Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Hello Book Lovers!!!

So of course, the next book I'm going to be reading is Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I can't wait to finish the trilogy and this is the only book out of the trilogy that I don't know anything about because I haven't seen the film either. I'm super excited to see how it ends!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins tonight and oh my wow!!! It was so good!!! If you haven't read this book then I highly recommend you do. I don't want to go into a synopsis of this book as its the second book in the trilogy so for those who haven't read or seen The Hunger Games I don't want to spoil it for you. But I will still let you know my thoughts on it hopefully without spoiling anything.

I have become to love some characters in this book that I didn't necessarily like too much in the first book. For example, Haymitch and Effie. If you've read the books or seen the films then you'll know who I'm talking about. I also have come to hate some characters that I didn't really know that much about in the first book such as President Snow. He is awful and I hope he gets what's coming to him. 

As for the story of this book, I actually liked this one even more than the first one. It kept be hooked throughout and I never wanted to put the book down. When I watched the film I felt the same emotions I did when reading the book. The film adaptation for both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire are fantastic. 

Something also happens to one of my favourite characters in this book which breaks my heart!!! It made me so angry that it happened to this specific character; I just can't come to terms with it. I'm also hating the Capitol more and more.

The ending again made me want to pick up the final book in the trilogy straight away and I can't wait to get my nose stuck into that one. It's a fantastic trilogy and I highly recommend it. Suzanne Collins' writing is fantastic and will keep you engaged throughout. 

This book just gave me all the emotions. If you've not read this trilogy pick it up and read it!!!

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Hello Book Lovers!!!

As you've probably guessed, the next book I'll be reading is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. And I'm super excited to carry on reading more about this world!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished the first book in the Hunger Games Series (The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins and I loved it!!! I've already seen the film and loved that so I was excited to finally read the book. It really didn't disappoint at all. For all of you that don't know the synopsis of The Hunger Games because you've been living under a rock then here is a brief one for you:

The Capitol of Panem consists of 12 Districts. Each person from each District is made to put their name forward for the annual reality TV show The Hunger Games. But this reality TV show is like no other. Two people from each district, a boy and a girl, are selected at random, and are the Tributes for The Hunger Games for that year. They each have to fight to their death, and the last one standing becomes the winner. 

District 12 is the one District that nobody has much faith in to win the games, but when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are selected, could this be the year that a tribute from District 12 wins? 

Katniss and Peeta not only face the battle of staying alive, but also have to act like they are madly in love with one another for the TV show after Peeta claims in an interview before the games he has always loved Katniss from the minute he set eyes on her in school at the age of 5. Katniss on the other hand has never had feelings for Peeta, but can the games bring them together? And who is going to come out the winner at the end? Only one Tribute can be the winner after all.....or can they?

This book kept me hooked the whole way through; it was full of action and adventure and seeing the differences in the Districts and the ways in which each of the Tributes fought was gripping. Some of the tributes deaths really pulled at my heartstrings and although we only got a detailed insight into some of them, I felt like I could picture how each of the tributes fought to survive. 

The Hunger Games is definitely a book I would recommend and I can't wait to read Catching Fire over the next few days. This is the first series of 2015 and it's a one that I won't forget in a hurry. Outstanding!!!

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've actually started the first of the next set of books I'm going to be reading but have been having problems with my laptop so haven't managed to update you before now. But I can now so lets go!!!

I have decided to get my head stuck into my first series of 2015 and it's The Hunger Games Series by Susanne Collins!!! I'm super excited to be reading these eventually. I have no idea why I haven't read them before now but at least it's eventually happening!!! I loved the films, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire but I'm yet to see Mockingjay Part 1 and I think Part 2 is coming out this year, correct me if I'm wrong :)

So here is are the fabulous books in the series with the new covers which I absolutely love!!!

And I'm sure you already know and you can tell by looking at the stack of books above, but the first book in the series is The Hunger Games which is what I'm reading currently :)

So hopefully I won't have any more laptop issues and I can carry on updating you all as normal, and I will speak to you very soon with a review on the first book in this series!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks and I actually realised quite early on in the book that I'd read this before and didn't realise, but I still enjoyed it :)

The novel is about a man called Dawson and a woman called Amanda who have known each other since school and while in school were dating. Unfortunately because of Dawson's family background, this pulls the couple apart. 

Years later they find each other at the funeral of a mutual friend but can there love be remade? With Amanda now being married with children, is this possible? 

As well as this element to the novel, Dawson finds himself in trouble with a couple of family members that our out to kill him. And Amanda faces one of the toughest things I think anyone could go through, an accident that puts her son in hospital fighting for his life.

I actually really enjoyed the ending to this book but throughout I found it jumped from one story to the next a little too much. I liked most of the characters but didn't find myself getting too attached to them but by the end, I did start to feel protective over certain characters.

This is a great book if you want an easy read. Also if you want romance, heartbreak, and trauma, this could be the book for you.

Rating /5

3

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Hello Book Lovers!!!

So I'm on to my third book of April, which is already better than I did last month so I'm super happy about that. I do have dissertation hand in next week so I have a crazy amount of work to do at the minute but I feel I can still read a fair amount of books this month. 

My third book of April is The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. This is a story based on two people that have been separated for a currently unknown reason but they are forced back together again when they both have to go to a funeral of someone that helped the two of them years ago. That's all I know about this book at the minute so lets get reading!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've been meaning to put this review up since Friday (when I actually finished this book) but I've just been so busy!!!) so apologies for that.

I can't say I've ever read a book like this one before. It is a translation from a French novel. It has some really good mottos linked to it and I think debates could definitely be started from the story.

The book follows a lady called Jocelyne. She has a normal life, she has a job, a husband, children, and she writes blogs. She also puts the lottery on. Now we all know the chances of winning the lottery are slim but Jocelyne finds out she has won £18 million!!! She is shocked and has no idea what to do with all the money.

She speaks to a psychotherapist who tells her about the dangers of coming into so much money and stories of others where the money has gone straight to their heads and they have done horrible things. The psychotherapist also tells Jocelyne that people will look at her differently now that she has lots of money. Her children will look at her with money signs in their eyes. Her husband won't love her in the same way and will only be with her because of the money.

The psychotherapist ends up being correct about Jocelyne's husband, who runs away with the cheque when he finds it. During the time of her husbands disappearance, Jocelyne decides to recreate herself and her life and realises that money isn't everything. Meanwhile, Jocelyne's husband is spending all her winnings and having the time of his life.....or is he?

He soon starts to realise that although money can get you lots of things, it can't give you love and happiness. But is it too late to get Jocelyne back?

This is a really easy read if you want something quick. I was in London while reading it so couldn't read it that quick, but you could definitely read it in 2-3 hours.

I enjoyed this book but it seemed to end very quickly and I'm not sure how I liked how it ended. If you've read this book then let me know what you thought and by all means share your opinions on the rest of the novel as well. 

The way this book was written was beautiful and I really enjoyed Gregoire Delacourt's writing style. I will definitely read this again at some point to see if my opinion changes at all. Although I really enjoyed the storyline and the writing style, I do think that it could have been written in a lot more depth and as the book is so short, I think it could have been longer.

Other than that, I think it is a lovely read and I would recommend it, but only to readers over the age of 16. I wouldn't say this book is appropriate for younger readers as it covers older subject matters, not just winning the lottery.

Rating /5

3

Let me know what you thought about the novel if you've read it in the comments below and tell me whether you think money brings you love and happiness.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt

Hello Book Lovers!!!

As I'm going to London tomorrow for a few days I realised I'm probably not going to have that much time to read so I thought I would take a couple of easier books to read. I'm only going to share with you the first book today which is The List of my Desires by Gregoire Delacourt. I got this book for Easter so it's a new edition to my collection but I don't think it will take me very long to read at all. I also love the front cover. So qwerky!!! :)

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Place for Us by Harriet Evans - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished my first read of April, A Place for Us by Harriet Evans. This book was originally published in 4 separate sections, each having a different release date. I'm glad it has now been put together in one book as I don't think I could have waited to read the other sections. Although all the sections are in one book, they are still separated and so I'm going to give you a quick synopsis on each of the sections.

Part 1

This section introduces to us all of the characters, their backgrounds, relations, occupations etc. 

Martha, organising a party for her 80th birthday sends out invitations but when the guests get their invites they notice a little message at the bottom stating that Martha has a big announcement to make. Nobody knows what the announcement could be. We follow each family member, slowly finding out more and more about their lives and how they are all linked to one another, whether that be friends or family. The conclusion to this section is emotional but ever so sweet, ending with Martha helping her ill husband David with a deadline that needs to be sent off the next day but can't manage it on his own due to his illness.

Part 2

This is where things got really interesting!!! It is the family party and the announcement is about to be made!!! The family have no idea what the announcement is going to be but in one of the last chapters of this section, it's revealed!!! And it wasn't a disappointment. I won't say what the announcement is but it's definitely worth a read. 

As well as the big announcement, there are more things revealed about other members of the family and the friends of the family. I like the way that we keep finding out secrets and we aren't just waiting for the big announcement. This gives the book more depth and I never seemed to get bored of the story. We also see the death of a family member which creates even more depth to the storyline.

Part 3

In this part of the story we read about how Martha is coping with everything that has just happened. She can't seem to accept what has been happening within her family and instead she tries to keep thinking everything is normal, hiding away her real emotions. 

We also read about David's past and how he had a terrible childhood. It was good to read about this part of David's life, even though it was rather heartbreaking, but it created a background to this character that we would have never known about if it wasn't for this section of the novel.

Part 4

Here the story is concluded and we find out how each character is coping with the unfortunate events of the family. Martha begins to cope much better, and her family soon become closer again, having a gathering once again at the family home.

From all of the bad things that have happened during this novel, it is definitely nice to have had a positive ending and to see hope within each of the family members and friends.

Epilogue

This was just perfect. In the epilogue we read about how David escaped his awful childhood and how he came to meet Martha. It was written so beautifully and it really gave the book a perfect ending.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book and it is definitely one I would read again. I liked how it was written, jumping between character perspectives as well as time and I really became attached to some of the characters. I can't decide who my favourite character would be, but I did really like David. He was just the kindest, sweetest man and the perfect husband for Martha.

I would really recommend this book if you are looking for something based around family history and issues. It really puts into perspective just how much family means and that we really can't take our families for granted. They are the people we turn to when we are in need of help. or are upset, or just want to share some exciting news. And we really need to appreciate what family do for us.

Rating /5

4

Speak to you soon.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Place for Us by Harriet Evans

Hello Books Lovers!!!

I'm determined that April is going to be a much better reading month than March was so I'm going to start this month of quickly with A Place for Us by Harriet Evans. This book doesn't look too easy to read but it sounds like a book I want to read right now and I've had on my shelf for a while so why not!!!

Also can I just say, How pretty is this cover!!! Let me know what you're reading this month and I'll speak to you soon.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx