Review of The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. The only remaining humans, or Hepers as they are known, are housed in domes on the savannah and studied at the nearby Heper Institute. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors whose suspicions about his true nature are growing.

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Ah, The Hunt. A book described best by Xpresso Reads as, 'Where's the World Building?!' And mentioned by other users as having wrist scratching, daily shaving and armpit sex. Yes, armpit sex. It couldn't be clearer that the author was trying a little too hard to make the Vampires different from humans. The Hunt also throws up far too many questions - why do they scratch their wrists when they find something funny? Why doesn't Gene just find a why to become one of them? How did the Vampires take over the world in the first place? 

A lack of world building, stupid characters, stupider scenes, you've probably picked up by now that I hated this book. Except, wait, I didn't! I absolutely loved it. Sure, it was sillier than Matt Smith's fez and madder than a box of rage infested zombies but it was so bad, it was good. There is actually a fairly decent plot here, if you er, overlook a lot of things. The other Vampires in the running for the Hunt add a lot of tension and for weird reason, I actually quite liked Gene, although not as much as Sissy and Ashley June, who were much stronger characters.

I have to hand it to Gene, spending his whole life not sweating, smiling, coughing, laughing, is... just downright unbelievable which makes me fully believe that the next plot twist in the sequel will be that he's actually a robot, programmed by some renegade humans to scout out the Vampire town. Sounds cheesy enough for this book, eh? He's pretty stupid, when he first met the 'Hepers' he genuinely thought they would be brainless and rather like cattle, an assumption that makes no sense considering he's one of them.

The last quarter of the book was a lot of fun and the events that happened certainly make me want to read the next book. I was thinking about this story long after I finished it and I may have even dreamed about it too. I have to give it 4 stars because that's the only rating that fits, I certainly didn't hate it and it didn't bore me but there could have been some improvements to the story.

4/5

Review of Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

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A fairly quick read, Once A Witch is a fairly average story of a girl who was born into a magical family but has no magical powers of her own. Then of course, a mysterious stranger arrives in the middle of the night, asks her to find this big ass clock and BAM! she uncovers family secrets galore. Well, not that quickly but the story was only 300 pages long and I whizzed through it pretty fast.

The problem I had with this was that I simply did not care. I got to 200 pages and thought to myself, 'If all the characters died right now, would a give a rats ass?' Nope, I wouldn't at all. I genuinely wanted one of the characters to die half way through the book, just to make it a bit more interesting. I think the problem is Tamsin herself. She's got the whole 13 year old angst going on and constantly whines about how much she doesn't fit in her family. Except wait - she's 17 and has moved out ages ago. Get over it already! The interesting element in this is that she's a smoker. I have no idea why this is.

And then there's Gabriel. He has next to no personality except to pine incessantly for Tamsin's attention. He's supposed to be her childhood friend and apart from the brief anger when she crashes into him (literally) he follows her around, making random comments to try and get her attention to the fact that he totally wants to get in her knickers. Rowena isn't much better. Her power is persuasion of the words variety - she can get anyone to do what she wants and as a result, she's pretty stuck up her own... anyway.

And then the family secret went a little Twilight (I'm not sure if this was written before or after Twilight). I'm not a fan of comparing books to Twilight but there you have it. I was expecting Tamsin to actually be pleased about finding out the secret but it seemed to give her more reason to bitch at everyone.

2/5

Many Covers Monday - TSPO Love At First Sight

Hey crazy stalkers! Today we're looking at the different covers of The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. I'll get on with it whilst you try and get your mouth around that title. :P

 Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. She’s stuck at JFK, late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s in seat 18C. Hadley’s in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Let's kick this off the usual way, with the US/UK covers. Of course, The US one is on the left and is easily the much cooler of the pair. I find the UK one (which I have never seen in shops) a little bit cosy fiction for my taste, I'd expect to see it sitting next to Cecelia Ahern or someone.

The UK Paperback on the left is pretty cute and reminds me of a scene in the book. France went with a simple couples scene. And both had difficulty finding a small picture to go with the massive amount of text that the title has...

And finally, Germany went with a slightly difficult to see plane scene and the Norwegians just went crazy. That's some creepy eyeballs right there.


So there you have it, from cute to creepy in six covers. Which ones did you like? Which did you hate? Got any suggestions for new MCM's? Let me know in the comments!

Next Week: Venetian Style Masks!

Review of Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley

Billy is a street urchin, a pickpocket, and a petty thief. Mister Creecher is a giant of a man whose appearance terrifies everyone he meets. Their relationship begins as a matter of convenience. But before long, a bond develops between these two misfits as they embark on a bloody journey that will take them from London northward on the trail of their target . . . Doctor Victor Frankenstein. It seems the good doctor had promised Mister Creecher a bride, and Mister Creecher will stop at nothing to get what he's been promised. Nothing. 

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I have recently developed a taste for Frankenstein novels, despite not having read Frankenstein itself (yet). Last week I read This Dark Endeavor, a book which I found rather disappointing and this week, Mister Creecher, a book which a much stronger storyline and characters and I loved it! 

Chris Priestley certainly knows how to paint a gritty, realistic picture of London. By the time I had finished the book I wanted to scrub myself. Mister Creecher and Billy were two characters that I really connected with, I was engrossed in their story and wanted to follow it right to the end and that's where the problems start. We all know just who Frankenstein's creation is and what he does but when I found out about Billy it wasn't the happy surprise of other reviewers. It was shock and disgust. I loved Billy's character and when I learnt that he was one of the most despicable literary characters out there, I was pretty upset. I still am! *walks over to the corner and sulks*

Going to back to the story, we don't spend all of our time in London, we go off to visit the beautiful countryside too, after bumping into an author or two. There's a mash up of a few different literary things here! Chris paints a picture of the country just as effortlessly descriptive as he did with London and despite the stifling heat in Leeds at the moment, I could swear I could smell the fresh air. 

We really get to know Mister Creecher in this book and like I mentioned, I did get pretty attached to him. He gets a lot of crap for being something he simply cannot help and is much less of a monster than his creator, Victor Frankenstein. I was hoping for more from Henry, who has a couple of small scenes and nothing more. It would have been interesting to see what will happen next, but that's in the original story, Frankenstein!
 

4/5

Review of Shift by Kim Curran

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he's not so average after all. He's a 'Shifter'. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he's ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

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The start of Shift, the prologue, was pretty gripping, I sneaked a look when my ARC arrived and immediately regretted it - I wanted to devour the whole book there and then! When I did get to the book I wasn't disappointed - the story is thrilling, filled with twists and turns I would never have thought of.

The plot itself reminded me strongly of Thomas Taylor's Haunters, which I read recently. Male POV, gets strange powers that can change history, and those powers disappear when you reach a certain age. And the whole secret Government thing. However, Scott did come across as quite naive during the majority of the book which was a little frustrating at times but he did grow up a lot towards the end which made up for it.

There were a lot of fun elements in this. Exploding heads, a fat hungry guy, shifting itself, pole jumping, things blowing up, all good gory fun! I actually missed two chapters and had to go back and read them, something that hasn't happened before. unfortunately these chapters were two of the most vital in the book. Well, at least that explained why I kept feeling like I missed something!

Surprisingly, I would tag this as Dystopian. It's set in modern day but there are definitely strong dystopian elements in there that I was really not expecting. The ending did seem a little... silly but in a good way and I thoroughly enjoyed it.I'm hoping for a sequel, so that Scott and Aubrey's relationship might develop more and we could see more from the rebel guys which I'm sure have a name but I can't remember it damnit.  

5/5

Review of Torn by Cat Clarke

Four girls. One dead body. A whole lot of guilt.

Alice King isn’t expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she’s not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares…

Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there’s Tara – queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down.

Cass decides it’s time to teach Tara a lesson she’ll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever...

A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love.

( Goodreads )

A book about four girls who actually kill someone? Can I get a 'HELLS YEAH!'? Seriously guys, I'm so tired of reading stories where it's hinted that the girl killed someone and then they like, didn't. So I was pretty happy to learn that they did actually murder their sort-of friend and the story focuses on the consequences of that moment.

The first half of the book was damned interesting. We go to afterwards at the funeral and view Alice's day to day life, coping with what had happened whilst lying to her friends. Which was great but I was starting to wonder what had actually happened. And then Tara's brother Jack asks Alice to meet him and she tell us exactly what happened, finally. Jack however, she gives a heavily edited version as she wants to get in his pants. Tara's words, not mine! 

Did I mention that aside from the romantic sub-plot, Alice also sees Tara's ghost? Yep she does. And this is the start of the lack of good things I can say about this story. Finding out what had happened was gripping but I found the Tara's ghost story completely unnecessary. All it served was to distract me from the contemporary feel of the book and make the book feel completely unbelievable. Personally, if I was the Editor, I would have pulled that as it served absolutely no purpose at all.

