3.The Maze Runner, James Dashner




4.Legend, Marie Lu




5. Partials, Dan Wells




6.The Last Survivors, Susan Beth Pfeffer




7. The Dwellers, David Estes



8.The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer

9. The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare

10. Matched, Ally Condie

I hope you have a great TTT and enjoy my list.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at The Broke And The Bookish

Dark Room - Tom Becker

Title: Dark Room
Author: Top Becker
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Publication Date: September 10th 2015
Available Editions: Paperback and for review, EBook.                               






Netgalley Synopsis:

The camera never lies…

Darla and her dad are looking for a fresh start. But when they wind up in affluent Saffron Hills, Darla stands no chance of fitting in with the beautiful, selfie-obsessed teens at her new school.

Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she starts having visions. The gruesome snapshots flashing into Darla’s mind seem to suggest she’s going crazy… until she realizes they’re actually a horrifying glimpse into the future.

With a killer on the loose, can she make sense of what she’s seeing before it’s too late?

Review:

Part of me thought that this book was going to be somewhat of a disappointment, I was sure enough, proven wrong. The book begins with a chapter from a different point of view compared to the rest of the book, yet it is still in the rest of the book (you need to read it for it to make sense.) I really liked how both points of view fitted together even for the short times they were together. I love that for once it had nothing to do with or mentioned a relationship between two teenagers, just friendships. The concept of the story and its development throughout was amazing and thoroughly enjoyable.

Darla is a 16 year old 'redneck' who ends up moving to Saffron Hills with her father Hopper after one of his scams comes back to bite him in the rear. She isn't very confident about her appearance and is very secluded until the teenager who works in the record store, Sasha takes her under her wings and protects her from the picture perfects and stays with her when things get...weird.

For once the point of views didn't confuse me, but they helped me glue together parts of the story that and help expand on the story. I love the development of the story and I wasn't expecting the out come at all. I highly recommend this book to anyone who really likes to try and figure out the outcome before you've gotten to the end. Its worth the read and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience from this book. I give it 5 out of 5 and I really hope there is somewhat of a follow up book.

Thursday Thoughts - Dreaming Big

Every one of us have dreams both big and small. Unfortunately, too many of us keep these dreams to ourselves because we fear what others may say. It's OK to dream and dream big and talk about your dreams so that others are inspired to dream big too. Dreams can do wonders for you, when you believe in your dreams, they take on a life of their own. You start dreaming up things to do to make your inspiration a reality. More dreams, more inspiration, then more dreams and a few more. Then one morning you wake up and the dream has come true.

        So dream, big, small. Just dream.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books on my Fall TBR

Here in the UK, Fall is known as Autumn and begins in September, so by the time you see this TTT it is 22 days into September and as most of us know Autumn and Winter are great times to curl up into small spaces and weird positions and read books. The following books are not only books on my Autumn reading list but also books that I believe are coming to their 'time to be read' stage in life.

They are not listed in any specific order but these are my top ten books on my Autumn/Fall TBR.

Geek Girl: Picture Perfect - Holly Smale

Geek Girl 4: All That Glitters - Holly Smale

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

The Humans - Matt Haig

Everyday - David Levithan

Itch - Simon Mayo

The Spooks Apprentice - Joseph Delaney

Class A - Robert Muchamore's

Maximum Security - Robert Muchamore's

The Medusa Project: The Rescue - Sophie McKenzie

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over on The Broke And The Bookish

My Girlfriend's Pregnant - Chloe Shantz-Hilkes, Willow Dawson

Title: My Girlfriend's Pregnant
Author: Chloe Shantz-Hilkes, Willow Dawson
Publication Date: September 22nd 2015
Publisher: Annick Press Ltd.
Available Editions: (from information I have) EBook for review

Netgalley Synopsis:
For teens faced with an unplanned pregnancy, the news can be devastating. Typically, most attention is focused on the needs of the mother, but teenage fathers also face a future filled with fear, doubt, and guilt. My Girlfriend's Pregnant! provides much-needed information and support for teens suddenly thrust in the role of father.
Based on interviews with teenage dads, social workers, and medical professionals, this book explores:
What it's like to discover that your girlfriend is pregnant What to expect during pregnancy and childbirth The experience of parenthood--both positive and negative How involved the role of a teen dad can be How parenthood can affect young relationships The stress of being a teen dad The impact of abortion and adoption on young fathers.
With an extensive list of further readings and resources to help with issues ranging from child support to bonding with your child, this book illustrates to young dads that they are not alone and that there are positive ways of dealing with the difficult choices that lie ahead.
About the Contributors

Chloe Shantz-Hilkes's first book with Annick Press was Hooked: When Addiction Hits Home (Spring 2013). She lives in Toronto.
Willow Dawson is an award winning graphic novelist and children's book illustrator. She lives in Toronto.

Review:

I must first point out that this book is not only for men who are expecting babies, but also for those who are curious about the experience.
I must also clarify that I read this book not only out of curiosity but so that I could share this around so that anyone who needs information like this, they know where to find it.

The book contains extracts from answers given by male parents after being asked about something specific to do with the birth of their child. I was intrigued with the whole thing and I must stress that this book is really helpful, and can help so many expecting parents. I found this book interesting because I had never been told of pregnancy from a boy/mans' perspective. It was great to see how each different person said how they approached different scenarios in teenage pregnancy.

The book had several links that could be visited but I think it should of contained more statistics and information on how to deal with the situation. As an overall read it was great and gave me a real insight into pregnancy from a male/boys perspective.

I know that this is a short review but there wasn't much to write about or say about the book except for that its something worth reading if you find yourself in this situation or just simply curious. I give the book a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Thursday Thoughts - Comfort Zone.

Your comfort zone is what I refer to as a point where every action you do keeps your level of anxiety, low. Your comfort zone is usually in things you do all the time, like cooking or commuting to work, or watching TV. Everyday actions or tasks that you’re used to won’t make you feel anxious and uneasy. These are a part of your comfort zone.

People often refer to ‘getting outside your comfort zone’ they say it in terms of trying new things, something you wouldn't usually do on a daily basis can be counted as being outside that zone. If getting to work or school makes you anxious because the traffic is bad or you don’t like being on a train full of people, for instance, you’re not going to be comfortable in that situation therefore being outside of your comfort zone if you successfully manages to travel that train or make it to work using a form of transport that you are using as an alternative due to a change in something like a road closure for a day so you take the train etc.

Although anxiety isn’t something we or anyone loves, a little bit of anxiety can be beneficial. We often need just a hint of anxiety to push us to get our work done, or to improve our performance.

I'm often told to 'get out of my comfort zone' but I'm never ready to, I often get full blown attacks as I try to take a leap out of my comfort zone, so for others out there who like me who are really bad at leaving their comfort zones here are four steps I've found that could help:

Do everyday things differently. Take a different route to work, (smile at that new person you've been seeing a lot of but never spoken to.)

Take your time making decisions.

Trust yourself and make snap decisions. ...

Do it in small steps.

Top Ten Tuesday - Favourite Book Bloggers.

Okay so this week was a left blank and we were allowed to make our own Top Ten Tuesday Topic (good luck saying that 3 times fast) For this topic I chose to list my top ten Book bloggers and other bloggers too. Each blog title is also a link to the blog so all you have to do is click or press the title and you should be taken to the relevant blog. Although this is a top ten Tuesday I could only think of 5 because I found it hard to pick 5 other bloggers without repeating myself over and over.

The Broke And The Bookish:

Well I love them for so many reasons, they're just an amazing blog to start with, it love how it functions as there is more than one person on the account and they're the creators of this very meme which is amazing. I love how they allow their readers/viewers interact with them through the weekly memes and adding their links etc. 'Its great that they have a wide range of genres that they review, and they're very thorough with their reviews

The Page Starts Here:

This blog has literally been my sister blog in some ways. Its creator, Chloe helped me set up this very blog and not only is she thorough with her reviews and regular with her updates, she's never overly serious, she has a great sense of humour and conveys it in the relevant posts and I love her in general.

Team Cinema:

Team cinema is a blog for movie news and reviews. I love the idea of this blog and I receive email notifications every time a post is up. The updates are detailed and always worth a read if you're into movies and want to stay up to date. I'm digging this blog so much I really hope more people pick up on the blog soon.

The Mile Long Bookshelf:

The mile long bookshelf  features reviews, discussions, giveaways and other bookish things, as well as blogging tips and personal posts.  The updates are regular and the readers/viewers are often encouraged to interact and even though the posts vary in their topic I love that its not just strictly all books and that the viewers get a more personal pass into the blog runners life.

Caffeinated Book Reviewer:

Much like the rest of the bloggers I've listed, the updates are detailed and always worth a read. I love how the posts are either Sunday posts or reviews and that the reviews are of books from a range of genres.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over on The Broke And The Bookish. Have a happy TTT everyone.

A Devil Under The Skin - Anya Lipska

Title: A Devil Under The Skin
Author: Anya Lipska
Publication Date: Jun 18, 2015
Publisher: The Friday Project
Available Editions:(based up on information I have) EBook for review


Netgalley Synopsis:

The third Kiszka and Kershaw crime thriller.Things are looking up for Janusz Kiszka, big-hearted 'fixer' to London's Poles. His girlfriend/the love of his life, Kasia, is finally leaving her no-good husband to make a new life with him, and he’s on the brink of a deal to ensure their financial security for years to come.
Then Kasia vanishes – and the big Pole’s world is torn apart. Convinced she’s been abducted, he must swallow his pride and seek the help of an old contact – maverick cop Natalie Kershaw, who’s been suspended following a fatal shooting. But the search swiftly takes an even darker turn… What connects Kasia’s disappearance and a string of brutal East End murders? And who is the mysterious and murderous enforcer stalking the streets of London?
Meanwhile, time is running out for Kasia. To reach her, Kiszka must confront a gut-wrenching dilemma that will shape the rest of his life.

Review:
 I have to be honest, its the reason I was allowed to read this book. It had been sitting on my Netgalley shelf for a while as I fitted it into my schedule and got sorted out, however I was unable to finish the book. Unfortunately this review is a lot short than my other ones because this book just didn't hook me as much as I wanted it to.

I was loving the first few pages, it really had me looking forward tot eh rest of the book but suddenly the setting changed, and names I didn't know were thrown in and they were the main characters of this book I believe. Maybe this was all down to it being the 3rd book of the series as I hadn't read the others but non the less. After the pages had past where I was hooked I forced myself through about another chapter before I had to give in, I never like to abandon a book that seemed so promising but because I had no idea who these people were, and they were also speaking a different language that put up a small language barrier that simple confused me and put me off a little. I could in no way enjoy the book if I had to force myself through it and it soon became unbearable to push myself through so unfortunately I had to put the book down for good.

Even though the first few pages seemed promising I was let down but I give the book a 1 out of 5, I have to suggest this book to anyone who's read the other three or simply wants a new crime fiction series to read. I must admit the downfall with me and this book is mostly down to the fact I hadn't read the other books first and from reviews I have seen from others, this book and its series is wonderful so please check it out and don't go by my word.

Thursday Thoughts - Paperback vs Electronic

I love books, in both formats but something about the physical paperback or hardback book just seems more appealing.

The Smell that you sense when you open it for the first time or as you flick the pages just brings joy, lets not forget the way it feels in my hands just the love and delicacy I treat my books with, where I don't dog ear the pages, break its spine, or mess it up in any other way. I love to feel the pages, crisp and real. I'm not sure why these things make me love Physical books but they do.

But

When your hands are tired, you have hand cramp, you're low on funds to re frill your bookcase I have to sad Electronic books are a life saver. They also come in handy when you are given the right to read for review. They have the downside of battery life on the device and if you get a headache or whatever but either format helps me journey through a lot of different lives and also helps expand my knowledge of being able to create my own world through my writing.


This post is not a post to say one is better than another, I just wanted to simply talk about the difference of both and my own personal views, if you guys want to talk about this topic in the comments feel free, let me know what you think about the two formats of books.

Top Ten Tuesday - Finished But Not Read Series

As much as I'm in love with a lot of book series' there are some I just haven't gotten my hands on yet, hopefully ill get to read them at one point though. Even though the subject series I was yet to finished I changed it up a little. I do love myself a book series but I have to admit I couldn't think of many trilogies that I hadn't read or hadn't fully read.


 

Twilight:

Even though my sister did have the books at one point, I think she got rid of them before I had a chance to read them. I think now that I've seen the films that I wont enjoy the books as much as I would of if I had read the books first.

Percy Jackson:

 

Much like the Twilight series I watched The Lightning Thief and The Sea Of Monsters and hadn't read the books before hand so I think if I buy them some time soon then I'll manage to get into them.

The Mortal Instruments:

Maybe I'll get attacked for this but I just never seemed drawn to them to start with, they just seemed to be overrated and a lot of people were raving about them and it just kind of put me off reading them but now that there isn't much of a rave going on I'm really up for reading them.

The Lord Of The Rings:

Although I love the series as films I never had the money to  buy the books and I don't believe they're even in a library. Id love to read them, I thoroughly enjoyed having The Hobbit read to me so id love to read The Lord Of The Rings myself. 

The City Trilogy:

I have read Hells Horizon but I only knew after reading it that it was part of a trilogy and I do aim to read the other two sometime in the future.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over on The Broke And The Bookish. Have a great TTT everyone.

After Dark - James Leck

Title: After Dark
Author: James Leck
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: Aug 1, 2015
Available Editions: Hardback, for review EBook.



Netgalley Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old slacker Charlie Harker is stuck in the sleepy town of Rolling Hills for the summer, helping his mom renovate his great-grandfather's creaky old inn. It's not entirely dull, thanks to Charlie's new neighbour Miles Van Helsing, who insists there's paranormal activity happening in Rolling Hills. Charlie chalks it up to Miles being the town nutcase. But many townspeople are falling prey to a mysterious illness, and wisecracking Charlie quickly gets wise?: there's something sinister going on in Rolling Hills.

Review:

In all honesty I didn't expect much from this book, I thought it would lose me and follow a ridiculous route but, I was wrong. Thankfully I had the right to read this book before its publication date, I did read it before its publication date but I've only just gotten to its scheduled slot. In return I had to write a 100% truthful review.

I have to admit that once I was past the ordinary part of Charlies life at the beginning of the book and we finally got into the weird and wonderful of the main story I got really into it and enjoyed it. I loved how we knew Charlie before he went to Rolling Hills even if it was a brief chapter, it added a little more to his character. I also loved the pace of the book, how the sinister thing happening doesn't happen slowly at first and then all at once. Finally, to keep this section short, I loved the characters as a whole, they were all different but they always seemed to be perfect for each other despite all of their differences.

Bringing characters into it I'll only talk about 5 of the characters, Starting with Charlie, he's the 15 year old main character, he's very sarcastic and he is often looked over and taken for granted throughout the book. He's wise and I wouldn't mind having him as a friend. Miles is what I would call the local nut job, but once you get to know him he's actually not so much as a nut job as you first think. He seems really smart and loves to investigate which gets him in trouble all of the time. He is sometime reckless with his actions which also gets him in trouble. Lilith is Charlie's sister, she loves to do everything Charlie doesn't like wear pyjamas that allow her skin to breathe and learn martial arts and eat vegan food. Johnny is Charlie and Lilith's older brother, he's a movie star and a Model and adored by many people for his star as a Vampire hunter. Unlike everyone else he somewhat enjoys and laughs at Charlie's sarcasm which makes me smile. Elizabeth is the daughter of a rich man, she dries a porche and becomes somewhat the only sane friend Charlie has in Rolling Hills. I can picture her being very pretty and elegant and I'm not 100% why I think that.

I had nothing wrong with the book, I actually laughed way more than I thought I would if at all and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit I was so into the book that by the end when I swiped and the page didn't turn I felt my heart drop to my toes. I hope that there are a few more books that lead on from this one as I really did enjoy it.
I award it a 5 and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a laugh or just something a little different to what they normally read.

Thursday Thoughs - Ideal Times To Read /Write

Ideal Times To Read and Write:


Sometimes I find it difficult to find places to read or write so if any of you are like me, below I have listed a few what I call Ideal times to read and/or write.

• Long Journeys to/and from places if you're not the one driving of course. This also includes, bus rides, plane journeys and train rides.
• On your lunch break
• In or on you're cosy bed making sure to not get pins or needles for sitting in any of the several positions you'll read/write in.
• When you need to calm down or cheer up, a good character or story can always have an effect on you.
• Some people read on the toilet, some write on their phones on there too.
• I found it ideal to read or write (which ever seemed more prominent at the time) during an awkward situation or an uncomfortable situation.
• When you can't sleep even though you've been trying for 2 hours. (I've done this a lot)
• In your spare time where you've got nothing else to do. But don't force yourself to write if it's not happening.
• When there's a power cut. I recently experienced a power cut and it actually helped me write a part of a story I have been writing.

I read pretty much anywhere most days, I write mostly at nights because somehow that's when I'm most creative or in a mood to expand on ideas. I hope you can relate to these times where to read or write. If you have any other ideal times, comment below and let me know.

Top Ten Tuesday - Characters I Didnt Click With

This is actually hard for me because I do tend to like most of the characters in books I read.

For a start I never clicked with and of these characters. Troy, Femi, Lee, Karen and Blaze, all of these characters are in Concentr8 by William Sutcliffe. Straight away that is 5 characters straight up, but to be kind I shall count them all as one. None of the characters connected with me and I just didn't see any possibility of a connection ever happening.

Madeline's mom from Everything Everything, just every part of me just didn't agree with her, she was too smothering of a mother and her character just made me mad for some indescribable reason.

Morgan from Confessions Of A Queen B* , it wasn't that I hated her character it was just that she was always pressuring Alexis and she never really made a connection with me from the start. I cared very little for her unfortunately.

Unfortunately due to my way of always clicking with characters I can only think of these three ( seven) characters that I just didn't click with. This ladies and gentlemen is why I'm bad at these lists.


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at The Broke And The Bookish