Silver Shadows Review

         

   Amazing, I will admit the beginning was slow but then it got better by the middle. The wedding was beautiful, I'm so proud of Sydney in this book and Adrian as well. She's the most wanted, and omg, I loved how Adrian told all the people off when they got to Court.
The ending was good, I figured it would happen because that's what happened I think in the 4th book where she got taken or something
its bittersweet to be finishing the series because I love the characters but I also want to see how they turn out. Silver Shadow was different because Sydney and Adrian are apart for the first half of the book but then they are reunited. Through help from Marcus and their friends, i loved how we finally got to see Carly Sage, Sydney's older sister. I loved her as soon as she was introduced in the book. Her character is so important because not only was she a rape victim, but now she's working on helping girls fight against rape and stand up for themselves as human beings. i am proud of her. Her character was there briefly but she made an impact to me.
so I know that Sydney and Adrian will be on a road trip with rose and Dimitri:) my two favorite ships together, I can't wait to see rose and Dimitri's reactions to Sydney using magic.
also, Jeddie needs to happen, its like vampire academy where rose and Dimitri fought their feelings and got together at the very end.   

All The Bright Places Review

       

i loved it! The story was beautiful. The characters of Violet and Finch were real characters with flaws, doubts. insecurities, and great moments where they understood each other. The themes of mental illness and bipolar disorder was executed in a great way, i didn't feel overwhelmed by the information because it was done in a way where it's not thrown in your face. Finch was an amazing character, i loved his charismatic attitude, his heart, the way he finds joy in the simplest things. Violet was the popular girl who strayed from her status, in the beginning, it did take me a while to get used to her because she was constantly feeling guilty and not doing anything to make an effort. But, towards the end, i liked her and the reasons why she did the things that she did. i had a feeling it would end the way it did based on the summary, but still i held hope. The ending felt right and i don't feel that it could have been prevented at that point, maybe if it was towards the middle that it happened, then maybe that person could have been saved. The quotes were beautiful, Finch's speeches to Violet were my favorite because it showed that he wasn't going to treat her differently while others are cautious around her. i liked that he was the only one who told her like it is and didn't hold back.
Highly recommend it to anyone who wants somethings that deals with tough subject, if you liked Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak, you'll love this.

All The Bright Places Discussion

1. What made you pick up this book in the first place?

S - I picked up this book after walking past it just a week before thinking nah, I'm not going to read this book, to actually seeing it everywhere on BookTube and blogs and then when I saw it again in the shop, said what the heck I'll give it a try.

L-it had gotten a lot of hype on booktube and i saw on blogs and reviews that everyone who read it loved it. i saw that it was available in my library so i thought might as well see for myself.

2. Did you know much about the plot/theme going into the book?

S-No I didn't. I read the blurb back when I saw it released first (I'll post a picture!!) and then forgot about it for a while to come back and see it on all the blogs and booktube channels, but I'll be honest, every time the book came up, I skipped the bit where people explained what the book was about because I really didn't want to know. So, long story short I knew the following going into the book - That the story was about Violet and Finch. Violet had lost her sister and Finch wanted to kill himself. And they meet on a bell tower and then there's a school project about I didn't know what at the time and the ever tragic quote on the front of the book 'The story of a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die'

L- i knew the theme was mental illness and the plot i knew little about the characters. all i could gather was that it was about two kids named finch and violet who were going through something difficult, Finch looking for ways to die and Violet looking for ways to leave her town and move on from her sister's passing.

3.  What did you think of the characters of Finch and Violet from beginning to end?

S- I liked both characters very much. I connected well with both characters and found them to be very realistic and connectable. Violet was a character who I sympathised with at the beginning after hearing about her situation. but I also found her to be quite, I don't really know how to explain it, but I didn't like they way she let her sisters death define her and used it as an excuse to stop writing and stop doing school work and practically stop her life. But as the book progressed and as she started to learn how to live again, I really liked the character of Violet. Finch was someone who was unpredictable. At the beginning he was spontaneous and likeable but as the story progressed it was easy to see that his spontaneous behaviour and character was him trying to erase his identity and him trying to become someone who didn't suffer from depression. I thoroughly loved Finch's character, how he came up with the school project which ultimately did save Violet in the end, even if it did kill him. I loved Theodore Finch to the very end. Simple as.