And then the ending. As a reader, same as most readers, I like to feel rewarded for my reading with a good ending. If and ending is bad, I have wasted my time. And at (surprisingly) nearly 400 pages long, I was fully expecting a damned good ending where Alice confesses and we find out what happens afterwards, how it affects the other characters lives.
I was given a non-ending. There were things that happened that I was expecting and wanted to happen, but not enough. It was like she realised the book was 360 odd pages long and just threw a quick ending in there. I was so disappointed I wanted to throw the book across the room. So I'm knocking two stars off, for wasted time. *sulks*

3/5

Review of Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

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I was really excited to get a copy of this in the mail as I wasn't expecting it and I've heard many GOOD THINGS about it. I've been curious about the Roanoke Island mystery for a while now, so I was really curious to see where Gwenda would take it - and she certainly took it places I never would have imagined! The story starts off pretty quickly, getting us straight into the action with the missing people. It slows down after this, giving us a chance to meet Miranda and Phillips, who I hadn't realised had a voice in this when I read the blurb. We also have a chance to piece together clues and poof Phillips in the face with a museum piece of a gun.

The romance is not insta-love, in my humble opinion. You can see that Phillips and Miranda are attracted to each other - but you learn of their history and you can see that they always have held a candle for each other. Not literally - that would be weird. They have their moments when they miiiight be about to kiss and then they get interrupted or have to go save the island or something. They are a really cute couple though and I loved Phillips. 

It does get a tad too slow in places and although I appreciated the world building and the history and the meeting the characters and the getting to know the characters I wanted SOME ACTION. Flying cats and sheep, you know? Probably not so much with the sheep. The ending made it worth it as it was a lot of fun and had evil villains and cops and lots and lots of people and at times I wasn't quite sure what was going on but worked it out eventually. There was a really cliched 'I'm the evil villain that you guessed five chapters ago!' scene, unfortunately. Twice. But it was all good fun and I really looked forward to meeting - ooh spoilers! You'll have to go find out who the big bad is for yourself, my friends! 

Overall, it was a great read and one I highly recommend for fans of Paranormal Romance and Mystery! I am kinda hoping for a sequel as there was one thing at the end that wasn't cleared up, although I can guess what happened. I'm not sure where a sequel could go, but I'd really like one! 

4/5 

Received free from Strange Chemistry in exchange for an honest review

Many Covers Monday - The Sky Is Everywhere

Welcome to Many Covers Monday! Today we're looking at the many different covers of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I tried reading this book a year or so ago and couldn't get into it unfortunately. It's a shame because the ilustrations and things on the inside of the book look amazing!

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transfer from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding. This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

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As always, we'll start with the US (left) and the UK (right) editions. The UK one, the one I had, has lots of scrunched up notepaper pictures that were written on and stuff, if I remember. Does the US one do the same?

As a first for MCM, I don't actually know where these are from. But an educated guess would say that these are the UK/US paperbacks! I definitely prefer left, I'd pick that up and read it for sure.

The Italian cover (left) doesn't immediately grab me, it's just a cloud thing. The German cover (right) really does though but probably because I'd quite like a big ass windmill like she's got. #Jealous

The Swedish cover (left) made me nearly puke with all the pink. And then I nearly peed myself when I saw the face in the bottom right corner. I was looking at a much bigger image! The Portugese cover is okay but I am a little tired of seeing sky and hearts on these covers. Although I suppose that it's better than giant pink flowers...

Another German cover on the right, and again with the sky and hearts. I quite like the dandelion idea though. The Danish cover is nice and unique too, but I'm not sure about that wing on her back...

What do you think to all these? Which is your favourite? Which do you hate? Let me know in the comments!

Next week: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith!

Review of This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only peaks Victor's curiosity more. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not be satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Elizabeth, Henry, and Victor immediately set out to find assistance in a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help create the formula. Determination and the unthinkable outcome of losing his brother spur Victor on in the quest for the three ingredients that will save Konrad's life. After scaling the highest trees in the Strumwald, diving into the deepest lake caves, and sacrificing one’s own body part, the three fearless friends risk their lives to save another.

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This book started out quite weak and didn't really strengthen as the story went on. By page 16 we'd had Victor fall off a balcony and then Harry, Ron and Hermione discovers a secret room a couple of days later. Oh sorry, I meant Victor, Konrad and Elizabeth. My bad. Oh yeah, there's Henry too. I forgot about him. Apparently so did the blurb. There were a couple of inconsistencies between this and the original Frankenstein, which is a bit weird as this is supposed to be a prequel. My knowledge of Frankenstein does come from Wikipedia like but it mentions that Victor's mother dies when Victor is at a 'young age' but she's alive and well in this. I don't think 16 is a young age but I'm guessing the author is saving that for another book... the other is Konrad himself. Victor Frankenstein never had a twin and if you Google 'Victor Frankenstein twin' you only get results talking about this book. It's not really a prequel if the story doesn't match up with the original.

There were better parts of this story. Hang on while I try and remember what the were. I suppose the adventure was pretty interesting despite having a heavy fantasy feel to the whole story when Frankenstein was science fiction in my opinion. Victor himself is an intriguing character and his personality really did make me decide to download Frankenstein. I don't know if it will ever get reviewed but I'm going to have a good go at reading it. Victor had his bad moments though. Quite a lot of them/ He was obsessive, rude, jealous, slightly insane and above all, very, very spoilt. I wanted to slap him sometimes.

The adventure itself comes in the form of the gang trying to find three items which with help make THE PHILOS- ahem. THE ELIXIR OF LIFE,  because Konrad's dying of a weird blood disease and stuff and Victor's all, 'I WILL SAVE HIM!' and secretly he's thinking, 'I WILL STEAL ALL THIS GLORY FOR MYSELF MWAHAHAHAHA'. Basically. 

The reason I did give this 3 whole stars is because I'm still thinking of the book. I have no idea why. It really wasn't that great. And the sequel sounds even worse, they find a magic portal. It's so sci-fi I'm expecting Spock to show up. Not. But I know I will will probably buy this and read it and point out all the things I hate about it but still think about it anyway and buy the third book if there is one. Again, I have no idea why.

3/5

Review of The Look by Sophia Bennett

When Ted is spotted by a model agency, she can’t believe it. At the same time her gorgeous sister, Ava, is diagnosed with cancer. With her world turned upside down, Ted has a lot of growing up to do, some of it in five-inch platforms. Can she be a supermodel and a super sister? Or will she have to choose between fame and family?

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Models and their unique life has always been a fascination of mine and I love watching programs about the real lives of models - standing in the freezing cold, being made to wear ridiculous outfits, running to go to the many 'go sees' that they have booked, dealing with difficult designers, it seems like a really hectic life. So I was really pleased when The Look dropped through my door and I got to read about the life of a young model too. The Look didn't gloss over the difficulty of being a model, I mean I'm no expert but everything seemed to be perfect, right down the difficult photographer! She was pretty brave throughout, considering the team were like, 'Okay, I'm just going to stick you in this tiny thong and dump you in a bath of rubber snakes now.'  

Ted is a great character and it was a lot of fun following her as she grew up and realised what she wanted to do in life. It took her a while though, even though it was pretty obvious to probably everyone else who read this! She also required a lot of pushing from Ava, who was a great addition to the story. I was originally worried that the author might have just thrown in a sister-is-a-cancer-patient story in the help bulk the story up and make people want to read it but no, she adds a lot to the story and really helps the story move along too. It wouldn't have been fun at all without her!

The cancer side of it added a lot of compulsive reading, in my opinion. I wanted to know that Ava would be alright and if she and Jesse would still be together after everything had happened. The sudden makeovers were actually a lot of fun to read about, especially waiting to find out their parent's reactions! I loved the descriptions of the photos that Ted took of Ava, as I could easily get a solid picture in my head of what the pictures looked like. 

This story has a great contemporary, summery feel to it all the way through and it;s get everything - happiness, sadness, hope, romance, art projects (you can't have a contemporary without an art project, it's against the rules). A book to pick up and not put down until you've devoured every page.


5/5

Review of Ramshackle by Elizabeth Reeder

Roe is like any other fifteen year old suburban Chicago teenager. Her only worries are schoolwork, keeping up with her wayward best friend, and whether or not she should sleep with her boyfriend. Then her adoptive father, a locksmith, disappears one winter's day without explanation. As Roe tries to find out where he is and why he left, her past unravels, revealing secrets and lies that will change her future forever.

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Ramshackle is interesting contemporary book, certainly not filled with cotton candy and rainbows and it really makes you think too. Mostly about sex. More on that later. The characters in this were all really interesting and when it came to the secondary characters, I wanted to walk home with them and find out their life story too. I particularly liked the coffee guy that I can't research the name of because my iPod has eaten it's battery power.

Roe is kinda weird though. In most ways she's a typical 15 year old teen, has sex for the first time (no detail or anything, don't panic), worries about her best friend, brushes her teeth (I hope). But then she thinks and does some really strange things which makes me wonder just what her dad has been teaching her all her life. She's always thinking about people's bodyparts, and sex - what they might get up to at home, in really odd detail, like her teachers and her aunt, of all people. I'm not sure about your mental stability but I've never thought about my aunt bumping rudies. When she's not doing that she's thinking about the time she wiped snot on the table.

Roe's Dad is the main subject here, mainly that he's GONE and no-one knows where he is. So begins a rather interesting search of self discovery. Or something fancy sounding like that. Roe learns who she is, and who her Father really is, with a lot of uncomfortable home truths. We see her exercising her new found freedom too - stealing a car and going to parties, wandeirng around Chicago at one point. When we do finally find out what happened to her Dad I was relieved - it was quite close to the end and I was quite worried I'd never found out and end up eating my iPod in despair or something.

4/5

Received free from Freight Books in exchange for an honest review

Review of The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

Heartbroken over the tragic death of her fiancé, seventeen-year-old Zora Stewart leaves Baltimore for the frontier town of West Glory, Oklahoma, to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going. There she discovers that she possesses the astonishing ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a "springsweet” to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land. Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving and start living.

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~Will contain spoilers for The Vespertine, book 1~

My first ever NetGalley eBook was The Vespertine and despite trying to get my head around the bizarre idea of being able to read books for free before the release date, I loved every page of it. In particular, I liked on Zora Stewart, a character whose personality flew off the pages and made me laugh when she couldn't get off of the bed due to her dress! I was sad as I closed the book, believing that I wouldn't read anything new from that world again. And then earlier this year I discovered that The Springsweet was about to be released, with none other than Zora Stewart as the main character!

The Springsweet picks up quite a few months after Thomas died and we meet a much changed Zora - she's chosen to stay in black and avoid everyone for a while, believing that Amelia and Nathaniel have died too. Her mother packs her off to the Wild Wild West to live with her aunt and while she's there she discovers that she has some interesting powers too.

Zora slowly gets back to being herself again and you can really see the old Zora shining through her many layers of grief. She has some pretty funny moments in this too, mostly helped by not one, but two romantic interests, the slightly obsessive Theo and Emerson, who is decidedly rougher around the edges! Who will she pick? I think the 'problem' of two interested boys was fixed really well and I loved the outcome. Emerson did remind me a lot of Nathaniel, I have to admit!

The story throws up the interesting idea of elements - specifically the idea of the different powers we come across in this and The Vespertine being linked to the elements - Fire, Air, Water and Earth is covered and after the ending, I'm dying to find out what would happen if these elements all met each other! Needless to say, Aetherbourne is at the very top of my 2013 wishlist.

5/5

Many Covers Monday - Hunger Games

Welcome to Many Covers Monday! Today we're looking at the many different covers of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Strap your seat belts on guys, this is going to be a big post. But the covers make it totally worth it, I promise!

The UK cover on the left has been released recently, to coincide with the movie release. I quite like the 'clean' look of this cover. I have no thoughts about the US cover... erm... it's pretty? xD

I find girls hiding behind leaves far too overdone (Uglies, Pandemonium), same as the German cover, left. The Italian cover, right, really pulls it off though, this cover is terrifying!

The Dutch cover lady on the left looks very familar to me but I just can't place her. I have no idea what is going on with the Arabic cover on the right, other than utter madness.

On the left is the Swedish cover with an interesting Rubiks cube effect (sort of) for the title. Right is the Chinese cover and I LOVE it. The big logo, the trees, the two people running, I just LOVE it.

The Serbian cover on the right feels like the classic Hunger Games cover to me, what with it having the same font etc. I'm not sure about the Romanian cover on the left, it feels a bit sci-fi!

The Russian cover on the left was one I heard about the other day, with a caption somewhere along the lines of, 'The Hunger Games has never really taken off in Russia. I can't imagine why.' It is a pretty dire cover! The Swedish cover on the right doesn't really inspire the imagination...

