Matched by Ally Condie

“Is falling in love with someone's story the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?” 

Cassia lives in a society where everything is determined for you, what you eat, what you wear, where you work and most importantly who you love. At the beginning of the book we meet Cassia who is getting ready to be matched to her life partner. A glitch in system, starts Cassia on a journey of self discovery, she will learn to question everything she thought was right with the society she lives in.

I love the world Condie has created here, the society seems perfect on the surface but once Cassia takes off her 'rose tinted glasses' she see it for what it really is, creepy and sinister. A society that chooses your destiny for you.

Even though the plot was slow, I think that added to the believability of the story line, Cassia has grown up in this world, its what she has been taught to believe, so we go on the journey with her full of indecisiveness  and fear.

I loved the love triangle in this book, again it was believable  which is such an important quality in YA fiction, its often rushed and characters fall in love far too quickly. Cassia loves both Xander and Ky in different ways one is sweet and protective and the other is fierce and strong, Cassia fights with what she knows is right and what her heart is telling her to do. The build up of the chemistry between Cassia and Ky, is slow and steady, they learn to connect over poetry and little by little they learn more about each other.

I think the poetry aspect had to be one of my favourite things from this book, it was so sweet and charming, it was their forbidden fruit.

The ending was incredible. it was heartbreakingly sad and left me aching to find out what was next for Cassia. This book is a definite must for any fans of dystopian novels, don't be put off by its slow pace, its just the start in what I'm sure will be a wonderful series.

Ascend by Amanda Hocking

“Wendy!” Finn shouted pulling me from my moment with Loki. “What are you doing? You’re married. And not to him.” 
“Nothing slips by you does it.” Loki asked.” 

The final book in the Trylle trilogy. After devouring the first two books in this series I was excited to see how Amanda was going to play this out. I have to say I was thoroughly surprised and not at all disappointed, there were plenty of twists and turns that I didn't see coming and I was left guessing until the final pages.

A war on the horizon and a wedding to plan, so much happened in this book and my opinion changed on so many characters. Wendy has changed drastically since the first book, she finally learns what is it to be a Queen, she stands up for what she believes in, she finally takes charge and shows fierce strength and amazing loyalty. With her people arguing amongst themselves and trying to over throw her, Wendy does not back down. A completely different person to the first novel. I also loved how we saw the relationship build between Elora and Wendy, Elora showed that she really does love Wendy and towards the end it did get very emotional. Again the support cast where superb, you really felt for them and I loved that Hocking tied up all the sub plots at the end, you weren't left wondering what happened to anyone.

This book is full of emotion and courage. A wonderful ending to a fantastic series, that has definitely made me want to read more work by Amanda Hocking. 

Torn by Amanda Hocking

“Right then, it didn't matter what his reasons were. All I knew that I was sick of him breaking my heart.” 

The second instalment in the Trylle trilogy, is face paced with lots of twists and turns. After the events of switched Wendy has returned home with Rhys to her brother Matt, but this doesn't last long with her (true) families enemies looking for her, Wendy is soon captured and imprisoned by them. I won't say much more than that because I don't want to spoil the plot.

I really enjoyed this book, there was a lot more world building and character development. We get to learn more about the Trylle history and politics and why everyone is depending on Wendy to be a great queen. Its full of twists and turns and plenty of emotional moments.

Wendy really grew on me in this book instead of seeming so passive and letting everything revolve around Finn she finally stood up for herself and had to make some tough decisions and a lot of sacrifices. We also got to see a lot more of Elora and finally find out why she seems so cold and disant. The characters seemed to come alive more in this book, and we see that there is perhaps a lot more to them then we first thought. Plus there are a few new characters who really steal the show, Duncan Wendy's new tracker, is funny and sweet and makes for some real comical moments and Loki, her new love interest, well he is the mysterious bad boy, with a dark past but a sweet soul. I really fell for him. I like that he is more of a support for Wendy instead of telling her what to do.

Overall this book was sweet and enchanting, it really captures your imagination. You can feel the emotions of the characters and the weight of the decisions they have to make. It's definitely got me reaching for the final instalment.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

“We felt the imprisonment of being a girl, the way it made your mind active and dreamy, and how you ended up knowing which colours went together. We knew that the girls were our twins, that we all existed in space like animals with identical skins, and that they knew everything about us though we couldn't fathom them at all. We knew, finally, that the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love and even death, and that our job was merely to create the noise that seemed to fascinate them.” 

The Virgin Suicides is the dark and mysterious tale of the five Lisbon sisters who through the course of a year all commit suicide. It's definitely a hard subject to get to grips with, suicide and depression especially with teenagers has always seemed like such a taboo subject but the author does it brilliantly, creating a haunting atmosphere that really sucks you in.  There is very little dialogue in the book, its more of a retelling of the girls lives through the eyes of the boys that adored them.

The book showed the effects on suicide not just with the girls and their family but with the boys, who are now men and they still haven't gotten over what happened that year, constantly searching for answers as to why the girls did what they did or what they could have done to change it. However the reason behind the suicides is somewhat irrelevant, its more about their lives in the often moody and oppressive suburbs.  

Its a beautiful yet haunting story that will stay with you long after you put it down. It's hard to actually put into words how this book left me feeling, just that you must read it.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

“Did you think you could treat me like shit at a dance, then sneak into my room in the middle of the night and tell me that I'm a troll with magical powers, and I'd just be like, yeah, that sounds right.”