L - I though Finch and Violet were great characters, they were written well. Finch from the beginning, he was unpredictable, moody, a little weird but at the same time very smart. Towards the middle of the book is where you really got see that there was something wrong with him, he acted unrational,indecisive, would get angry easily. in the end, i felt that he was very complex characters but he was just looking for someone to understand him and not judge him. From the beginning, i understood where Violet was coming from, griefing her sister but i didn't like that she didn't even want to put any effort at all to get back into a car or writing even when she was with Finch, she was mean towards him. She kept letting her sister's death take over her life until the middle of the book where she learns to live through Finch's help he helps her get over her fear of being in a car, writing again.

4.Would the story still have had an impact if Finch and Violet had remained close friends?

S-Really thinking about this, I don't think it would have. I had expected Finch not to die. I don't know why, but when he did commit suicide, I was taken by surprise. I guess I was just living in a fairytale world where everything would turn out alright. But it didn't and because of this it held a bigger impact to the book. Perhaps it would have had an impact if Finch lived and they both remained friends but how the story was told gave it a bigger impact in my opinion.

L- i feel like i'm the only one who feel that it still could of because throughout the book Finch and Violet refer to themselves as best friends even when they get together. Also, it reminds me of bridge to terabitha since jesse and leslie were best friends while Leslie's death had a great impact on him. i think that if Finch and Violet had remained close friends it would have still be an impact on Violet and she would have learned from it.

5.what did you think of the way the story portrayed mental illness?

S-- I found the story to portray mental illness very well. Jennifer Niven captured both the grieving mind and as well as that the way that depression takes hold and how hard it is to get out of. I believed she described depression well in the way Theodore felt and the actions that he took.

L- i thought the story portayed it in a great way because it showa how anyone can suffer from it and there is always someone that a person can go to when they feel a certain way. i loved how the author dealt with the topics of grief, depression, and suicide because it was portrayed in a way that is realistic and it's topics that not many books talk about because it is a tough subject to discuss.

6. What did you think of Finch's family and why do you think nobody noticed anything?

S- I really didn't have an opinion as such on Finch's family. I don't think they did anything wrong. Well not his mother or sisters anyway, his father, yes. But back to his mother and sisters, many people turn an eye, it's the living truth. People look away from bad situation, especially if its someone they love that's getting hurt. I believe that his mother was feeling bad about the divorce and was more selfish than she should have been and simply looked away. Finch to her was probably just going through a bad patch, a phase, something he'd get over. As to why nobody noticed anything is that Finch hid things very well. He may have stayed to himself, teenage boy, and had acted out before, hormones, and his councillor may have suspected something but Finch laughed it off.

L-i'm not sure what i thought about them because i feel that they were only there when something needed to happen to get the plot moving on. i think that it goes with a person not wanting to seek help because they will be looked at a certain way. With the way Finch's family was, i think that they just felt it was normal because no one had ever brought it to their attention that it wasn't.

7.Why do you think the author decided to make Amanda a person with suicidal thoughts and not reveal this until the middle of the book?

S- I think that the author did this to show that even though people can be popular and well liked, that they can still suffer from depression. It isn't just the sad, lonely people.

L- i think that the author decided to make Amanda a person with suicidal thoughts to show that it can happen to anyone,no matter whether it's a person who's popular, unpopular, or different.

8.Do you think Finch's death could have been prevented?

S-Honestly, I don't think it could have been. I could be wrong but that is just my opinion.

L-- i think that if Finch had talked to someone sooner, it may have, but he didn't even want to do that so i don't think so.By the time, he left, nobody did anything not even Violet until he left messages for everyone.9.What rating did you give this book?

S- I gave this book a 5 Star rating.

L-i gave this book 5 stars

10.Who would you recommend this for?

S- I would recommend this book for fans of contemporary and realistic fiction. It is a dark topic which is in this book but still I believe that it will touch many people's hearts.

L-i would recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary that deal with tough subjects, if you like Laurie Halse Anderson's books, you'll love this book.

11. After reading All The Bright Places, would you read another book by Jennifer Niven?

S- I believe I would read another of Jennifer Niven's books if the blurb caught my attention. I'm usually not a person that just buys books because a particular author wrote them and just buy books if they interest me. L -- i would read another by Jennifer Niven if the blurb of the book catches by interest or if it's recommended by a friend.