These Thai (left) and Georgian (right) covers offer a unique take on The Hunger Games cover and I think I love both!

And finally, Greece (left) decided to stick with the classic Hunger Games look while Japan decided to go all out with it's feisty manga cover!

What do you think to all these? Which is your favourite? Which do you hate? Let me know in the comments!

Next week: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Stay tuned!

Review of Legend by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

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I've put off reading this book for quite a while now but I saw it for £3.50 and decided to grab a copy and see what it was like for myself! I can now say that this book is all kinds of awesome and I'm whacking myself round the head with it for waiting so long to read it! 

I loved that it switched from Day's point of view to June's almost seamlessly, yet they both had such unique voices I never got confused as to who was who. Sure, the bold text of Day's chapters helped but I strongly believe that I didn't need them! I really liked June's brother, Metias and I was pretty sad when I learnt that he was awesome, as I knew from reading the description that he was going to die. We do get a hear a little more from him later on in the book but it wasn't the same as him being around.

The plot was a little predictable at times and I had no trouble guessing the twist in the tale unfortunately. Thankfully this never harmed my enjoyment of the story as the world that Marie created was so rich and full of life! Thanks to having the point of view of a street kid and a government prodigy, we get to see people from both sides of life, which doesn't happen often enough in today's Dystopia.

I was a little confused about the romance aspect though. I could completely see why Day was attracted to June, as mentally she was like him plus being beautiful and mysterious probably helped a good deal. But I couldn't work out why June was attracted to Day, a guy that had killed her brother. It just didn't work in my mind.

The ending! I'm literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book - and not just because my mattress keeps moving away from the wall, guys. I can't believe I've got to wait eight months before it's released, my finger nails will be non-existent by then! *runs around flailing her arms*

5/5

Review of Bloodline by Kate Cary

Thirty-five years have passed since the death of the Master. But now a new evil walks among the living. . . .
When nineteen-year-old John Shaw returns from the trenches of World War I, he is haunted by nightmares - not only of the battlefield, but of the strange, cruel and impossible feats of his regiment's commander, Quincey Harker. Harker's ferocity knows no limits, and his strength is superhuman.
At first John blames his bloody nightmares on trench fever. But when Harker appears in England and begins wooing John's sister, John must confront the truth - and stop Harker from continuing Dracula's bloodline.

~ Add To Your Goodreads Shelf ~

Hmm. I loved the start of this book, with detailed accounts of John's life in the trenches, all the horrors he saw there and the unease he felt towards his CO, Harker. Mary joins in too, as we are reading his account at the same time as her - as John has come back from the trenches feverish and she decides it's a perfectly decent idea to nick his diary and read it. She looks after him oretty well though, I'll give her that.

There was just too big a plot hole to ignore during this book however. Everytime I got to a new journal entry I couldn't help but think that it was awfully convienient that the four main characters just happened to keep a detailed journal each and that they all liked to write as if  their journal was a fictional book. It lost a lot of believeablity there.

The story was rather silly. I'm all for a good Vampire story these days but this one so cheesy in places I couldn't help but giggle a little. It didn't help that my brain misread the first kissing scene's sentence as  'the closeness of his massive face' instead of frame. I mean, YOU try and not giggle at that sentence.

The story as a whole though was interesting and there were many twists and turns that I enjoyed. Mary grew on me until I loved her character, which is probably for the best after certain developments. Harker was a complete ba-... rstool at times and at other times I almost felt sorry for him, he was very confusing! I'm pretty sure the next book will throw up some pretty awesome events despite the silliness, I'm quite looking forward to it!

4/5

Many Covers Monday - Revolution

Welcome to Many Covers Monday! Today we're looking at the many different covers of Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution.

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

~Goodreads~ ~Amazon UK~ ~Amazon US~ 

 On the right is the UK Hardback edition, which is the copy I have and love. Simplicity rocks! The one on the left is the US edition, hardback also. I like the idea but it seems like they're trying to suggest she's Australian. Bceuase of the upside down thing? No? Okay. *sad face*

Paperbacks this time, UK and then US again! I quite like the UK version, with the chipped nail polish etc but not so much the US as she looks like she likes that key a little TOO much...

French and German now! Although not in that order. German on the left, French on th- okay, okay, I see you've got it. I love the German cover for reasons I do not know. The French have gone with the US Hardbacks cover but made it better. In my opinion, anyway.

What do you think?