A book that is instantly engaging, with characters that are witty and easy to like. A new idea is hard to find   in the YA category so I wasn't pleasantly surprised when I found this one involving trolls (or trylle), yes trolls. Such a novel idea that works really well and allows it to stand apart from other books out there. Amanda Hocking has developed a well thought out mythology that lets you understand this new world.

This is a book full of adventure, fantasy and of course romance. It has good pace and the potential for good character development. I've seen mixed reviews on the leading character Wendy but I really liked her, she had a strong personality and didn't let people push her about and Finn, well I liked him but didn't love him, he had that creepy, over-protective vibe going on, which I'm fed up of now. 

Switched was a great introduction to the trylle world, it set up the characters and the mythology of this world. This series definitely has potential and I can't wait to read the next one.

Beautiful Creature by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

“Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures.”

This was one of those books I didn't do much research into before reading it and I'm glad I didn't as I've seen so many mixed reviews that it probably would have put me off reading it.

Beautiful creatures is a dark, gothic romance set in South Carolina. It's full of mystery and intrigue, the idea of casters (witches and warlocks) becoming either light or dark really interested me, especially since Lena's family don't get to choose. What made this book even more interesting was that it was written from the perspective of Ethan, a boy which is highly unusual for a YA book but I felt added something new and fresh to the mix of girly angst. However this book is not without its angst, the will they or wont they overcome all of these obstacles in front of them, very dramatic at times but it does make for entertaining reading.

I loved the civil war aspects of the book and the flash back to both Ethan and Leans ancestors, it seems they really are destined to be together. Surprisingly my favourite characters came from the support cast, I thought Macon and Amma stole the book for me, their fierce protectiveness and sometimes comical attitudes to each other, created a contrast to the very darkness of Ethan and Lena's love.

I thought that the writing was beautiful and it didn't feel like it came from two authors, they created a believable world that is easy to visual with lovely magical quality to it. It's unlike anything I've read before in this genre.

The only downside to it is the length, there is no real pace to the book until the end, which leaves a lot of repetition and stale moments, where nothing is really happening. I think if it would have had slightly more editing, this would have been a fantastic read.

I'd definitely recommend reading this for any fantasy lover and before the film comes out.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” 

This is one of those books you just have to read, set in a dystopian future where fireman create fires to burn books. Its written from the perspective of one of these fireman Guy Montag , who after years of burning books meets a girl who questions life instead of just asking 'how' she asks 'why'. This sets guy on a journey of self discovery and the eventual end of his life as he knows it. 

Bradbury has said that this is not a book on censorship rather a harsh look at the reality of society. A society in which we would much rather communicate via social media then leave the house for any real interactions. As stated in the book it is not the government that bans books rather society themselves stop caring.

I absolutely loved this book, I found it rather dark and haunting especially the vivid scene of the woman burning with her books. This is a society where everyone thinks they are 'happy' but where suicide is a common occurrence that makes no one think twice. 

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime by Mark Haddon

“Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” 

'Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the colour yellow.'

Both a heartbreaking and charming insight into the life of Christopher and young boy with aspergers syndrome. Christopher is investigating the death of his neighbours dog and during the course of this investigation discovers some hidden truths about his own life. 

I don't want to say too much about this book because I don't want to spoil the plot, I loved this book, its such a unique and sad story, beautifully written you really get a in-depth look at what its like to be Christopher and how hard is it when people don't understand you. I love his musing about life and what it would be like to be the only person left on the planet. The one thing that really stood out to me though was how most of us have qualities of Christopher  we all know people who have slightly OCD tendencies or even those that aren't very affectionate. Perhaps the message we should take from this is that we aren't so different after all.

I'll leave you on one final thought from Christopher

“I want my name to mean me.” 

Iron King by Julie Kagawa

“I licked my lips and whispered, "Is this where you say you'll kill me?" 
One corner of his lips curled. "If you like," he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. "Though it's gotten far too interesting for that.” 

At first glance Iron King seems to be your typical fairy book with a Shakespearean esq sub-plot but alas not all is at it seems. It's a mixture of traditional fairy tale, steam punk and a whole lot of action. The story is narrated from Meghans perspective, her voice was refreshing and believable. I found this book such a joy to read, Julie really manages to transport you to the 'nevernever' without overloading you with information. Her descriptive technique was beautiful and the characters were all engaging and funny.

Of course there was a love interest but this wasn't the main plot line which again I thought was such as change to typical YA, you can feel the chemistry building between the Meghan and Ash but it never overwhelms what's going on around them.

Overall I would say this is such a beautiful story, with quirky characters and wicked fey. 

I've been recommending this to everyone, so go and pick up a copy.

War of the Worlds by H.G Wells

"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own."

First published in 1898 the War of the World's was the first novel of its kind to consider an invasion from another planet. Many other's have followed but non that use the imagination and impressive scientific knowledge of Wells. The plot is simple yet extremely tense, the Martians invasion is brutal, cold and calculating.

What starts off as humanity trying to discover what these mysterious objects are soon results in a struggle for survival. Wells brilliantly points out that humans so often see themselves as 'Kings' with no thought to those they see as lower then themselves, well what if the tables were reserved and humans were seen as lesser beings that needed to be terminated?

Its a brilliantly written book, way ahead of its time, completely engrossing and exciting. A must read for any sci-fi fan.