It was a great book that Sarah and me both loved and we highly recommend it. This was a great discussion about the book. :)

All The Bright Places playlist

 
 Since i finished All The Bright Places, and i loved it, i figured i would share a playlist for the book. This is just songs that i feel fit well for the story. Please feel free to add your own playlists.
 The songs are
Shut up and Dance - Walk the Moon
How To Save a life - The Fray
You Found Me - the Fray
Fall for You Secondhand Serenade
Big girls cry- Sia
Little do you know-Alex and Sierra
Wildest Dreams-Taylor swift
Flowers for a Ghost-Thriving Ivory
Human-Christina Perri 
 Skinny Love- Birdy
Not About Angels-Birdy

Interview with Sarah L Holland

Interview with Sarah L Holland
i've had the pleasure to interview my friend and fellow author Sarah Holland. it was a great experience to get know her and her answers were really great.
Here is our interview
 1.What inspired you to write and what do you get inspired by?
  Inspiration is Imagination. It's simple really, when I'm in a mood to write, I live in the world I'm writing. So technically I get inspired by living in my imagination.
2.What are some of your favorite books this year?
  I've only read a few books this year and have already found some all time favourites in the bunch which include The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows by Ava Lavender, More Than This by Patrick Ness, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson and All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (which is the only 2015 release that I've read this year so far). But, I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones and I'm certain that will join the list of my 2015 favourites this year!!
3.Any new authors that you want to try?
  There are plenty of new to me authors that I want to read books from. These include Julie Kagawa (I own both her The Immortal Rules and Talon and hope to be reading them soon!), Sherry Thomas, Teri Terry, Justin Somper, Maria V. Snyder, Andrew Smith, Megan Shepherd, Laura Ruby and so many more we'd be here for hours!!
4.Will you be checking out the debut novels that are out?
 Of course I will, I have a lot of debut authors of 2015 on my wishlist already and there will probably be many more added throughout the year. Here's a list of debut authors I currently have on my wishlist and their books if anyone would also like to check them out:
> Stephanie Oakes - The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
> Jessica Alcott- Even When You Lie To Me
> Holly Bodger - 5 to 1
> Taran Matharu - The Summoner
> Sabaa Tahir - An Ember In The Ashes
> Liana Liu - The Memory Key
> Melinda Salisbury - The Sin Eater's Daughter
> Victoria Aveyard - Red Queen
5. If you could pick two characters from different books to be a couple, who would they be and why?This is such a hard question, but that's because I find book couple questions hard... I would ship Will Heronadale with Celaena Sardothien, simply because they are both my favourite characters and well, I would love to just see them together to be honest.
6. Finally, any tips on people who want to become writers?
  Don't give up!! And you are good no matter what you think.
Also doing little projects is some time a help with just general writing and for taking breaks. I started off on a writing group - wattpad - and that's where it all began for me, so I suggest joining some little group to help you gain confidence and to just simply get out there!!

Book Review: The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet

          The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet is a companion to the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries which is a modern adaption of the book Pride and Prejudice. This is one of the first books that i read that comes from a webseries and it was very entertaining. i loved the characters of Lizzie, Lydia, Jane, Bing,Darcy, and Fitz. I've watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and it had me addicted to it. It was a great modern adaption of P&P and it made me understand the characters more in terms of their emotions and their reactions. In P&P, it's a little difficult to understand why the characters react a certain way because of the time period that it's set in. In the LBD, it is clear why the characters react the way they do because it is translated well to modern day. i relate to Lydia in being the youngest and sometimes you're not included in certain things that you wish you were or family leaving for a while.
Lizzie, Darcy, Jane, and Bing were amazing, it was really great to get a deeper look into the relationships especially the things that were kept out of the videos. Now, rewatching the series, i get why the characters reacted in a certain way especially Jane when it came to her relationship with Bing. i also watched Lydia's videos and now having watched the series and read the book, i understand her more now and it's really sad to see that she was hurting and her sisters didn't notice it.
Overall, my rating for this book is 5 stars and i can't wait to read the sequel starring Lydia. :)

Stolen: Book Review

This book was great, the premise was different and the two main characters were good. The character of Ty is complex because he did kidnap Gemma and drug her to take her to Australia. Do I forgive him? No, do I sympathize him? Yes.however this does not justify the fact of what he did, I liked that this book addressed this and Gemma was the one who realized this. I do still wish we got to more about Gemma's life from her than from what Ty said her life was in his eyes. It makes me wonder if Ty was telling the truth about her family or if he was lying to get Gemma to trust him. So many questions. I wanted to know what Gemma said in the trial. Overall, the ending felt right and was done in a great way.

my rating overall is 4 stars, :)