Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten 2015 Releases I meant to get to but didn't. There were actually a lot of 2015 books that I was really excited about but never got around to reading but here are the ones I REALLY want to try and get to soon!

My top ten releases I meant to get to in 2015 but didn't:

1. Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner - I absolutely loved the first two books in this trilogy so this book was at the top of my Christmas wish list. Thankfully Santa (in the form of my Dad!) left this wrapped up under the tree for me so I really need to get to it soon.
2. The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May - It has been a long 2 year wait for this book to be published so I'm really excited about this one, I did manage to reread The Falconer in December so I'm ready to dive into The Vanishing Throne.
3. Mind Games by Jana Oliver - I'm a huge fan of Jana Oliver and her Demon Trappers series is one of my favourites so I ordered a copy of Mind Games the minute I found out about it and I have absolutely no excuse for why I STILL haven't read it!
4. Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger - I finally managed to finish Gail's Parasol Protectorate series last year but I have this one last book in the Finishing School series.
5. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell - I was intrigued by the idea of this book from the moment I first heard about it, it's a retelling of Aladdin with one major difference. What would have happened if Jafar was the first one to find the lamp? Doesn't that sound brilliant? Yup, no excuses for why I've not read it yet!
6. Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine - I love Rachel Caine so this is another preorder that I've failed to get around to reading.
7. November 9 by Colleen Hoover - Colleen is another autobuy author for me, her stories never seem to go in the direction you expect them to but I always fall in love with her characters.
8. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski - After loving The Winner's Curse this was high on my wish list for 2015 but now I've left it so long I think I'm going to wait for the release of The Winner's Kiss and read the whole trilogy in one go.
9. Soundless by Richelle Mead - I saw some amazing reviews of Soundless which made me really want to read it but since then I've seen some not so great reactions that have made me nervous. I will be brave and to try it soon though!
10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - I'm not sure why but the hype for this book pretty much passed by me unnoticed but I was recently sent a copy of Glass Sword for review and the blurb sounds great so I ordered a copy of Red Queen to read first.

So what books are on your list? Have you read any of the ones on mine? Which ones do you think I should read first?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch and when I sat down to think about it I was surprised just how many movies I still need to get around to. Unfortunately in most cases I still need to read the books too which is why I've been putting them off LOL.

1. The Book Thief

I first read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak about seven years ago and I absolutely loved it, it's a incredibly emotional story and one I've actually been meaning to reread for a long time now. As soon as I first saw the trailer I wanted to watch the movie, in fact it was one I had planned to see at the cinema but for some reason I never quite got around to it.

2. The Fault in Our Stars

I'm ashamed to admit that I've never read a John Green book (and yes I do know that is a terrible thing for a book blogger to admit!) but I've heard amazing things about both The fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. To be honest I put off watching both movies because I've not read the books but I know that they're the kind of thing I need to be in the right mood for so I'll keep holding off until the right moment.

3. How to Train Your Dragon

I've not read the books in this series either but I love dragons and having seen a few episodes of the cartoon with my friend's son I know I'm going to enjoy the movies.

4. Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2

I'll always have a soft spot for the Twilight books, they may not be the best books ever written and looking back now there are a lot of things that disturb me about the relationship between Bella and Edward but the books got me reading again and for that I'll always be grateful. I don't love the movies but I've watched the other 3 so I feel like I need to see it through to the end!

5. The Host

I'm sure it won't be a surprise when I say that I haven't read The Host yet (even though it's been on my to read pile since 2010!) but I've heard great things about both the book and the movie so I really do need to get around to it.

6. Vampire Academy

I absolutely LOVE Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series so I was really excited when I found out they were making a movie. Okay so I know the movie was a flop and I've not heard great things about it but it's still one I want to watch one day.

7. Warm Bodies

I had mixed feelings about Warm Bodies, I loved the main character and I enjoyed reading his story but the whole zombie / human romance aspect just made me cringe. I wasn't interested in the movie at first but my friend told me it was fantastic so I promised her I'd give it a try.

8. The Notebook

Another embarrassing fact about me - I have never read a Nicholas Sparks book! I can practically hear you all gasping in shock but it's true. I've heard great things about The Notebook though, both the book and the movie so again it's one I really feel like I should watch at some point.

9. Beautiful Creatures

This is another series I've been wanting to read for a long time but haven't quite got to yet. I refuse to watch the movie until I've read the first book though.

10 (& 11). The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I absolutely loved the Chronicles of Narnia growing up, I reread all the books again and again and even have my Dad's copies from when he was at school tucked away in a box somewhere. So, I'm not quite sure why I never got around to watching the movies when they were released but I really must get to them one day.

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As a bonus I thought I'd include a couple of movies that haven't been released yet but that I'm REALLY excited about:

Victor Frankenstein - December 2015

Pride Prejudice & Zombies - February 2016

These both look AMAZING and I definitely need to try and watch them at the cinema :o)

So what do you think? If you've seen any of these I'd love to know what you thought of them (please keep it spoiler free though!). Did some of them make your list? What other movies would you recommend?

Review: The Golden Lily - Richelle Mead

Will love lose her everything she knows?

Sydney is an alchemist.
She protects vampire secrets -
and human lives.

In hiding at a Californian boarding school, Sydney's life has become irrevocably intertwined with Jill Dragomir, the vampire Moroi princess she has been tasked with protecting. She has grown close to those in Jill's royal circle - and to someone in particular. Someone that forces her to question everything the alchemists believe in. Someone forbidden.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world - her new world - apart, Sydney's loyalties are tested more than ever. Should she trust the alchemists - or her heart?

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (release date to be confirmed)

Vampire Academy Series:
Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
I'm a huge fan of the Vampire Academy series so of course I couldn't wait to start reading the spin off Bloodlines series. I enjoyed Bloodlines when I read it and The Golden Lily was one of my most anticipated sequels of the year last year - I could not wait to pick it up and start reading! You're probably wondering why it has taken me so long to get around to writing this review then. I hate to say it but when I started reading The Golden Lily last year it annoyed me so much that I couldn't even finish reading it! I really want to love this series but for the first half of this book it just wasn't happening. I decided to try the book again because I keep hearing so many good things about the follow up The Indigo Spell and I'm actually glad I did give it a second chance. I don't think I'm ever going to be Sydney's biggest fan but I found myself really enjoying the last third of this book and now can't wait to see what happens next.

I'm going to start by talking about my love / hate relationship with Sydney, I hate to say it but she irritates the heck out of me most of the time! She annoyed me a little in Bloodlines but at the same time she showed enough of her inner strength and bravery for me to be able to respect her. That Sydney was completely absent for the first half of this book though. The way she goes on and on about her weight and is so adamant that she can't consume anything with a single calorie in it is enough to drive me insane, I seriously think the girl needs to be admitted to an anorexia clinic! I know she has body issues and is comparing herself to the impossibly beautiful Moroi but I worry about the message it sends to teens when someone who is supposed to be their heroine is constantly saying that a size 4 (which I think is equivalent to a UK size 6) is fat. The combination of her complaining about her weight and her dating the world's most boring man is what made me put down the book. I can't even remember her boyfriend's name but I think I would rather poke needles in my eyes than have to read about one more of their dates, watching paint dry would be more exciting!

I said I have a love / hate relationship with Sydney but so far I've only told you why I hate her so I think I need to balance this review up a bit. I get that she has been raised in a very strict way and she has always believed everything that the Alchemists have told her so she showed a lot of bravery in VA when she helped Rose knowing she would end up paying for it. I respect the fact that she has now started to look past the things she has always been told and is now beginning to make up her own mind about what is happening around her. She was always told that Moroi are evil but she knows from spending time with Jill, Adrian and Sonya that just isn't true and it makes her start to question everything else. Finally in the second half of the book we start to see Sydney's world view shifting and although I wish it would happen faster I'm glad that it is happening. There was one particular point towards the end of the book where Adrian spells out a few home truths to her and I wanted to jump up and down waving pompoms! Hopefully when she has had time to sort through what he said we should see some more big changes. Another thing I was extremely happy about was seeing Sydney start to embrace her own magical abilities - I can't wait to see more of that as the series continues.

Now lets talk about the rest of the book. I have to say I'm disappointed with several of the characters. Jill was incredibly selfish, childish and even reckless throughout the first half but again we see glimmers of hope towards the end of the book. Angeline acts much younger than her age but I can kind of understand that considering her upbringing and I would love to learn more about her family and the Keepers. The glimpses we saw of Dimitri weren't enough to satisfy me, it just isn't the same spending time with him when Rose isn't in the picture and I miss them as a couple so badly. It is impossible not to like Eddie though, although I can't for the life of me understand why he is so attracted to Jill, but I think my main reason for giving the book a second chance was to see more of Adrian. I'll say it outright - I love Adrian! I may never have wanted him to end up with Rose but I never liked the way she treated him so I desperately want to see him have his own happy ending. My heart broke for him in this book seeing the way his father treats him and it made it even easier to understand why he acts the fool so much and doesn't think he is capable of anything better. I actually really like the way Sydney sees through him and knows just how much he is capable of and towards the end of the book I even began to feel that they could be a good couple which was something I'd not been 100% on board with before.

I have to admit that I still have reservations about this series but if the next book can just take all of the positives from the end of The Golden Lily and run with it then I could start to really enjoy it again. I would love more than anything for these books to reach the heights of Vampire Academy and I do think that the potential is there. It's hard to settle on a final rating for this book, the lack of action and the fact I gave up reading makes the first half easily a 1 star read but the second half improved and the last quarter was probably 3.5 - 4 stars so I'm going to be generous and rate it 3.

Source: Received for review from Penguin in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Shadow Heir - Richelle Mead

The Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own - and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage . . .

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld . . .

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape-shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't - or won't - reveal. And as a formidable force rises to threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon - and risk the ultimate sacrifice . . .

Dark Swan Series:
Storm Born
Thorn Queen
Iron Crowned
Shadow Heir

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
Shadow Heir is the fourth and final book in the Dark Swan series so this review will contain spoilers for the previous three books - if you haven't started the series yet you probably want to stop reading now! I'm a massive fan of Richelle Mead, I love her Georgina Kincaid series and her Vampire Academy books make up one of my favourite YA series. I really liked the first couple of books in the Dark Swan series but felt disappointed with Eugenie in the last book, Iron Crowned, I was irritated by her refusal to accept her duties to the Thorn land and the way she let her people suffer because of that. I was also extremely annoyed with the way she kept running back and forth between Dorian and Kiyo! So I'll admit that I was nervous before I picked up Shadow Heir, particularly after reading the blurb and seeing a mention of a truce between her and Kiyo - he tried to kill her and their unborn children in the last book so I couldn't see how there could possibly be any kind of truce between them!

Shadow Heir picks up the story a few months after Iron Crowned ends, Eugenie is five months pregnant, Kiyo and Maiwenn are still determined that her son needs to die before he can fulfil the prophecy about him and Dorian is protecting her as he promised to do but Eugenie is unsure if she can completely trust him after his previous betrayal. I can't really go into any more detail than that without giving spoilers so I'll just say that I was surprised at a couple of places where Richelle Mead took the story.

Since the last book I haven't been Eugenie's biggest fan, I've found her actions to be selfish and I think she has made some incredibly stupid decisions. I'm sad to say that this continued to be the trend in this book. Although I could understand why she made some of the choices she did because she was trying to protect her children I felt that she didn't think things through properly. She could have saved herself a lot of trouble if she had just trusted Dorian but then again he has done some pretty horrible things in the past so I was never particularly his biggest fan either. He did grow on me a lot in this book though and I think he is now my favourite character in the series. I don't think Eugenie deserves him though, especially after her actions at the end of the book (I can't say more because I don't want to give spoilers but I'm sure anyone who has read the book will know what I mean).

I spent most of the book wanting to punch Kiyo and was really surprised that Eugenie didn't take more of a stand against him and Maiwenn. His actions were despicable in the last book and he made no attempt to apologise in this one. I'm annoyed that he never really got what he deserved and I couldn't understand why he continued to support Maiwenn even after the things he admitted near the end of the book. The plot was quite slow moving during the first half of the book during the final months of Eugenie's pregnancy. I did enjoy reading about her reactions to the babies when they were born but that just made her actions after that point even harder to understand. There were two major twists that should have shocked the heck out of me but unfortunately I'd figured them both out in advance so they didn't have the expected wow factor.

Overall I find myself extremely disappointed with the way this series ended, if this hadn't been the last book or if we knew a spin off series was planned then I think I'd have felt more forgiving but we are left with so many questions and I just didn't find Eugenie's actions even slightly believable. I still love Richelle Mead as an author and will look forward to trying her next adult series but in all honesty I don't think I could recommend this series when it ended on such a low note. I would happily recommend her Georgina Kincaid series though or her Vampire Academy books for YA fans.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

News Roundup: Teaser Trailer, Cover Reveal & New Book Deals

Since I included the first teaser trailer for The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead in my last news roundup I thought it was only right to include the second one today. I literally can't wait to get my hands on this book!

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Have you seen the cover for the first book in Darren Shan's new 12 part serial? The first book Zom-B will be published by Simon & Schuster on the 27th of September and the remaining eleven instalments will be released once every 3 months until 2015. I have to confess that this cover scares me so I don't think it's one I'll be reading but then I'm not much of a horror fan. I have a feeling this will be massively popular with Darren Shan's fans though!

What do you think? Is this a series you can't wait to start reading?

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Did you see the news that Lauren Oliver will be writing her first novel aimed at adults? HarperCollins have purchased the book which will be called Rooms and will be publishing it in 2014. (I'm assuming this is the US publication date). For more information check out the article on the NYTimes website. I love Lauren's YA books Delirium (read my review here) and Pandemonium (read my review here) so I can't wait to see what she writes for the adult market!

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Last but not least I was really excited to find out that Simon & Schuster will be publishing Kresley Cole's first YA novel Poison Princess on the 2nd of October. I love Kesley's adult series (the Immortals After Dark) so this was on my wish list before I'd even read the synopsis! Now I've read the blurb I just want to read it even more and I love the cover too:

Sixteen-year-old Evie Greene thought her horrific apocalyptic hallucinations were a sign that she was slowly losing her mind. But when her visions come true, decimating the world around her and killing everyone she loves, Evie is forced to accept that she was seeing the future.

Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she turns to wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, the gorgeous and dangerous Jackson Deveaux for help. As Jackson and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have got the same call and discover that Evie is not the only one with special powers. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and as the battle between good and evil intensifies, it is not always clear who is on which side…


What do you think? Have you read any of the Immortals After Dark books? Are you looking forward to Poison Princess?

That's all the news I have to share today so I hope you've found it interesting!

News Roundup: Cover Reveal, Teaser Trailer & J.K. Rowling's adult book

It's been a couple of weeks since I last did a news roundup so I thought it was about time to schedule another one! Either I've not been paying as much attention as usual or there has been less news in the last couple of weeks but at least that means this is a shorter post than usual!

First I want to share the UK cover for the paperback version of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. This is being published by Hodder & Stoughton on the 16th of August. I absolutely love this book (read my review here) so if you haven't already read it you should add it to your wish list! Anyway here is the new paperback cover:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone UK Paperback Cover

What do you think? If you've read the book already you'll know just how well it fits in with the story which I really like but I have to admit that I think I still prefer the hardback cover because it's so pretty:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone UK Hardback Cover

Which of these covers do you like best? If you haven't already read the book which one would you be more likely to pick up if you saw it in the book store?

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Did you see the first teaser trailer for The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead yet? I love the Vampire Academy series so it's no surprise that I was looking forward to Bloodlines (the first book in the spin off series) when it came out last year. Although I missed having Rose and Dimitri as main characters I still really enjoyed Bloodlines (read my review here) and can't wait for the second book The Golden Lily to come out in June. This teaser has just made me even more excited!



So who else is looking forward to this one as much as I am?

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Finally I thought I'd quickly mention the announcement about J.K. Rowling's first adult novel that was posted on the Waterstones website here. I am a massive fan of the Harry Potter books (although I do still need to finish my series reread so I can post reviews for the rest of the books) so when I first heard that Jo would be writing an adult book I was really excited about it. We now know that book is called The Casual Vacancy and will be published in the UK on the 27th of September.

Here is the blurb:
When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

I'm not sure what I expected but I have to confess that this is about as far from it as you can get. In fact if I'm really honest the blurb doesn't sound like my kind of book at all so I'm feeling a bit disappointed! I'm pretty sure I'll end up trying it anyway but I don't think it's going to be a book that I would actually queue up at a midnight release for like I did with the last few Harry Potter books. In fact I will probably wait until it comes out in paperback since I'm not really a hardback fan anyway. What do you all think of The Casual Vacancy? Is this one you're dying to get your hands on or one you think you'll give it a miss? Are you a fan of the Harry Potter books and do you think that will effect your decision to read Jo's adult book?

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So that's all the news I have to share today and you've probably already come across most of it elsewhere but I'll be interested to know what you think of it all!

Review: Succubus Revealed - Richelle Mead

Georgina Kincaid has had an eternity to figure out the opposite sex, but sometimes they still surprise her.

Take Seth Mortensen.  The man has risked his soul to become Georgina's boyfriend.  But with Lucifer for a boss, Georgina can't just hang up her killer heels and settle down to domestic bliss.  In fact, she's being forced to transfer operations . . . to Las Vegas.

The City of Sin is a dream gig for a succubus, but Georgina's allies are suspicious.  Why are the powers-that-be so eager to get her away from Seattle - and from Seth?  Georgina is one of Hell's most valuable assets, but if there's any way out of the succubus business she plans to take it - no matter how much roadkill she leaves behind.

She just hopes the casualties won't include the one man she's risking everything for . . .

Georgina Kincaid Series:
Succubus Blues
Succubus Nights (Called Succubus on Top in the US)
Succubus Dreams
Succubus Heat
Succubus Shadows
Succubus Revealed

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
Finally Georgina and Seth are back together, everything should be going really well for them but for some reason Hell seems determined to keep them apart.  Georgina is being transferred to Las Vegas, she will be working with some of her favourite colleagues and have her dream day job.  Sounds perfect doesn't it?  But with Seth having to remain in Seattle to help his family Georgina and her friends have their suspicions that the transfer is too good to be true.  Just what is Hell up to?

As much as I was looking forward to reading Succubus Revealed I was also disappointed to have reached the end of the series.  I've really loved Georgina and her crazy group of friends so am sad to say goodbye to them all.  I have to say that it is nice to see a series end on a high note though and Richelle Mead has certainly achieved that with Succubus Revealed.

Before I even picked up the book I had a good idea of where the story was heading, well where I wanted it to go anyway, and I have to say I was extremely satisfied with how things turned out.  Even though I had guessed the main ending there were actually a couple of things that surprised me along the way (particularly a revelation about Seth and Roman's actions towards the end but I can't say more than that without spoilers).  The last book in the series is an emotional roller coaster ride and one I thoroughly enjoyed, I know this is a series I'll end up coming back to in the future and it's one I would highly recommend to urban fantasy fans.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Richelle Mead comes up with next (please let it be a spin off featuring some of the characters from this series - I'd love to see more of Roman and the gang!)

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Quick Review: Vampire Academy Graphic Novel - Richelle Mead

Lissa Dragomir is a mortal vampire.
She must be protected at all times from the fiercest and most dangerous vampires of all - the ones who will never die.

Rose Hathaway is Lissa's best friend - and her bodyguard.

Now, after two years of illicit freedom, they've been dragged back inside the iron gates of St. Vladimir's Academy.  The girls must survive in a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and terrifying night-time rituals.

But above all, they must never let their guard down, lest the immortal vampires take Lissa - forever.

Vampire Academy Series:

Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:

I have to admit that I've not read many graphic novels before but I'm such a massive fan of the Vampire Academy series that I had to give this one a try.  I absolutely loved the illustrations in the story, Rose and Dimitri (swoon) are just how I imagined them and I really enjoyed the visual addition to the reading experience.

Obviously you don't get as much detail in a graphic novel as you do in the full book but you do get the feel of the story and most of the important information is covered.  I'd have to say I preferred the full novel just because you get more background details but this makes a great companion read for fans of the series.  If you've not started the series yet you would be able to follow the story but personally I'd recommend reading the novel first.

The graphic novel is a very fast and easy read and one I really enjoyed.  After I'd finished I actually spent time going back through it just to spend more time looking at the illustrations and I'm looking forward to seeing the graphic novel for the next book in the series (Frostbite).

Source: Received for review from Penguin in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

Sydney protects vampire secrets - and human lives.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathising with vampires. And now she has to live with one . . .

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)


Vampire Academy Series:
Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
I'm a massive fan of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, in fact I think I'd go as far to say that it is my favourite YA series so of course I couldn't wait to get my hands on Bloodlines, the first book in the new spin off series. I'm going to start this review by saying that if you haven't read the Vampire Academy books yet then I would highly recommend reading those before picking up Bloodlines, if you don't you'll pick up major spoilers by reading this book first and you honestly don't want to miss out on the joy of reading the VA books without spoilers. Although this review won't contain spoilers for Bloodlines I don't think I can avoid them for Last Sacrifice and the other VA books so you might not want to read any further if you're not up to date with the series.

Now I've got that out of the way lets get on with my review of Bloodlines. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous when I first picked up the book, I wasn't a massive fan of Sydney in the VA series and wasn't sure how I'd get on with reading the story from her point of view. I was pleasantly surprised though, I'd always considered Sydney to be quite a weak character but it becomes clear from quite early on how difficult her life is and the consequences that she has been facing since helping Rose. She knew exactly what would happen to her but went ahead and helped anyway, partly because of Abe's blackmail, but mostly because she knew she was doing the right thing. You have to be quite brave to go against everything you've ever been taught and grown up believing, especially knowing full well what you'll have to face in the aftermath so I have to give Sydney her dues for that.

I loved getting to see more of Adrian, he hasn't been coping with the break up of his relationship with Rose very well and typically for him has been trying to push aside his feelings by drinking to excess. He has a lot of growing up to do but we do see him start to make some progress and he really does step up towards the end of the book. Although I was firmly on team Dimitri throughout the VA series Adrian really grew on me towards the end and I felt really badly for him after the way Rose treated him so I'm glad we might finally get to see him have his own happy ending. I thought that Jill was going to have a larger role to play in Bloodlines but there are actually so many other things going on that she takes a bit of a back seat in this one, I have a feeling she's going to be in for a bit of a rough ride as the series progresses though.

As I've come to expect from Richelle Mead the plot line is strong and although I did manage to guess a couple of the twists there was still plenty that took me by surprise. The action towards the end was incredibly fast paced and edge of your seat stuff and those last couple of lines had me jumping with joy and left me breathless with anticipation for The Golden Lily.

The one thing that stopped this from being a 5 star read was the way Sydney was constantly referring to herself as fat and frumpy. She was complaining that she had to get her uniform in a size 4 rather than her usual size 2 and saying that she needed to eat less. Now I may have this wrong but I believe a US size 4 is a UK size 6 and I was concerned at the message this is sending out to teenage readers. Size 6 is tiny and unachievable for a lot of people so it distressed me that Sydney considered herself fat. Putting that issue to one side though I thought Bloodlines was a strong start to the new series and I think it has the potential to be right up there with VA as one of my favourites. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book and would highly recommend the series to any VA fans.

Source: Received for review from Penguin in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Quick Review: Adrian's Lost Chapter - Richelle Mead

A glimpse at the original scrapped first chapter, which is told from Adrian's POV.

Originally, Bloodlines was going to be told from a few different characters' points of view. It was going to be in third person and alternate characters each chapter. A few chapters in, problems were emerging from this (you've got to trust me on that!).

I ended up starting completely over and simply doing the entire book from just Sydney's point of view in first person (the "I" voice). The all-Sydney version is what you're going to get when the book hits the shelves August 23.

Hope that clears things up!
Description taken from Goodreads

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)


Vampire Academy Series:

Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:

When Richelle Mead originally started writing Bloodlines she planned on writing the story from several points of view, starting off with Adrian.  In the end she re-wrote the book purely from Sydney's POV but has released the original version of the first chapter as a free online read for her fans. 

Although Adrian's Lost Chapter is only 8 pages long I really enjoyed getting to see part of the story from his POV.  I don't really want to go into plot details as you can read the whole story yourself if you have a spare 5 minutes but this was a nice way of getting to know Adrian a little better.  You can't help but feel for him after his treatment from Rose, although I was routing for Rose and Dimitri to end up together for the whole Vampire Academy series I did feel bad for Adrian about how things turned out for him.

If you're a fan of the VA & Bloodlines series then I'm sure you'll enjoy this quick, free read.  Yes, there are some editing problems, yes, it could have been a much longer story BUT I love it when authors give a little something back to their fans with a free story.

Source: This is a free short story that can be found online here

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Bloodlines - Original Chapter One

Video: Penguin Presents Richelle Mead

I stumbled across this mini documentary with author Richelle Mead talking about writing, a day in her life and book tours so I thought I'd share it here in case any of you haven't seen it.



I'm incredibly excited about the first book in Richelle's new YA series Bloodlines and we only have 21 days to wait for it to be released in the UK!!  I thought I'd include the Bloodlines teaser trailers for you too to get you in the mood for the book :o)

Review: Iron Crowned - Richelle Mead

An embattled realm mystically entwined with her own, the Otherworld is at the mercy of one woman . . .

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm.  But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom.  Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful fear . . .

But who can she trust to help her?  Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda.  And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her.  To control the Crown's all-consuming powers, Eugenie must confront an unimaginable temptation - one which puts her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal danger . . .

Dark Swan Series:
Storm Born
Thorn Queen
Iron Crowned
Shadow Heir

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
I really enjoyed the first two installments of the Dark Swan series but I found myself getting really frustrated as I was reading Iron Crowned.  Eugenie makes some seriously bad decisions and there were times I was about ready to strangle her!  I'm getting really annoyed that she refuses to accept her role as queen of the Thorn Land, her people are suffering because she won't step up to her responsibilities and it's about time she grew up and did the right thing.

I've also had enough of the love triangle and starting to wonder just how many times Eugenie will jump back and forth between Dorian and Kiyo.  Dorian behaves badly in Iron Crowned and while I don't blame her for being angry I didn't like the fact that she goes running straight back to Kiyo before even talking to him to get his side of the story.  I've gone from really loving Kiyo in the first book to completely despising him now, his actions in Iron Crowned made me want to punch him!  I don't think Dorian is much better though so at the moment I'm not routing for either one of them.  I'd rather see Eugenie on her own and learning to become a decent queen.

I am curious to see if Eugenie can redeem herself in the next installment though and although I saw the twist at the end coming it should make things interesting as the series progresses.  Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite book in the series but I'm hoping things will improve again from here onwards.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Cover Reveal - Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

So back in June you may have seen the post I wrote comparing the UK and the US versions of the cover for Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.  I have just had news from Razorbill UK confirming that they are no longer using the cover I included in my original post.  They have decided to change to the US cover to give the series a global look.

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed because I loved the original UK cover but I do still like the new version and so excited about the book that I would read it even if the cover was just plain black lol.  I do think it will be nice to have a series with matching covers across the world and I really like how Sydney looks on the cover.  I'm very curious to find out who that is standing next to her though!

So without further ado here is the final version of the UK cover for Bloodlines:

What do you think?  Although it isn't my first choice it is still a stunning cover & I can't wait to see it in the flesh.  I literally can not wait to get my hands on this book!

Cover Comparison - Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

UK Cover:

UK Release Date = 25th August 2011

US Cover:

US Release Date = 23rd August 2011

Book Description:
LOVE AND LOYALTY RUN DEEPER THAN BLOOD…

Sydney protects vampire secrets – and human lives. As an alchemist, she is part of a secret group who dabbles in magic and serves to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir—the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir—is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as Jill’s protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathising with vampires. And now she has to live with one . . .

If you've been following the blog for a while you probably already know what a massive fan I am of Richelle Mead.  Her Vampire Academy series is one of my all time favourite YA series but I also really like her adult books too and always stalk the shops when she has a new release coming out!  So as an avid fan it feels like I've been waiting forever for Bloodlines (the first book in Richelle's new YA series that is a spin off from her Vampire Academy books) to come out.  Luckily I don't have too much longer to wait now as Bloodlines is released in the UK on the 25th of August and I can't wait to get hold of my copy!!

What I want to know though is who else is desperately waiting for this book?  I've included the UK and US covers for you to have a look at and I'd love to know which is your favourite.  Personally I adore the UK cover and think it is going to look fab next to the lovely red covers of my Vampire Academy books.  I do like the US cover but to me the UK one stands out a lot more and is quite unusual.  The US version is a bit too similar to the many other urban fantasy books I've got on my shelves.  Which is your favourite?

Review: Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead

It all comes down to now.

The Queen is dead and the Moroi world will never be the same.

Rose Hathaway is awaiting wrongful execution and there exists only one man who can stall this terrible fate.  Rose must look to both Dimitri and Adrian, the two great loves of her life, to find him.

With her best friend, Lissa, in a deadly struggle for the royal throne, the girls find themselves forced to rely upon enemies and questioning those they thought they could trust...

But what if true freedom means sacrificing the most important thing of all?  Each other.

Vampire Academy Series:

Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)

Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:

Although this review won't include spoilers for Last Sacrifice I can't help mentioning things that have happened in previous books.  If you haven't discovered this series yet then I'd highly recommend it - it is by far my favorite young adult urban fantasy series.  I would recommend you start at book 1 Vampire Academy & not continue reading this review though as I don't want to spoil the earlier books for you.  If you're already a fan of the series then you need to get hold of Last Sacrifice as soon as possible - it is a dramatic end to the series and probably my favorite out of all of the books.

At the end of Spirit Bound we saw Rose accused of murdering Queen Tatiana and this book picks up a couple of days later with Rose in prison awaiting her trial.  If she is found guilty she will be executed for high treason so it's vital that she finds out who the real murderer is but how can she do this when she's locked up in a cell?  It's a good job Rose's friends have a plan, they have no intention of watching her death and want to keep her safely out of the way while they track down the killer.  Lissa finds herself in a situation she isn't used to - Rose is the one that needs her help for once - but she is determined not to let her friend down and will do whatever it takes to help her.

I don't want to go into anymore detail about the plot as I don't want to spoil the reading experience for anyone.  I will say that the story starts as it means to go on and jumps straight into the action.  This is a masterpiece - a book that will grip you from the very first page and won't let you sleep until it's finished.  You will get the answers to questions you didn't even know you had and Richelle Mead has done a fantastic job of pulling all the various plot threads together while still staying true to her characters.  Yes we finally get an ending to the love triangle between Rose, Dimitri and Adrian but I'm not going to say if I was happy with the outcome or not because I know I've mentioned in other reviews which team I'm a member of.  I'm sure there will be some people who don't like the final decision but I honestly think that it was the only possible outcome.  If Richelle had done anything differently it just wouldn't have fitted with what we know of each of the characters.

I've said before that Rose is one of my favorite heroines and this has definitely continued throughout the series.  She had done a lot of growing up in previous books but I felt she matured even more through Last Sacrifice.  Lissa has also changed a lot since Vampire Academy and I love the fact that despite everything they have been through their friendship is now stronger than ever.  It's great to read a series with strong friendships and good female role models.  It feels like I've watched these characters grow up and that they are now ready to go out and face the world but I'm not ready to see them go so I'm glad it's been confirmed that they will be making appearances in the spin off series.  I can't wait to see what Richelle Mead has in store for us next.

Last Sacrifice is an amazing end to a fantastic series that I can't recommend highly enough, if you haven't read it yet what are you waiting for?  Go out and get hold of a copy now!

Source: Received for review from Penguin in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:

Ink and Paper
Nayu's Reading Corner
So Many Books, So Little Time
My Favorite Books
Cem's Book Hideout
Jess Hearts Books
Tynga's Reviews
I'd So Rather Be Reading
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead

Rose's life will never be her own.

Rose Hathaway has been outrunning death ever since she swore to be the protector of her best friend, Lissa, no matter what.

She's finally made it back to the haven of St Vladimir's but with Dimitri, the boy she once loved, stalking her, Rose can only run so far.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true.  Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her.  And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he has silenced her...forever.

Vampire Academy Series:

Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)


Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:

Although this review won't include spoilers for Spirit Bound as this is book 5 in the Vampire Academy series it may include spoilers for previous books.  If you haven't discovered this series yet then I'd highly recommend it - it is without a doubt my favorite young adult urban fantasy series.  If you're already a fan of the series then you need to read this latest installment as soon as possible - I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the wait until December to read the final book in the series Last Sacrifice!

In Spirit Bound Rose is back at St Vladimir's and getting ready to graduate - as long as she can pass the trials.  Due to the amount of school she has missed she has had to do a lot of catching up but has she done enough to pass?  Her dream has always been to be Lissa's guardian but with plenty of black marks against her name she is worried about what her assignment will be.  On top of that, since she failed to kill Dimitri in the previous book he is now stalking her, determined to kill her if she won't join him as a Strigoi.  She is safe while on campus but what will happen when she is out in the real world?

I don't want to tell you any more as it would be too easy to give spoilers but let me just assure you that Spirit Bound is as action packed as you'd expect from a book by Richelle Mead.  Alongside the action there is also a lot of emotion thrown in.  Rose has so much to deal with and she has grown so much throughout this series, she is definitely one of my favorite characters in a young adult series. 

We get to see a lot more of Adrian in this book & I really am liking him more and more.  I have to say I did feel a little sorry for him in this one - I didn't really like the way Rose treated him at times and I hope we get to see him happy by the end of the series.  I'm still a massive Dimitri fan but he had me on the edge of my seat this time.  The last book left me heart broken and things don't get much easier this time round but I'm still holding out hope for Last Sacrifice.  I would have liked to have seen more of Dimitri in this book but I'm sure he's going to feature more in the future.

Lissa impressed me this time round, she has at times been quite a selfish friend in the last few books but she finally starts showing how much she cares for Rose and actually going out of her way to help her.  Richelle Mead really is the queen of cliffhangers and Spirit Bound was no exception to this.  It has left me itching to get my hands on the final installment in the series & December seems like a very long wait. 

Source: Library

Other Reviews:

Ink and Paper
Story Wings
I'd So Rather Be Reading
So Many Books, So Little Time
Just Another Book Blog
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Blood Promise - Richelle Mead

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir's Academy was the deadliest ever in the school's history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers and guardians alike.

Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them... including Dimitri.  He'd rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa - the one she has sworn to protect no matter what - and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago.

But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves the most?

Vampire Academy Series:

Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)


Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:

Although this review won't include spoilers for Blood Promise please, please don't read beyond this paragraph if you're new to this series.  Events at the end of book 3 (Spirit Bound) make it impossible to review this book without giving away a major spoiler for the first 3 books.  If you haven't yet discovered this series then I would highly recommend it to both adults and teens - it has become my favorite YA vampire series by far & I can't praise it enough.  Check out the reviews of Vampire Academy for an introduction to the series.

OK so hopefully if you're still reading this review you've already read at least as far as Shadow Kiss.  What can I say about Blood Promise?  Apart from the fact that this series just gets better with every book and I'm now desperately waiting to read Spirit Bound!  Talk about an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you begging for more.

At the end of Shadow Kiss we saw Rose leaving Lissa and St Vladimir's Academy to search for Dimitri.  Knowing that he'd never want to be Strigoi and that he was turned against his will she is determined to track him down and keep her promise to him.  Rose sets off on her own for Russia believing that Dimitri will have returned to his home town and she eventually tracks down his family.  Let me just take a minute to point out how much I liked Dimitri's family and I loved the way they accepted Rose and made her feel so welcome.  We get to learn so much more about Dimitri from his family and from flashbacks Rose has about times they have spent together and it made it easy to see how much he & Rose meant to each other.

When Rose finally tracks Dimitri down it leads to some heart wrenching scenes that brought tears to my eyes in several places.  As much as Rose wants to believe he is the same Dimitri he has changed and is no longer the same man that she was so in love with.  It is hard to see him in such a different light & I desperately missed the old Dimitri.  Scenes between them are intense and emotional but I thought that Richelle Mead handled things really well.  Everything that Rose said and did was completely believable & my heart went out to her.

Although Rose and Lissa are apart for the first time we do still get to find out what is happening with Lissa via the bond they share.  Rose frequently checks in with Lissa to see what is going on at the Academy and we see a lot of what is happening with Lissa, Christian and Adrian.  Rose is also visited by Adrian in her dreams and I'm starting to like him more and more as I get to know him better.  Lissa's behaviour is becoming more erratic and it soon becomes clear to Rose that something strange is going on at the Academy but she has so much else to deal with that she can't drop everything to go to Lissa immediately.  I had actually found myself a bit disappointed with Lissa in Shadow Kiss because she never seemed to give any thought to Rose's feelings so I was pleased to see that this started to change in Blood Promise and I'm hoping that she will redeem herself.

I have to say that I absolutely loved Blood Promise and oh the developments at the end - I have got to get my hands on Spirit Bound asap because I NEED to know what happens next!  If you enjoyed the first 3 books in the series then you're going to love this installment.  If you're new to the series & ignored my spoiler warnings to make it this far (yes, I'm thinking of you Bear!) then you need to get your hands on Vampire Academy now - this series really shouldn't be missed.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:

Ink and Paper
So Many Books, So Little Time
Chrissie's Corner
I'd So Rather Be Reading
GretchTM's Reading Haven
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.