Crown of Midnight - Sarah J Maas

Pages: 417

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 15^th August 2013

Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles in the Series: Throne of Glass

Crowned by evil.

Bound by duty.

Divided by love.

The assassin is back – and she’s burning with rage in the blazing-hot sequel to Throne of Glass.

Celaena Sardothein, royal assassin, is the King of Erilea’s deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies’ blood – but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, puts those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors – a captain and a prince – and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart, or the fate of a kingdom...

With Throne of Glass being one of my favourite books last year, I was both dying to read Crown of Midnight and also dreading it in case it didn’t live up to book one. I was again proved to myself that I’m an idiot.

I just...wow. I don’t even really know where to start; so much happened! The danger, threat and tension were amped up by at least 150% from Throne of Glass and I could barely put the book down to eat or drink. I was thinking about it within seconds of waking up and I started reading as soon as I could.

One of my favourite things about Crown of Midnight was the rise of the idea of magic in Erilea. After being banished ten years ago, there were tantalising hints and spashes of what it would mean for it to return and I gobbled it up. With this came realisations for lots of characters, especially Dorian and Chaol, of the reality of the world they’d been living in under the rule of the current King of Adarlan. Minds were changed, allegiances were decided and internal wars were fought, and it’s only the second book in the series. I became a lot fonder of Dorian in this instalment and I think he has amazing promise and strength and I’m really looking forward to seeing him come into his own in future books.

I felt I got to know the characters a lot more in depth this time, especially Chaol. He was a stoic mystery for most of Throne of Glass but now I know how he feels, how he thinks and what he wants and it enabled me to make a decision between Dorian and Chaol; something I couldn’t do, let alone guess the outcome of, in the first book. Chaol in case you’re wondering, even with the events of Crown of Midnight...

Two epic quests were launched in this book that will definitely keep what I think is a six book series rolling along at a break-neck pace with plenty of shocks, surprises and revelations to keep me on my toes. I am a little disappointed at how different I think book three will be, but then again, I don’t know when Maas will pick up book three against the end of Crown of Midnight...

With an ending that left me gaping in shock, my heart battered and my knuckles white, Crown of Midnight was a brilliant sequel and I can’t wait to be back in Celaena’s world again.

Thank you to Bloomsbury/NetGalley for the review copy!

Sophie

The Rise of the Booktuber

At the beginning of the year I’d never even heard of booktubers. Then on one of my YouTube jaunts I stumbled upon a video by a girl called Kayley. She looked cool and she was talking about a YA book I recognised, though I can’t remember which, so I stopped to watch. Then I found out it was an entire channel dedicated to books and I watched the rest of her videos and subscribed. I went on for months only watching Kayley before deciding that if there was a so-called booktubing community on YouTube then I’d find it!

I have to admit that I struggled to find booktubers that were interesting enough to make me want to watch their videos, that talked about books I cared about or weren’t really terrible quality. I still find booktubing channels the most difficult to subscribe to and like, but now, I’ve found a few and I’m going to share them. Just in case you struggle to find ones worth watching like I do.

KayleyReads

As the first booktuber I subscribed to, she’ll probably always be my favourite. Kayley’s videos are warm, friendly and simple. There’s nothing fancy or over the top; it’s like having a chat with a blogger about books and that’s what I love about her videos.

The Readables

Priscilla’s channel is one of the newer ones added to my subscription list, but she’s quickly become one of my favourites. Her videos err on the longer side, generally between 6-10 minutes, but she’s intelligent, witty, reads such a wide range of genres, goes about her TBR a little differently and I love her slick, arty graphics.

BookRat Misty

Misty is one of us: a book blogger. I’ve always been aware of her but never read her blog and when I happened to stumble across her booktubing channel one day, I gave it a go. She’s incredibly easy to listen to and as a big US blogger it’s great to get a glimpse into what ARCs are making their way through the US at the moment and what might be in my grubby hands in a few months.

Katytastic

I have to admit that it took me a while to get used to Kat’s videos. She’s loud, brash and totally in your face, but I’ve realised I quite like it! She posts super regularly, seems completely awesome and has very similar taste in books to me!

BrysonandBooks

Jaclyn is my most recent find and I already look forward to her videos. Like Kayley, she’s easy to listen to, friendly and she’s has some really interesting thoughts and opinions about books, reading and the book world in general.

Then, of course, we have a few of our very own UKYA book bloggers breaking onto the booktubing scene in recent months: Michelle of Fluttering Butterflies at cloveryness

Lucy of Queen of Contemporary at QueenofContemporary

And Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts at A Daydreamer’s Ramblings!

Do you watch booktubers? Do you find them as easy to find and enjoy as vloggers? Got any recommendations for me?

Sophie

Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi

Pages: 461

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 5th February 2013

Edition: US paperback, purchased

Other Titles in this Series: Shatter Me

Our lips touch and I know I’m going to split at the seams. He kisses me softly and then strongly like he’s lost me and he’s found me and I’m slipping away and he’s never going to let me go.

Juliette has escaped from The Reestablishment. Now she’s free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch. Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible. Haunted by her past and terrified of her future, Juliette knows that she will have to make some life-changing choices. Choices that may involve choosing between her heart – and Adam’s life.

Oh my giddy aunt, Unravel Me is full of non-stop action, raging emotions and quite a few shocks. Loved it.

Tahereh Mafi’s writing blew me away once again. The fluid, emotion-fuelled stream of consciousness style isn’t something that I have the pleasure of reading very often and it’s such a treat. There’s a feeling of poetry about every sentence, every page, every chapter of this novel and I gobbled it all up as quickly as I could. I felt everything that Juliette did, heard everything and saw everything that Juliette did.

This intensity continued into the relationship between Juliette and Adam (and Juliette and Warner, but we’ll talk more about that later...) At certain points I though the pages were going to catch fire! Their interactions are sensual and passionate and every feeling that accompanied their actions came across loud and clear, more so a lot of the time.

So, Warner. In my review for Shatter Me I was so confused as to how anyone could champion Warner over Adam: he was a bullying, vile, murdered and I just didn’t get it. Why would you want someone as fragile and damaged as Juliette with Warner?! I officially eat my hat. Warner came into his own in Unravel Me and I kind of fell in love with him a little bit. The reasons behind why his is the way he is became clear and how he was transformed by loving Juliette opened my eyes to him a little bit. I think my favourite element of his transformation was that he never once apologised for how he is and his belief that he won’t change, even though he had already begun to. Now I don’t know who I want to end up with Juliette...

I thoroughly loved Unravel Me and it’s going to be a very painful wait for book three and the culmination of Juliette’s newfound determination to fight.

Sophie

Blast From the Past: Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Originally published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books in the US

My edition: the Kindle edition of the gorgeous 2009 paperback by HarperCollins Children’s Books (pictured above).

What’s it about?

When Sophie Hatter catches the attention of the Witch of the Waste, she is put under a spell. Feeling she has nothing to lose, Sophie makes her way to the castle that roves the hills above Market Chipping which belongs to the Wizard Howl who is believed to thrive on the souls of young girls... There she makes a pact with Howl’s apprentice, Calcifer, and fights to break her curse.

Why now?

With the death of Diana Wynne Jones in early 2011, the book world recently rejoiced at the news of a posthumous novel from the fantasy legend which was finished by her sister, being published next Spring. The joy from my Twitter feed prompted me to give her a go, and where better to start than with her most famous novel.

  

The verdict:

Straight up: utterly, utterly magical.

I fell immediately in love with the characters of Howl’s Moving Castle. I felt a kinship with Sophie from the off, and not just because we share a name. She’s trapped by the fate of her position as the eldest of three and doomed to failure, she’s bored by her life and job and wants to seek out adventure, danger and life. That’s completely I’m strongly relating to at the moment and we clicked straight away.

The contrast between Sophie as a seventeen-year-old girl and a ninety-year-old woman is fascinating. Before, she was shy and pretty much a doormat really. Once cursed, Sophie becomes a force of nature. She refuses to take no for an answer, sticks her nose in where it’s not wanted and forges ahead with every seed of thought that flicks through her mind. The idea that aging gives you a freedom that’s impossible to grasp when you’re young and s reliant on the world and people’s perceptions of you really interested me; Diana Wynne Jones planted a very interesting idea in my brain with that.

Howl and Sophie also had a fantastic dynamic. The banter that was thrown back and forward between them had me smiling and chuckling under my breath; they have great chemistry. I do, however, think that they worked better as great friends and an evil-fighting team rather than the hint f a relationship at the end of the novel. It made me a little uncomfortable actually. I can’t quite put my finger on why though...

My love Calcifer, however, remained strong and true throughout the novel. I love him! He’s such a unique creature and the whole idea of him is brilliant. He’s funny, stubborn, mysterious and totally loyal. I’d read a whole book about Calcifer. Maybe about the beginning of his adventures with Howl...

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I’m so, so glad I’ve finally read it. This is one that I’ll read to my children when I have them. Howl’s Moving Castle is a story of a type of magic best devoured as a child.

Still not convinced?

- Watch the 2004 adaptation by Hayao Miyazaki: it’s magical, heart-warming and utterly gorgeous.

- Diana Wynne Jones is one of the most beloved authors of children’s fantasy.

Which Wynne Jones novel would you recommend newbies start with? Did you like the resolution between Howl and Sophie? What books are you looking forward to reading to your children?

Sophie

This Northern Sky - Julia Green

Pages: 230

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 4^th July 2013

Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Blue Moon, Baby Blue, Hunter’s Heart, Breathing Underwater, Drawing with Light, Bringing the Summer

Kate’s relationship with her boyfriend ended badly – very badly. And now her parents are taking her on holiday with them to a cottage on a remote island in the Hebrides. Kate can’t imagine anything more boring. But Kate is also scared. Her parents have been fighting and she knows that this holiday is make or break. Once at the cottage, Kate escapes as soon as she cane – outside, anywhere. And there she meets the warmth of the islanders, who are prepared to accept her and listen to her. And possible fall in love with her...

This Northern Sky is a stunningly beautiful portrayal of loss, change and the power of a place. I loved it.

One of Julia Green’s biggest strengths is her unfailing ability to capture the emotions of her heroines with honesty and precision. I knew exactly how Kate was feeling at every point throughout the novel: her anger, fear, sadness, jealousy and disappointment over her parents, Finn and Sam. Everything was there and it rounded Kate out so thoroughly that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I took a trip to the Hebrides and bumped into her on the beach.

The contrast with the Manse family made Green’s portrayal of Kate and her parents’ struggles even more poignant. There’s such a sense of warmth and contentment between the Finn, Piers, Jamie, Joy and Alex. There’s so much life surrounding them that pulls you in. There’s nothing more inviting and welcoming that a house and family that you feel you could be a part of. It was so sharply different to the sharp, fractured remnants of Kate’s family.

I was completely captured by the Hebrides. I want to go there so, so much. There’s something irresistibly wild, fresh and nature about the island full of rocks, grass and ocean. Life there seems simple and pure, but requiring hard-work that would be satisfying. I also love the sense of community and togetherness on the island; the way that everyone banded together in a time of need is something that just wouldn’t happen where I live. To top it off, Green’s description of the scenery where breathtaking, especially a particular night spent on the beach. It’s just stunning.

This Northern Sky was refreshing for its main subject as well as its setting. The romance wasn’t the forefront, but the changing dynamics of her family. Kate’s feelings about her parents’ impending split were spot on and I fervently wanted them to sort things out and be happy again. As the novel progressed and the true level of troubles in her parents’ relationship was revealed, This Northern Sky started to hit a nerve. (Backstory: my parents split when I was four and dad cheated on my mum. He’s been fairly disappointing and cowardly about it ever since). Even though Kate’s dad was in the wrong and technically putting the nail in the coffin, I think he was brave and honest about it. I admired his strength about it in a way. He didn’t disguise his plans or let Kate’s mum tell Kate what was happening and instead talked to her himself and reassured her that although things would change, it would all be okay. It was handled in the right way, the responsible way and I thoroughly respected them for it.

All in all, I adored This Northern Sky. The setting is gloriously vivid, the characters well-rounded and the emotions spot on; perfect.

For my 2013 British Books Challenge and 2013 YA Contemporary Reading Challenge

Thanks to Bloomsbury for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie