• Unboxings

    Book Box Club March ‘Under the Sea’ Unboxing

    Hey everyone, Today I thought I’d bring you an unboxing/review of the Book Box Club box for March. The theme for this month was ‘Under the Sea’ and it promised some excellent goodies. I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. If you’d prefer to see a video version of the unboxing [featuring my weird face] you can do so here. Cool. So now we’ve got that out of the way, I suppose we should get on with the actual unboxing. As always, it came with a gorgeous art card with the spoilers for the box on the back. I love these things, and I tend to decorate my uni room…

  • Book Review

    Blood and Sand Book Review

    Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk Forged in battle… From the dust of the arena… A legend will rise. Rome is building an Empire. Led by the notorious and vicious Flavius family, the country has already invaded Britannia, as well as Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world has ever seen since Sparta. Attia was once destined to rule Thrace as a queen, but the Romans have destroyed her homeland, leaving devastation and death in their wake. Attia herself is enslaved and forgotten, the last remaining Thracian. When she is given to the gladiator Xanthus, Champion of Rome as a prize to show his master’s favour, Attia tells herself she’d rather…

  • Book Review

    Contagion Book Review

    Contagion by Teri Terry Callie is missing. Her brother Kai is trying everything he can to bring her home again, continuing the investigation even after the police have given up. Just when he’s about to admit defeat, he meets Shay, a girl who spoke to Callie on the day she disappeared. After speaking to Shay, he begins to hope again that he might be reunited with his little sister. Shay becomes entangled in the search, but they soon realize that Callie’s disappearance is only the beginning. There’s a terrifying epidemic sweeping across the UK, killing almost everyone it contaminates, and the mystery of Callie going missing seems to be at the…

  • Blog Tours/Events

    Orphan Monster Spy Book Launch Party

    AKA The One Where We Got Lost and Drunk in London My day started ridiculously early. I’m one of those awful people who can’t manage anything more than the basic zombie functions without a cup of coffee, so I had one and felt a touch more human before I left the house to get the coach to London, but I also stopped at Costa for a large latte with an extra shot. This was probably a mistake. Not least because, while my friend was catching some zzz’s on the three and a half hour coach journey, I was quite literally jittering in my seat while blasting Halsey, trying not to…

  • Book Review

    The Song Rising Book Review

    The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon ‘You have risen from the ashes before. The only way to survive is to believe you always will.’ Paige Mahoney did everything in her power to rise as the Underqueen, leader of Scion London’s criminal underworld. In the process, she’s been bloodied and bruised, and she’s crossed a dozen lines– including betraying her own Mime-Lord, Jaxon, who promises revenge for Paige stealing his crown. Now, there are enemies on all sides, and they’re closing in. Jaxon has thrown his lot in with Scion and those who pull the strings of the government, and not even the criminals are entirely pleased with their new Queen.  Worse…

  • Book Review

    Doing It Book Review

    Doing It: Let’s Talk About Sex by Hannah Witton A book for teens which explains everything you might need to know about sex and relationships with no holds barred. In her book, Hannah attempts to separate the facts from the myths, and offer an informative and humorous guide to navigating the world of sex and relationships, tackling everything from porn to LGBTQ issues, to masturbation and break-ups.  I’m sorry I can’t do a better job of selling this book to you all, especially since it is really funny and honest, but there really isn’t much to say if you’re trying to sum this book up. For those of you not in the…

  • Book Review

    Shatter Me Book Review

    Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Juliette can’t touch people. She’s been locked away in an asylum by the Restablishment government for murder. Every time someone brushes against her, Juliette’s power causes severe pain, and if she doesn’t push them away, it can prove fatal. Left to the cruel isolation of the asylum, Juliette hasn’t spoken a word in 264 days. She’s been all but forgotten about. Meanwhile, disease, poverty and global warming are destroying the population outside of Juliette’s cell. But all that is about to change. Now, the Restablishment have remembered Juliette and her abilities. Now they’re considering using her as a weapon. Now Juliette has to decide if she’s a…

  • Book Review

    The Mime Order Book Review

    The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon Paige Mahoney may have escaped the horrifying prison camp of Sheol I, where she was little more than a slave, but she’s missed much in Scion-ruled London. Many of the people she’s saved are now missing or dead, and Paige’s description is on every board across the city, baying for her capture. And it isn’t just Scion which is changing its tactics– the Underking of London’s voyant criminal syndicate has been brutally murdered, opening up a rare opportunity for the mime-queens and mime-lords looking to fill the vacuum of power. They’re assembling with their mollishers to fight for the crown. Jaxon Hall, Paige’s boss, is determined…

  • Book Review

    Invictus Short Book Review

    Invictus by Ryan Graudin From Goodreads: Time flies when you’re plundering history. Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past. But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with…

  • Recommendations

    International Women’s Day- Top 20 Kick-Ass Heroines in YA

    Hey, everyone. As you may or may not know, today is International Women’s Day. To celebrate, I thought I would post up my list of favourite YA heroines, all of whom are incredibly intelligent, strong, independent and awesome. They’re not in any particular order, and they’re a mix of fantasy/sci-fi/historical and contemporary. Please note, there’s going to be a few spoilers ahead, so if you see a book you haven’t read yet and want to, I’d suggest skipping ahead unless you don’t mind the spoilers 😀 Audrey from It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne This is a contemporary book that I instantly fell in love with. It’s a story…