SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, 23 September 2013

Feature: But What About The Cover? #9


'But What About The Cover?' is a weekly feature hosted by The Queen of Teen Fiction. I will be pitching two book covers from various countries up against each other to decide which one is best.

This week, the cover spotlight is on Legend by Marie Lu and I will be looking at the UK and US versions of the cover. 


This is a hands down easy one for me. I am obsessed with the UK cover. Normally, if a US copy comes out first, I prefer that cover because it's the one I'm used to (like with Divergent, I didn't like the UK cover) but with this one, I love the UK version.

I just feel it represents the story more. Having the image of June looking all badass just makes it look more exciting. I also like how the UK cover keeps the symbol from the US version on therr as well. I just like it better overall. I actually own both covers because I just had to buy the UK cover when it came out.

So, what do you think? Do you prefer the US cover? Vote in the poll below!

[POLL NOW CLOSED]

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish


This weeks topic is Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show. And believe me, I have a lot of them, but here are my top ten:

1. The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot: Everyone needs to know how much I love this series. How awesome would it be to see Suze being her usual badass self in movie form?

2. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen: Oh how I need to see Dexter and Remy come to life on the big screen! I could totally see this book being turned into a really great indie movie, just like The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

3. The Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter: I’ve always thought that this series would make amazing movies, or even television. The series has recently been optioned for film, so fingers crossed!

4. Legend by Marie Lu: The epic action in this book would look fantastic on the big screen! I hear that this, too, has been optioned for film.   

5. The Flappers Series by Jillian Larkin: 1920s Chicago flapper scene on the big screen? Yes please! This series would stand out so much from all the other YA film adaptations. It would even make an amazing TV series.

6. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: This is such an important, yet ignored part of history that I think should definitely be adapted to film.

7. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler: Okay, if this was to be turned into a movie, I would be thrilled! This book is so unique and I think a movie adaption would be really successful!

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: This is one of the best contemporary romance books I’ve read in a long time and I think that it would be a really good movie if done well.

9. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: Again, this is another great contemporary romance that I think would be a cute and quirky film.

10. Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: How often do we see a YA Christmas book adapted to film? Yeah, never. This is a fantastic seasonal story that would make an amazing Christmas movie!

So, they’re my picks. If there are any books in that list that you haven’t yet read, go do it because they’re all fabulous! 



Monday, 9 September 2013

Feature: But What About The Cover? #8


'But What About The Cover?' is a weekly feature hosted by The Queen of Teen Fiction. I will be pitching two book covers from various countries up against each other to decide which one is best.

This week, the cover spotlight is on Vixen by Jillian Larkin and I will be looking at the UK and US versions of the cover. 


I can understand the UK design of the cover. This series is about Flapper girls and I think that the image on the UK version gets that point across more than the US versions. That being said, I absolutely adore the US cover. Personally, it draws me in more than the UK cover. 

So overall, I really like the model for the cover of the UK book, but as a whole, I prefer the style of the US cover.

What do you think? Which is best? Vote in the poll below and tell me your thoughts in the comments!


Vixen by Jillian Larkin: Which Cover is Better?
UK
US
make a poll


Sunday, 8 September 2013

A Spooky Month!

Hey everyone!

I'd like to tell you all about a feature that I'm planning to post in the run up to Halloween.



The Ultimately Creepy Villain is a tournament that will run throughout October to select the best baddie in YA fiction.

On Thursday 3rd October, I will post a list of 30 villains, with a poll for you to vote. Every Thursday during October from that point, the list will narrow down from the poll results. By the 24th, there will be just 5 villains left. During that last week of October, I’ll do a write up of each of the 5 villains and I’ll reopen the voting for the final time so that I can announce your winner on Halloween! Here’s a rundown of how the month will go:

Round One: 3rd – 9th October (30 villains)
Quarter Final: 10th – 16th October (20 villains)
Semi Final: 17th – 23rd October (10 villains)
Final: 24th – 30th October (5 villains)
Winner Announced: 31st October

If you’re a blogger and would like to get involved, just save the banner for the feature and ask your readers to vote for your favorite villain! I want to be able to include as many as possible in the first round, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments so that I can include them! 



Thursday, 5 September 2013

Review: United We Spy by Ally Carter

Bookish Details:
Series: Gallagher Girls Book #6
Pages: 303 (Paperback)
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: September 5th 2013
Source: Copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
Buy It From: Amazon


Goodreads Synopsis:
 
Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

My Review:
And here we are. After five awesome books, countless amazing scenes, several badass teen spies and just a few unforgettable romances, we are at the sixth and final book in the emotional rollercoaster that is the Gallagher Girls series. 

United We Spy picks up near the start of the Cammie’s final semester at the Gallagher academy. But of course, it’s not simply a case of being able to have a normal semester, because the Circle of Cavan is still up to no good.

The story follows Cammie, Zach and the girls as they make the hard decision to go on alone in the mission to stop Catherine, Zach’s mother, from continuing her own mission of killing the former Circle leaders.

Cammie and the gang end up in some of their toughest situations yet and I was on edge a lot of the time, knowing that things could (and probably would) go wrong at any minute. I literally spent the other night telling myself that I’d go to sleep at the end of that chapter, and then I found myself staring at the clock at 2am, wondering where the time went.

I cannot express how much I love the characters in this series. I am going to miss all of them. Cammie and Zach are definitely one of the best couples in a book series I have read, because they’re so different to the other young adult couples! Nothing in their lives are certain and they know that the lives they have are dangerous, meaning that when they say goodbye to each other, they don’t know whether it’s for a day, week or even a lifetime. There are some moments between the two of them that make you want to bury your face in a pillow and squeal for a bit before you carry on reading.

I could talk about this book all day, but that would lead to spoilers, and I’m not going to spoil a thing for you. I always find it pretty hard to keep a review of a final book in a series spoiler free.

So what else can I tell you without spoiling you? There is plenty of that awesome, kickass action that the Gallagher Girls never fail to bring. Each girl has her own battle to deal with throughout the story but they are there for each other, as always. I am really going to miss the awesome foursome that is Cammie, Bex, Macey and Liz.  

As such a huge fan of this series, I cannot even begin to describe my love for this final book. Carter has closed the series in such a perfect way and even though I’m sad there’ll be no more books to look forward to, I’m left completely satisfied with the ending.

Thank you Ally Carter for your fabulous series! 

Royal Rating:


Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Blog Tour: United We Spy by Ally Carter

Hey everyone!

I’m so pleased to be part of the blog tour for United We Spy, the last book in Ally Carter’s fabulous Gallagher Girls series!

Series: Gallagher Girls Book #6
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: 5th September 2013

Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet. Cammie and her friends finally know why the terrorist organization called the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now the spy girls and Zach must track down the Circle’s elite members to stop them before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie—and her country—forever.

Do you have a moment to talk about Macey McHenry? Because I would like to talk about Macey McHenry.

When I first picked up book one of the Gallagher Girls series a few years ago, I was sick of reading paranormal and dystopian stories. I’d been surrounded by books about vampires and creatures and futuristic worlds and I was begging for something different. And different is exactly what I got with the Gallagher Girls series.

Not only was this series full of awesome action and badass teens, this series also had that one character that is vital in making a story even more awesome. The confident, rebel chick who was here to spice things up.

Just when you get used to the friendship circle that is Cammie, Bex and Liz, Macey bursts into the picture with her jet black hair and combat boots. As a reader, you know that she is there to cause a bit of trouble, but a part of you also gets the feeling that the friendship circle in the story is probably going to end up a friendship square.

Macey ends up the fourth and final girl in Cammie’s dorm room and over the course of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You, we begin to see that Macey isn’t the bitch she makes out to be. I love how her friendship with the girls’ develops, especially when she doesn’t start off being too fond of Bex at all.

She is so much more than simply a rich, high society, politician’s daughter. I feel like Macey really stands out the most in the third book of the series, Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover. This is when we first learn a lot more about Macey’s life. And, of course, we meet Preston. 

Over the course of the whole series, I’ve grown to love her character and she fast became one of my favourites. So I love Macey McHenry, and you should love her too. Here’s why.


  • Her short temper makes for great comedy. I adore her first introduction into the school whilst Cammie and Bex are showing her around. At one point, Bex grabs her by the arm and she responds with a classy: “Don’t touch me, b****.” That’s when I knew she was going to be an awesome character.
  • She has private jets on demand. Being the daughter of a political figure is a hard job, but someone’s got to do it.
  • Her advice on boys: “If he’s shorter than you, slouch.”
  • She’s that awesome, she even got her own little spinoff story with Hale, from Ally’s other fantastic series, Heist Society.
  • Her perfect reactions to situations. Like the time Cammie and Zach fell right at her feet in book three: One moment I was lying in the arms of one of the most complex (and gorgeous) boy spies ever, and the next I was landing like a ton of bricks on the hard, cold floor of a moving train while one of my best friends stared down at me. And the boy on top of me. And said, "Well, this wasn't on my agenda."
  • Basically, her general awesomeness: An eighth grade boy had cornered Macey by the punch bowl and was trying to act all mature, saying, "So, do you want to go somewhere more private?" 
         "That depends, do you want to keep that hand?" Macey replied.

So, I’m sure you’ll all agree that Macey McHenry is a fabulous character. If I was a super-secret teenage spy, I would want her by my side for sure. Who is your favorite character from the Gallagher Girls series? Let me know!

Also, don't forget to head over to Readaraptor tomorrow for the next blog tour stop!



Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is the Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters!


1. Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices
Although I’d now class his as a main character, he started out as a secondary character. I just love everything about him. His humour, his flamboyant style, his love of glitter and Shadowhunters with black hair and blue eyes… It’s safe to say that Cassandra Clare’s books would not be the same without him and he has turned out to be just as popular, if not more so, than some of the main characters.

2. Nikolai Kretzsky from Between Shades of Gray
Kretzsky was the character that, although he was meant to be disliked, I knew that he wasn’t like the rest of the NKVD officers in this book. His story and his character development is a very important one. Little note for you all: if you haven’t read this book, READ IT.

3. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter
Oh, Neville. He’s the underdog that you root for constantly through the Harry Potter books. I loved reading his clumsy, blundering moments. It was great to see him get his moment to shine in the last book!

4. Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games trilogy
Do you have any idea how much I cried over Finnick in Mockingjay? I loved him from the moment he came sauntering up to Katniss in that loincloth, offering that damn sugar cube. With his humour and his love for Annie, what’s not to love about Finnick?

5. Haymitch from The Hunger Games
This series just wouldn’t have been the same without our favourite drunk, Haymitch. He provided humour to the story at times, but there was also so much more to his character.

6. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter
Another secondary Harry Potter character that I need to express my love for. Although she’s introduced as the ‘crazy’ characters, I knew that there was going to be more to her than meets the eye. I love how sweet and positive she is.

7. Mason Ashford from the Vampire Academy
Every YA series needs that funny, adorable guy that harbours a crush on the protagonist. Mason was that character and I loved him.

8. Severus Snape from Harry Potter
Yep, another Harry Potter character. How can I not mention Snape? His story in the Deathly Hallows caused so many tears!

9. Dave the Laugh from the Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison
I know he’d probably classed as a main character by the end, but for the first half of the series, poor Dave was the little underdog. I rooted for him so much.

10. CeeCee Webb from The Mediator Series

It’s no secret that I love The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot. I love CeeCee throughout the books. She is the type of friends I’d love to have around. She doesn’t care what people thinks and I love that about her. 

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Movie Talk: City of Bones

Okay, so I have been a huge fan of The Mortal Instruments for quite a few years now and I, like other fans, have waited a long, long time for this movie. After the casting was completed, I had such high expectations for the movie because of how perfect the cast was. Then after seeing all of the trailer, I was even more excited because the were edited so beautifully. Then, the night before the film was released, the critics reviews started being released. And boy were they harsh. But I never let a critic put me off, so on opening day I got all runed up and headed to the cinema. 

Right, I am an honest blogger. I’m not going to defend everything single thing about something I love, just because I love it. Like The Hunger Games, I’m a huge fan, but could admit when the movie made some mistakes. So I’m not going to say that EVERYTHING about the film was out of this world.

However, the first thing I must say is that I will not hear a bad word about our cast. Every single cast member was absolutely fantastic and I cannot fault any of them. I have to say, Jared Harris really surprised me as Hodge! He was so amazing, especially at the end!

What I will say is that I didn’t like how they went about the whole brother and sister thing. I understand why they made those changes, but it was a bit anticlimactic to have Hodge tell Valentine to lie to them about being related. I also wasn’t sure about the last half an hour in general. There are so many changes with Valentine, the cup and the ending in general. I’m also worried for how these changes are going to affect City of Ashes. It went quite quickly and things seemed a bit unclear. It makes me wonder how well non-readers will cope understanding the plot.

I also think that Magnus’s party was far too cut down. To me and a lot of fans, that chapter about his party is one of the key moments in the book and I just felt like it was very rushed in the film. I do, however, ADORE the fact that they showed Magnus healing Alec. I’ve also heard quite a few negative reviews about Godfrey and I’m really confused by that because I thought he was perfect, his acting as well as his looks. What I didn’t like was the voice dubbing. Who on earth made this decision?? Godfrey speaks clear English and I really hope we get an explanation as to why they felt this was necessary.

Kevin and Jemima – I just have too much love for both of them. They owned the screen as Alec and Izzy. They were exactly how I imagined the characters and Alec’s jealousy is so well done. His sassy lines to Clary were one of the highlights for me. Oh and Aidan. Aidan Turner, just marry me already. He was a great choice for Luke. Lena and Jonathan, once again, I cannot express how great they were.

Of course, I have to also express my love for Jamie and Lily. Jamie, Oh My God. I’ve supported him as Jace from the moment he was rumoured to be getting the part and he did not disappoint me. HE IS JACE. Lily and he are fantastic. The greenhouse scene was something I was torn on though. It was a great scene, but I don’t think they should have played Heart by Heart during it. It should have been one of the gorgeous and epic pieces from our wonderful composer, because his music was perfect and it would have been better for the atmosphere. The aftermath of the kiss though, when Simon finds them? I LOVED IT.

Okay, so do you have a week or 30 to talk about how much I love Robert Sheehan as Simon? I don’t even have words to describe how perfect he is. He captures Simon’s humor PERFECTLY. The funny tension between him and Jace is fabulous!

The humor is another thing that I’m extremely pleased with. They kept so many of Cassie’s classic dialogue in the book and there were so many hilarious moments. I don’t know why, but Simon drawing horns and a mustache on Clary’s drawing of Jace cracked me up for ages. I was actually crying with laughter over that tiny part.

Let’s talk about Valentine’s henchmen. Now, I was expecting them to be evil and scary, but making them quite funny was a brilliant move. The fact that they were losers was hilarious.

Other pointers I liked: EFFECTS WERE AMAZING. Also, the Pandemonium scene was actual perfection. The Hotel Dumort scene was also perfect.

Other points I wasn’t happy about: Lack of backstory between Valentine and Luke. This was one thing that I really thing the film needed to show. Also, Jocelyn being hidden at the institute, whaaaat?

So, overall I really REALLY loved the first half of this film. I do think that things went a bit wild during the last half though. However the characters are exactly as they should be and I’m extremely pleased with our amazing cast. We are so incredibly lucky to have had a film adaptation of our favorite series, so keep that in mind if you don’t like any of the changes in the film. I think critics have been very harsh on the film, because as a whole, it was what I hoped for and was a great film that was well worth the wait. 

Have you seen the film? What were your thoughts? Let me know!

Friday, 16 August 2013

Trailer Talk: Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters

Hey Everyone!

So, as you probably already know, the Vampire Academy series by the lovely Richelle Mead is being adapted to film. Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters is due out in February next year and we've just been given our first trailer for the movie.



I've seen quite a few negative thoughts online about the trailer, but I really liked it! I think the editors have done a great job in making the trailer look completely different to the other YA film adaptations out there at the moment. They've taken a different approach and it works really well to make the film stand out.

The trailer has also confirmed for me that the casting directors really got it right. Zoey Deutch looks awesome as Rose and even though we didn't get to see much of Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri, I have total faith in him!

For people who aren't liking the look of this trailer, you have to remember that this is merely a tiny bit of footage from the movie. It's edited to also capture the attention of people who have not yet been introduced to the books. I'm sure that once we start getting more footage, more fans will be reassured.

What are your thoughts? Let me know!



Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Film Adaptation: How I Live Now Trailer!

The trailer for the film adaptation of Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now has arrived!

It's been a few years since I've read the book but I've known about the film adaptation for a while now and I've been excited to finally get a look at the film!



First of all, the characters look perfectly cast. They are exactly like I imagined them! And the footage in the trailer looks amazing. I'm wondering how the film plans to address the relationship between Daisy and Edmond.

I'm excited to see the film when it's released on October 18th.