November Wrap Up 2015

Hello Book Lovers!!!

It's this time again. It's Wrap Up time!!! I have to say it's not a very big wrap up as I've not read too much this month. I just feel like it's gone so quickly and I've had no time to just sit down for a few hours and read. But here we go anyway!!!

The first book I read this month was:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This is a story about a girl who is a hunter and shoots a wolf not realising that this wolf is actually a faerie and when you kill a faerie there is going to be trouble. I really enjoyed this book and being introduced to the fae world was just fantastic. I gave this book 4* on Goodreads.

The next book I read in the month of November was:

Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A.Milne

It was great to be back in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. I also haven't read a children's book like this in a while so it was super fun getting back into children's literature. I gave this 4* on Goodreads.

And the final book I read this month was:

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

I've seen the film of The Borrowers but up until now, not read the book. Although it wasn't completely like the film, it still has the same basic storyline and the characters were all fantastic to read about. We meet Pod who 'borrows' off the humans in the house they live underneath but when his daughter becomes friends with one of the humans, The Borrowers find themselves in a lot of trouble. I gave this 4* on Goodreads.

As you can see I haven't gave any books 5* this month but there is still one book I feel that has stood out and so the book that wins the award for my Favourite November Read is:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and as it is based a little bit around Beauty and the Beast which is my favourite film, it was a great read for me and I thought the writing style was great and the characters were all very well developed.

As always, my full reviews of all of these books are also on my blog so you can go check those out. That's it for now and I'll speak to you all again in December!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Borrowers by Mary Norton - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished The Borrowers by Mary Norton and I really enjoyed it. I've been so busy over the last week or so that I've had hardly any time to read so apologies for the lack of posts over this month.

In this story we meet Pod who is a very talented Borrower. A Borrower is a very little person who 'borrowers' belongings off other people. Pod and his family live underneath the house of some 'Giants' (humans) and each day Pod sneaks into the house and 'borrowers' some of the Giants' belongings.

No girl Borrower has ever been allowed to go 'borrowing' however, so when Pod's daughter Arrietty goes into the Giants' house to explore and becomes friends with the boy who lives there, the Borrowers find themselves in a lot of trouble.

I found this book so lovely to read and the characters were all so likeable. I loved the relationship the Borrowers all had with each other and how much of a strong family unit they had. I also loved the writing style and how easy to follow it was.

Another thing I liked was how the Borrowers and the Giants were described. Using language like 'the big people' and 'the little people', it just gave the book a really lovely vibe.

I also loved how the Borrowers used different everyday items for things that humans would never be able to do. For example, using a tea towel as a table cloth.

During the story it is made clear that Giants and Borrowers can't mix and if it happens, the Borrowers will end up in a lot of danger. However when Arrietty makes friends with the boy from the house, we begin to realise that maybe Giants and Borrowers can mix. I really liked the friendship that built between Arrietty and the boy and how they proved that anybody can be friends no matter how a person is.

Overall I thought this was an enjoyable read and great for people of all ages. The writing style is easy enough for children and the story is great for everyone.

Rating /5

4

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Hello Book Lovers!!!

The next book I've decided to read is a nice easy book as I feel like I'm in a bit of a reading slump at the minute. The book is The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

I've seen the film of The Borrowers but never read the book so I'm excited to see how it differs from the film (if it does at all). I remember when I read Annie by Thomas Meehan and that differed so much from the film so I wonder whether this will be the same situation or whether the film adaptation has kept with the story more.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A.Milne - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A.Milne and it was just so lovely :) I haven't read any Winnie the Pooh stories or poems in such a long time so it was nice to recapture A.A.Milne's work again.

Throughout the book we go on different adventures with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. We see Eeyore lose his tail, we see Christopher Robin lead an 'expotition' to the North Pole, and we see Piglet completely surrounded by water when the rain floods the forest.

We also get introduced to Tigger in the second section of the book and his friends try to make him calm down by losing his bounce. We also see Piglet nearly meet a Heffalump, and of course we read about Pooh's game he has created and is still loved my many today, Poohsticks.

The third section of this book is all of the poems A.A.Milne has written and I don't think I've read many of his poems before so this was a new experience for me. I also don't read much poetry in general but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading through them all. Some of the poems were aimed at younger readers and some adults could enjoy just as much.

That brings me onto my first point about why I love A.A.Milne's writing style so much. He writes children's literature but adults could read it and enjoy it just as much as the children, maybe even more. He has a way with words which makes his writing not only enjoyable but so funny at times as well. I also find his writing interactive at times. It almost felt like you were in the stories with the characters experiencing everything they were going through.

I love all of the characters in The Hundred Acre Wood. Piglet has always been my favourite though and stays my favourite but I love how silly Pooh is and how excitable Tigger is and how stubborn Rabbit is. They all have such contrasting personalities that have all be developed so well in the stories and although their personalities are all so different, they may have one or two disagreements at times, but they stay such good friends throughout.

I think this is a great book to teach children just how important friendship could be and how if you are feeling down at all, your friends will be there to help you through the hard times.

Another element of this book which is just stunning is E.H. Shepard's illustrations. They are just fantastic and so traditional. I loved looking at all the pictures as I was reading and I loved how they all brought the stories to life even more.

As the stories are all nice and short, they would be great stories to read to your child before bed so any of you who have children I definitely recommend this to you. But I also recommend this for all of you like me who love The Hundred Acre Wood and Winnie the Pooh and his friends. A.A.Milne's stories and characters will never get old and they will still be with us in years to come.

Rating /5

4

(If I was a child it would be a 5 but as I'm meant to be a grown up now, I thought I would rate it from a grown ups point of view)

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A.Milne

Hello Everyone!!!

I've decided, as I don't feel in the mood to read a book that I have to think too hard on, I'm going to read Winnie the Pooh: The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems by A.A.Milne. I haven't read young children's literature in a very long time and since I bought this a few months ago at a book fair (and it only cost me £3!!!) I thought it would be the perfect time to give it a read.

I've loved Winnie the Pooh and his friends for as long as I can remember and I loved reading the stories and watching the films when I was younger. I have wanted to read more Winnie the Pooh stories as an adult for a while now to see what I think of A.A.Milne's writing style as I obviously didn't think of that aspect when I was younger.

This book consists of a collection of stories where we are introduced to all of the characters and taken on many adventures through the Hundred Acre Woods. A collection of poems are also printed in this edition which I'm really interested in as I don't remember ever reading any of the poems A.A.Milne has written. I also don't read much poetry at all so this will hopefully be a nice little insight into some poetry for me.

Can I also just say how beautiful this book is. I love the illustrations and there are also many throughout so I'm excited to see all of them as I read through all of the adventures!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finally finished A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know why this book took me such a long time to read as it isn't too big and I was immersed in the story throughout. But at least I can finally say I've read it anyway!!!

In this story we are introduced to Feyre, a huntress from the human world. Feyre has to hunt to provide food for her siblings and father but she certainly wouldn't do it if they could survive without it.

One day Feyre goes out hunting and comes across a wolf and wonders whether this wolf is from the Fae world. As she doesn't like the Fae world she shoots it anyway. But little does she know that this has just caused her her freedom.

Not too long after that, a Fae wolf comes to Feyre's home and demands she comes with him to the Fae world as she has killed one of their own. A life for a life. It's either that or she is killed. She willingly goes with him to Prythian (the Fae world), and there finds out that the wolf faerie, Tamlin, lives in a beautiful manor house where she will also be staying. She also meets Lucian, another resident of the manor. Feyre is surprised that she hasn't been locked up or harmed and instead is told to do what she likes.

Feyre soon learns about the masks that they all wear and is informed that there is a plight that is effecting magic and this could eventually spread to the human world. She starts to panic about her family but Tamlin ensures her that they are safe and well looked after.

Tamlin and Feyre soon become friends instead of enemies which initially surprises Feyre but makes her feel more comfortable. But Feyre soon realises that Tamlin and Lucien aren't telling her the full story about the plight and asks a Suriel (a Low Fae) for the answers as they are unable to lie. She finds out about Hybern, a kingdom ruled by a High Fae King and who also resents humans.

Tamlin then brings back a faerie that has been injured and had it's wings taken. When Feyre hears the faerie say 'she's taken my wings', she starts to wonder who this 'she' is. She soon finds out that this 'she' is Amarantha, the queen of Prythian.

At a solstice celebration, Tamlin and Feyre kiss and soon a suspicious character turns up who goes by the name of Rhysand. He is known to have close connections to the queen and Tamlin begs him not to tell Amarantha of Feyre's presence. That night Tamlin and Feyre have an intimate night together but then Tamlin drops the bombshell that he will be sending her back to the human world in the morning.

Back home Feyre discovers that her family now have plenty of money and own a huge house. But after another manor house is burnt down she goes back to Prythian as she suspects there is something seriously wrong.

There she finds out that Tamlin has been taken by Amarantha and also finds out about the curse that was put onto Tamlin many years ago after he refused to become Amarantha's lover. The curse was that if Tamlin can get a human girl to fall in love with him that has killed Fae before, the curse will be broken. As Feyre never told Tamlin that she loves him, Amarantha has now taken him captive.

She goes to find him and when comes face to face with Amarantha, is given some tasks to complete in order to win hers and Tamlin's freedom. Little does she know that these tasks are just about impossible.

I found this book intense and exciting and I began to love Tamlin very quickly. I did think that Feyre would be a little more 'bad ass', but by the end when she was with Amarantha, she developed a lot more strength and determination.

I also loved being introduced to the Fae world and I'm looking forward to reading more stories that contain the Fae world. I liked that although the Faeries were made out to be bad, they weren't all bad and they could all love just like humans can.

Another character I actually really liked was Rhysand. He comes across as a bad character as he is close to Amarantha, but by the end we realise that he isn't actually too bad and that maybe somewhere in him, he has feelings just like the humans.

I thought Amarantha was a fantastic villain and has now become one of my favourite villains of all time. She was truly awful and I would love to read more of a back story about her.

I definitely wanted to hear more about Feyre's family back in the human world so I hope that they are more involved in the next book in the series as in this book, they didn't have major story lines and I think they could definitely be a part of a bigger story line.

As I said earlier, this book also took me so long to read and I'm not entirely sure why. I love becoming so immersed into a story that I read it within a few days, but for some reason this book took me over a week to read.

However, I did still really enjoy this book and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a high fantasy read within the Fae world.

Rating /5

4

If you've read this book then let me know in the comments what you thought about it as I would love to know, and if you have any other recommendations of books that contain the Fae world then by all means leave those in the comments as well.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I am eventually getting around to reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas!!! I have been meaning to read this book for months and just haven't gotten round to it.

All I know about this book is that it has a Beauty and the Beast feel about it and as that is my favourite Disney film, I thought I just had to read it.

I've heard nothing but good things about this book and as it's the first in a trilogy I better get it read now so I'm prepared for the 2nd book to come out next year.

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

October 2015 Wrap Up

Hello Book Lovers!!!

It's time for my October Wrap Up and although I've only read 4 books this month, one of them was huge and what I have read has been great overall :)

So lets get started!!!

The first book I read in the month of October was: 

An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green.

In this story we are introduced to Colin Singleton and throughout the book he is trying to create a theory in why he has been dumped by 19 Katherines. This book wasn't one of my favourite John Green books as I didn't think the storyline was that strong, but I did still enjoy it and gave it 3* on Goodreads.

The next book I read was:

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.

This book is about a girl called Evie that doesn't exactly see eye to eye with her mother all the time, When a letter is delivered to her mother one day, Evie starts to wonder whether her mother is hiding something from her and she wants to find out what. This leads her to Middlehurst Castle, home of the Sister's Blythe; 1 set of twins and a little sister. I really enjoyed this book and felt really attached to some of the characters. The way in which the locations were written was beautiful and I thought the ending was very powerful. I gave this book 5* on Goodreads.

The next book I read in the month of October was:

Six Years by Harlen Coben.

This book tells the story of a guy called Jake that made a promise to his ex girlfriend Natalie on her wedding day. This promise was to stay away from her and her partner and leave them be. But six years on when Jake discovers Natalie's partner has been murdered, he decides six years is enough and tries to find her. He goes to the funeral expecting to see Natalie but the widow there turns out to be someone he doesn't know. Again I really enjoyed this book as it kept me on edge the whole way through. The violent scenes were very well written and I felt like I was actually there with the characters a lot of the time. I gave this book 4* on Goodreads.

And the final book I read this month was:

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz.

This book is based off the T.V series on Disney Channel, The Descendants. We follow the villains and their children after they have been banished to The Isle of the Lost. Their mission is to find the Dragon's Eye, their only escape from the island. I really enjoyed this book and I think it is great for all ages. It is a fun book to read and the characters all have very unique personalities. I gave this book 4* on Goodreads.

So that is it for my October Wrap Up and it is now time to find out which one of those books got the award for my Favourite October Read. And the winner is.....

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton!!!

It was great to get back into Kate Morton's writing after so many years and I'm excited to read more of her novels in the future.

I hope you've all had a successful reading month this October. Feel free to leave what you have read in the comments below and if you have any recommendations then by all means leave those in the comments as well.

Speak to you all in November!!!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx