Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan Review

Publisher: Puffin (6 Oct. 2015)

Format: Hardcover (512 pages)

Source: This book was sent to me

Synopsis:

Two years ago Magnus lost his mother and now he is living ruff. His mother specifically told him not to trust his uncle Randolph but when his uncle suddenly starts looking for him Magnus knows something is wrong and he couldn`t help but confront his uncle.

By confronting his uncle Magnus founds out what has been hidden from him all along- he is the son of Frey.

His uncle then makes him find The Sword of Summer and Magnus then finds out his fate. Talking swords, immortal soldiers and a dangerous Wolf- how could this get worse?

Review:

Before getting into this review I need to confess that I haven`t read any books written by Riordan, although I have seen that two Percy Jackson films, so I thought it was time that I read one of his books and explore what other readers loved.

This book evolved around a teen named Magnus who finds out the part of him that has been kept from him. From first impressions I thought this was quite typical of a YA book. However as I got into the book the thought was gone because I was transfixed. Riordan knows how to create humour and he knows what a typical teen would be thinking. Every emotions Magnus and the other characters in this book has is very realistic and I found myself laughing in the middle of a long silence of reading. Therefore the characters in this book were very realistic and the choices Magnus made were the choices I would make.

However in some parts, because of Magnus` humour was a little too much, I felt this book was aimed at middle grade readers rather than Young Adult readers. The writing is just a simple the writing style that is aimed at younger readers and this means that younger readers won`t have a problem at gripping the language.

The year 2015

Hello readers,

The end of the year is upon us and so I thought I might reflect on the whole year.

Firstly this year was the year that I started my blog. Before this blog I was posting on my tumblr but I realised that tumblr wasn`t the right platform for posting book reviews. This then, obviously, lead me to starting this blog and I found that they book blogging community here is very big and everyone is just so nice.

Starting a “proper” blog was something I wasn`t so sure of because I knew that it meant that I needed to be dedicated. However as soon as I posted my first post I found that using wordpress was quite easy and so I got the flow of blogging.

Throughout this year I have participate in book memes and I have also started a series of post that I call bookish-tea-time where I post things that don`t have a category here on book blogs. I have also written many book reviews and I think that my review writing skills have improved???

Anyway moving away from my blog, I was surprised to see that I have completed my goodreads challenge and I have read over 50 BOOKS!!! This was such a surprise and it just proves how much time has flown by.

Moreover many of the books I have read has stuck close to me and sometimes I find my mind wondering about them and the characters that are close to my heart.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin Review

Publisher: Orion Children’s Books (5 Nov. 2015)

Format: Paperback (400 pages)

Source: This book was sent to me

Synopsis:

Its 1956 and Yael is on the ultimate mission to kill Hitler. Although she has to do it undercover and with her special ability she is able to do it and she has to become the Adele a participator of the world famous Axis tour. She has a limited amount of time to do so. She may know certain facts about Adele but what she doesn`t know is Adele’s personal life.

Review:

This is possibly the first historical fiction book I`ve read by choice and there is a reason for this- I don`t really like historical fiction books because there is hardly any action. So I thinking, a few weeks ago, about how diverse my choice of books are (it is not diverse at all), therefore I decided to pick up this book to broaden my horizons.

Going into the book the only thing I had in my mind was I wasn`t going to enjoy it because it was a fantasy book. Yes I actually did think this, a bit shallow, but I couldn`t help. However I was wrong, there was a lot of action in this book. Yael has to go through training to be able to become an agent and this means that she can fight. YES! Another strong female character! Yael has to go through a lot of action trying to be the first person in this motorbike race in order to come close to Hitler to do her mission.

The plot of this book is just based on Yael trying to win the race but there is also another element of her ability to change her face which she got by Nazi doctors experimenting on her. This ability makes her more vulnerable and it also makes the book more interesting. In addition there is the fact that Yael is pretending to be Adele so she doesn`t know everything about Adele. This means that she will have trouble coping and she has to pretending that she knows what Adele`s twin brother is talking about and what Luka is suggesting about last year.

T5W-Series I Want to Start Next Year

It`s Wednesday and this means it is another time of the week for a Top 5 Wednesday and this week`s is series I want to start or finish in 2016. This weekly meme is created by gingerreadslainey and here is the goodreads group.

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Since joining the book blogging community this year I have discovered many books that I want to read. The list is also endless because new books come out every year.

I always promise myself to start the series or at least get my hands onto the books but I`ve never had the chance to. However in 2016 I will read some of these series.

First of I am going to read all the Harry Potter books. Yes I admit that I haven`t read all the books in this series. I have only read up to the Goblet of Fire and the reason for this is when I was little the size of books frightened me. Although since I am older I want to read all the book before I reach adulthood and  before my imagination ends.

Next (I feel like all of you are going to shout at me) I want to read The Percy Jackson books. I brought that whole series a few months ago to read them but I just haven`t found the time. I have also seen the two films and I quite enjoyed them. This year I read Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan and I want to read the Percy Jackson books so that I can understand the characters because I know that there are some overlap.

Thirdly I would like to read the published books of The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon because I have own the first book for the longest time but I haven`t found the motivation to read it, so maybe 2015 will be the year?

Then we have of course The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I read Six of Crows this year and I quite enjoyed it. What interested me the most was the world this book is set in an the magic system. I really hope I get the chance to read this book next year.

TTT: Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the team over at The Broke and The Bookish. This weeks TTT is basically my wishlist for this Christmas. I`ve already done a post on the books I want but I left out a few books…

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Christmas is so near-just three more days!!! I can`t wait!!! However since it is not technically Christmas YET, this means that I still have time to write a wishlist for Father Christmas to read and choose some of the book to give to me right? 

Although I know that for Christmas I might not get books because my family and friends tend to not know what books I`m interested in, even though half of the time I only talk about books. Nevertheless I must be positive and I can always buy the books I want with a little bit of Christmas money and gift cards.

Now lets get on with the books, I would not mind Santa leaving:

All of Morgan Matsons published books: Amy and Roger`s epic detour, Second Chance Summer and Since you`ve been gone. I have been meaning to read this book ever since the beginning of summer. These books such look like the perfect summer read and since it is so cold where I live I feel like I need a summery book to light me up

Fallen Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is another book that has achieved so much hype and due to the hype I have been very interested in this book. I hear this whole series (there is going to be six books) is quite epic and it`s like A Games of Thrones. Although I know that some readers say that it is an over-hyped book so this makes me quite anxious.

Trying not to repeat books from my original book wishlist post I am going to include The Mistborn Trilogy. This series consists of three books based in this world (which I believe has a unique) magic system. I don`t know too much about this book as I like going into books blind because then the hype of the book won`t affect my feelings towards it.

Sibling of the world blogger award

About a month ago I was nominated for this award by the lovely Lashaan and Trang from bookidote. You should check out their blog as soon as you can as you will totally enjoy it!

I`m sorry this post is late because I have been so busy and I haven`t found the time to write this post until now. 

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The rules of this award are:

1.Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog
2. Put the award logo on your blog
3. Answer the ten questions you were given
4. Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer
5. Nominate ten other blogs

Thank you Lashaan and Trang for nominating me, I really appreciate it and I hope you guys have a lovely holiday!

I`m not really sure what the award logo is meant to look like so I found a photo on the internet to use instead.

Top Ten Tuesday-Best Books I read in 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the team over at The Broke and The Bookish. This weeks TTT is my favourite books that I have read in the year 2015.

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I can`t believe the year is nearly over! Time has just flew by without me noticing. This year I have achieved my goodreads challenge to read 50 books! Therefore this was quite a challenge to pick only 10 books out of the 50 books I have read. However these books that I am going to mention might not be the only books that I am going to love because the year has not ended.

 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

I really enjoyed this book and I must say that I loved the whole series. I might not have waited long like other people since I only read the whole series this year, but I still loved it!

All The Bright Places by Jenifer Niven 

This book threw off guard because I didn`t expect anything like this to happen. The book is based on two teens called Violet and Finch and they meet on top of a building whilst trying to take their own lives.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Yes I finally read this book in 2015, finally. After seeing many people rave about this book I picked it up and all the hype was right. This book is extraordinary as they say it is. Park is one of my most favourite fictional characters and he is the reason why I love this book. Thank you Rainbow Rowell.

The Queen of The Tearling by Erica Johansen

Oh this book beats every fantasy book I have ever read and it may be on the same level as The Throne of Glass series. It is that wonderful! Here is my review where you can read about my thoughts on it.

To All The Boys I`ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

A sweet fluffy read that will capture you and draw you towards it- I also loved this book (surprisingly). This book is about a girl called Laura Jean who writes letters to all the boys she had loved (hence the title). The story is based on when all the letters get sent out to the boys and the consequences she has to face.

A book lovers gift guide

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

Are you still pondering on what to buy for the book-lovers that you love? Are you sitting with you laptop on scrolling on websites but you  still don`t know what to buy? Are you completely lost in space?

Never fear Franciska is here to help with all your present problems! (Imagine a girl zooming around in a supergirl costume.) I am here today with a post on what to get book lovers or presents to buy to treat yourself.

Now I am going to be completely honest and say that this post will be full of completely random items because it`s good to have a selection-right???

First of you need the right book to read at Christmas. Some Christmas books I could think of are:

• My True love gave to me edited by Stephanie Perkins
• Let it snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson
• Dash and Lily book of dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• Harry Potter Illustrated edition by J.K Rowling because Christmas at Hogwarts is just the best!
• Another thing you can get is special editions of books, for example like my 10th anniversary edition of Looking for Alaska, they are quite special and pretty.

Other bookish items:

• Bookmarks–  as an avid reader myself I always need a bookmark to mark the page I am reading but I can never find any! I also hate bending the corners of my books, so a bookmark will always come in handy. You can get really pretty bookmarks with tassels or you can get magnetic ones like my Harry Potter ones.
• Bookends– these will make your pile of books look organised straight away and you will always be able to find your books.
• Bookmerch– These objects are so special because you can have what the characters in books have like Hermione`s time turner and Katniss` Mockingjay pin. They bring the books to life.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Review

Publisher: Puffin Classics

Format: Paperback (240 pages)

Source: Library copy

Synopsis:

There are two gangs. One is called the Socs who are rich and have enough money but they spend their time jumping on the Greasers for fun. The eastside kids are called the Greasers and they are known for having long and greasy hair. Socs and Greasers have never gotten on and things have just been the way it is, until something unexpected happens that causes their life to drastically change…

Review:                   

I actually don`t know where to start with this review. I loved this book because of how real it is and the way it is a real eye opener. However, before I started this book I didn`t know what to expect but I knew that it was a well-loved book, so I wanted to try it. Picking up the book and slowly turning the first page I started the book. A few hours later I was deep into the book and I had to force myself to stop reading and sleep instead. A few days later I finished the book and I found myself rereading the book. I found myself loving the book.

One of the reason why I loved this book is because of the characters. The narrator is called Ponyboy and he is 14 year old. Hinton was only 17 when she wrote this book so her narration of Ponyboy is realistic. Ponyboy is the younger brother if two brothers called Darry and Sodapop. Since the gang Ponyboy is in is full of hard looking boys, we get an alternative from Ponyboy because he is just normal, and this is a good thing because as a reader we get to understand the book and the language that is used. Ponyboy is also quite innocent and he is never biased towards anyone particularly (further on in the book).

Although the character I found myself loving the best is Darry. He is only 20 and he has to take care of his family. I could relate to him because he has to be harsh on Ponyboy in order for him to have a good future. All the characters Hinton writes are very real and as a reader you will be able to relate to at least one of the characters.