Legendary Review

10th March 201920th August 2019 IndiaReadsALot6 Comments

Author: Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval Trilogy #2
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
No. of pages: 423
Date read: 18.02.19 – 07.03.19
Rating: 3 stars
Challenge: 2019 sequels

Wow! Another great instalment. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it as much as Caraval but I think it held it’s own.

THOUGHTS

I loved how colourful and descriptive Garber’s writing is. You get tossed into this magical, vibrant world that oozes mystery and this is purely down to her writing. Her writing isn’t amazing overall, there are some lines and bits of dialogue that made me cringe as they were just so cheesy and felt out of place. But her descriptive writing of clothing, places and atmosphere was really good, she is very good at world-building. I do think Garber’s writing has come on a lot since her debut novel, Caraval, I found that I enjoyed her writing a lot more this time around.

I liked how we saw an expansion of the history of the Meridian Empire. But one major factor in the story I feel should have been mentioned in the first book. I can’t say what it is as it’s a massive spoiler but it initially threw me off when it was introduced as it felt like it was an after-thought added in later to make the series seem more epic. But once I got over that it was really enjoyable to have that dynamic and higher stakes added in.

The romance in this book initially started a bit forced. I didn’t care for it at first, I felt since Scarlett was with Julian at the end of the book Donatella must also have a love interest but it actually grew on me. The romance ended up being so enjoyable to read I looked forward to seeing more of it as the book continued. This is not normally the case for me.

One negative I would say is I don’t think the plot and the progression of the novel was structured as well as Caraval was, sadly. A lot was going on, especially with the higher stake plot element added in and it did feel a bit all over the place and I found myself at the beginning of the novel a bit confused.

The ending was incredibly satisfying! I wasn’t sure on how Garber was going to end this story but I loved it, I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I was reading it. I cannot wait to read the next book which comes out very soon!

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven Review

24th February 201927th February 2019 IndiaReadsALot3 Comments

Author: Mitch Albom
Series: The Five People You Meet in Heaven Duology #2
Genre: Fiction
No. of pages: 213
Date read: 16.02.19 – 18.02.19
Rating: 4 stars

I read the previous book on holiday in Greece. It was a spur of the moment purchase and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I ended up loving it and that book has been one of my favourite books of all time. I was quite nervous going into this one as I was worried it wouldn’t match up to the first one. I was very stupid to have worried so much!! This book was soooo good. Just as good as the first one.

Plot: The accident that killed Eddie (the main protagonist on the first book) left a mark on Annie. It took her left hand, which needed to be surgically reattached. Injured, scarred, and unable to remember why, Annie’s life is forever changed by a guilt-ravaged mother who whisks her away from the world she knew. Bullied by her peers and haunted by something she cannot recall, Annie struggles to find acceptance as she grows. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness. The book starts with Annie marrying Paulo. But when her wedding night day ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey—and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of the five people who will show her how her life mattered in ways she could not have fathomed.

I don’t normally read these highly inspriational books. I don’t want to they don’t appeal to me. I don’t like to self-reflect but with the meaningful messages that were introduced into this novel you can’t help but look back and view your life differently. Albom is not screaming down your throat “APPRECIATE LIFE MORE” he is just trying to help turn negative expereinces into positive ones and trying to give a level of reassurane and comfort to those who are sturggling with deep personal issues. The novel is very light and easy to read so I think this helps in Albom’s case.

I loved the character of Annie. You go on this journey with her through self-acceptance, forgiveness and heartbreak. You can;t help but fall in love or at least really like her. You can understand the grudges she holds, the anxiety she tries to deal with. I personally really connected with her.

The ending, I did not expect at all. You feel with books like this that you know where it’s going and I found it really refreshing when Albom subverted my expectations with what was going to happen next. I tried so hard not to cry on the bus!

This is the kind of book that I think everyone needs to read at least once. It’s very impactful and moving and I think everyone could learn something from it. Pick it up!!

The next book I will be reviewing is Legendary by Stephanie Garber. This book is part of my 2019 sequels challenge as it read Caraval last year and also it is part on the ONTD Reading Challenge for the month of February which is read a book that contains romance or two characters experiencing a break up.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow Review

3rd February 20192nd February 2019 IndiaReadsALot3 Comments

Author: Jessica Townsend
Series: Nevermoor #1
Genre: Fantasy and Middle Grade
No. of page: 384
Date Read: 25.01.19 – 31.01.19
Rating: 5 stars (Favourite)

Words cannot express how amazing and magical this book was! Part of me wishes I didn’t devour this book as quickly as I did and just read it slowly, taking in every single detail. But if I love a book I end up reading them so quickly! I will definitely be re-reading this in the future.

Plot:Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks–and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart–an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests–or she’ll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

I genuinely have no bad things to say about this book so it will be purely positive things. I feel I might have peaked early this year.

The imagination in this book was amazing, it surprises me, with every book I read, in the vast creativity of authors where they can come up with such fun and imaginative ideas. This book is no exception! This book exuded magic and imagination, I felt like magic was spilling out of the pages! While I don’t like to compare books to other books, I definitely felt the same kind of magical feeling that I got when I read Harry Potter for the first time. I love the Hotel Deucalion with its varying rooms. I loved especially how the hotel changes the resident’s room to match their personality. It was fun to see Morrigan’s room develop as the story went on. I loved the brolly rail I thought that was super fun and I was impressed in the variety of trials! My favourite would have to be the Book Trial!

This was overall just a really fun book. I enjoyed reading it so much and it was so funny. The dialogue in this book was well balanced in being incredibly funny but not in a cringey way and I found myself laughing out loud at times.

The plot was really incredible. Whether it was just a chapter at the Deucalion or a chapter which involved an important trial each chapter introduces something new, whether it’s an unknown fact about a character or an insight further into the book’s on-going mystery. The mystery especially was one of the biggest highlights, Townsend was really good at keeping you intrigued right until the end, never really solving things but also maintaining the excitement throughout. You can’t possibly put the book down as you need more of this world, these characters, this story!

All the characters were exceptional. They worked really well as an ensemble cast and were all really likeable. They were also all incredibly different which made for a better reading experience. Morrigan was also a solid main character and I enjoyed viewing Nevermoor from her eyes. I found her POV to be fun to read about. My favourite character though would probably have to be Hawthorne Swift, he was such a ray of sunshine, hilarious and so much fun to read about.

The next book I will be reading is my first sci-fi novel of 2019. I will be reading Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, the third and final book in the Illuminae Files Trilogy.

My 2018 Wrap Up

30th December 201830th December 2018 IndiaReadsALot1 Comment

So this is it! The end of another year. 2018, as I have said before, has been my best reading year to date! I read 32 books this year and I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store. I try not to plan things to extensively but check out my “Plan for 2019” blogpost which I posted about a week ago to have an idea of how I am going to attack 2019 head one!

I won’t try to overload you with loads of information but I took the stats from my Goodreads Wrap Up and have applied it here. These stats have been compiled by Goodreads.

Basic Stats

I read 11,486 pages over 32 books this year.
My average book length was 358 pages.
My average rating for 2018 was 4 stars exactly!

The shortest book I read in 2018 – 156 pages

The longest book I read in 2018 – 659 pages

My most popular book.

This book was read by 5,611,021 people on Goodreads.

My least popular book.

This book was read by only 297 other people on Goodreads.

The highest rated book on Goodreads that I read in 2018

This book was been rated on Goodreads an average of 4.55 stars.

Rating Breakdown

Now we are going to break it down into what books I gave a certain number of stars to. Since I started this blog at the end of the year, it will also help you see what books I have been reading. One good thing this year is I gave no books 1 star.

Books that I gave 2 stars – 2

The Princess Saves Herself in This One – Amanda Lovelace
The Magician’s Nephew – C.S. Lewis

Books that I gave 3 stars – 8

Murder on Christmas Eve – Edited by Cecily Gayford, written by Various Authors
One of Us is Lying – Karen McManus
The Sacrafice Box – Martin Stewart
Fight Club – Chuck Palahiniuck
The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
Everless – Sara Holland
The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
The Mermaid – Christina Henry

Books that I gave 4 stars – 9

It Devours! – Jeffrey Cranor and Joeseph Fink
Mythos – Stephen Fry
Battle Royale – Koushun Takami
The Riviera Express – T.P. Fielden
Uprooted – Naomi Novik
The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One – Amanda Lovelace
The Bear in the Nightingale – Katherine Arden
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman

Books that I gave 5 stars – 13

Red Queen – Christina Henry
Lost Boy – Christina Henry
Caraval – Stephanie Garber
Senlin Ascends – Josiah Bancroft
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K Rowling
Gemina – Amie Kaufman
Scythe – Neal Shusterman
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi
Circe – Madeline Miller
The Murder on the Links – Agatha Christie
The Hobbit – J.R.R Tolkien

I added 11 of these books into my all-time favourites list proving how successful my 2018 has been.

Genre Breakdown

Lastly, for my 2018 wrap up I will break down the different genres I read this year and how many books of that genre I read. There will be overlapping as some books fit within multiple genres.