Aprilathon Vlog 2018 | BookTube

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've eventually got round to uploading my Aprilathon Vlog! I really enjoyed participating in this Readathon and I'd highly recommend it for next year if April (Aprilius Maximus) on YouTube decides to do this again.

So here is my weeks progress and I hope if you joined in with the Readathon it was a successful week for you and if you didn't then this might create an interest for you to join in with a Readathon in the future as they are super fun!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished my fifth book of the AprilAThon and that was The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. What I didn't know going into this is that this isn't just the original written version of the story we all know of The Jungle Book, this is actually a collection of short stories including the story with Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera etc. So it was nice to read some works I wasn't familiar with.

So the first story was The Jungle Book that we all know of. However this is quite a lot different from the film but I knew that would be the case. I really enjoyed this as a short story and I liked that Bagheera's personality was kept similar in the film adaptation to what it was in the book. However I much preffered Mowgli and Baloo in the film than I did in the book. Although Mowgli wasn't that different, he seemed to grow up way too quickly in the book and didn't have as much of an innocence about him. And Baloo seemed a lot more angry and aggressive in the book whereas in the film he was this big lovable bear who sings about the bare necessities of life and dances around the jungle (definitely more my cup of tea!). Overall the story was quite a bit different and I don't feel like we got to know as many of the characters however it was a great experience reading this story and seeing the similarities and differences and where the inspiration for the film adaptations came about.

The second story was called The White Seal and this definitely wasn't one of my favourite stories. I know that these stories were set many many years ago but I felt quite uncomfortable reading about the hunting side of seals and how the humans would kill them. I'm a huge animal lover so obviously I probably wasn't going to enjoy reading this story however it was good to learn a bit more about this subject and I always think learning about things that happened in history and comparing them to now is interesting to see.

The third story was called Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and was about a mongoose who lived with a family of humans (mum, dad and child). The mongoose ends up saving the humans on many occasions and we read about how he saves the family from two snakes that were planning on killing the family and the mongoose because they wanted their garden back. I actually really enjoyed this story and found I got quite attached to the mongoose. I think this is quite a random animal to write about however its definitely not like anything I've read before and this story has stuck in my head throughout. I would definitely say alongside the first story this is my favourite of the collection.

The fourth story was called Toomai of the Elephants and I couldn't keep focused while reading this story. It just didn't hold my attention and was probably one of the least memorable stories of the collection. I didn't find this story to be entertaining and I didn't find any of the characters that interesting. I was also hoping that the elephants would remind me of the elephants in The Jungle Book which they did in some ways but weren't anywhere near as entertaining and humorous as the elephants we have seen onscreen. Overall this was probably my least favourite of the collection.

And the final story was called Her Majesty's Servants and was about a collection of different animals. Once again we had some elephants but we also had horses and a dog to name a few. It was interesting to see all of these animals interact and it reminded me a little bit of the interactions of the animals in the children's classic Charlotte's Web by E. B. White.These animals did have a funny quality about them and I found myself a lot more interested in this story than the previous story. It was also funny to see that one of the elephants was the 'leader' however we soon find out he is quite a scaredy cat and is even scared of the little dog! (So really I think its the dog that is the leader!). I got a little bit lost by the end however it was still enjoyable and I'd say this was middle of the rating scale out of the collection.

Overall I think this collection is interesting and I felt like I learnt quite a bit but it didn't hold my attention the whole way through. It was nice to read some of Rudyard Kipling's less known work however and I'm glad I did. I wouldn't recommend this to younger readers as it deals with quite gruesome topics (definitely stick to the Disney adaptation until you're a bit older!).

Collection Rating /5

3

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Geekerella by Ashley Poston - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished my fourth book for the AprilAThon which was Geekerella by Ashley Poston! This was to complete the challenge of 'read a hyped book or a book that has been recommended to you'. And I'm so glad I have eventually read this story!

This is a Cinderella retelling with a fanbase twist! The main character Elle lives with her Stepmother and her two Stepsisters and she hates it. The only thing she currently likes about her life is her little job in the Magic Pumpkin (a food truck) where she spends her time serving customers and working with Sage (a very quirky character with a hilarious sense of humour!).

Elle also writes a blog about her favourite series Starfield and really wants to go to Excelsicon (the cosplay convention her dad created before he passed away). But more than anything she wants to win the cosplay competition so she can win enough money to get into the college of her dreams.

While all of this is happening, she also gets a message from a random number (on her dad's old phone that she now has) asking about Excelsicon. She would usually just ignore messages however something about this person intrigues her and before long they start messaging each other on a daily basis, not having a clue who each other are.

This is such a fast paced and exciting story and a fantastic Cinderella retelling. It made me laugh, it made me feel so attached to Elle instantly, and I was constantly wanting to find out what was going to happen to all of the characters.

On the lines of characters, one of my favourite characters ended up being Cal (one of Elle's stepsisters), which I never thought would happen. However she had so much depth to her character I really grew to love her. I also loved how the stepmother was written and reminded me a lot of Madame Tremaine from the Disney Cinderella. She was so evil but you couldn't help but love her character in a 'love hate' kind of way.

What I liked about Elle is how relatable I found her. I definitely have a geeky fandom side to me (Harry Potter!) and I also understood her personality down to a tee which definitely made me more attached to her than any of the other characters.

I also loved how the story was told in multiple perspectives as you got to know the two main protagonists very quickly from the offset. Darien (the other protagonist) is made out to be this 'famous, full of himself' kind of character however when we get to know Darien a bit more we soon find out that this isn't the case at all.

The writing style itself was very easy to understand and I never felt myself getting bored. I always wanted to know what was happening and I didn't want to put this book down. The only thing I didn't like so much is how long it took for two of the characters to meet. It drove me mad knowing everything and them not knowing. I just wished I could have jumped into the story and told them everything that had happened!

Overall this is a great book for if you're wanting a fun-filled retelling with geeky characters and a Comic Con style convention full of cosplay and competitions. I'd definitely recommend this and will more than likely reread this in the future.

Rating /5

4

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie - Review

         

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished reading Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie for my third read of the AprilAThon which covered the challenge of 'read a book with a beautiful cover'. Now I've left a collection of photos above for you to look at because as you can see this book doesn't just have a beautiful cover but is truly stunning throughout! I'd highly recommend picking up this edition if you ever wanted to read this story!

If somehow you are unaware of what Peter Pan is about, it is about the Darling children that live in London with their parents and their dog that is also their nurse (called Nana). One night while sleeping, a boy flies through the window of the nursery where they are sleeping trying to catch his shadow that has detached itself from him.When the boy begins to cry, this wakes Wendy (the oldest of the three Darling children) and she soon finds out that this boy is Peter Pan that the children have been creating stories based around for years! She begins to sew Peter's shadow back onto him and eventually the two other Darling children, John and Michael wake up as well.

Peter asks them to come with him to Neverland, a magical place full of pixies and fairies and mermaids and pirates! The Darling children ask how they would get to such a magical place and Peter replies with 'well we fly of course!' Now this clearly isn't something Wendy, John and Michael have learnt to do so after Peter explains to them that they need to think of a happy thought, and get a little extra help from Tinkerbell with her pixie dust, they begin to fly!

Once in Neverland the Darling children meet the Lost Boys and Wendy becomes their 'mother'. Together they all go on many adventures including facing the menacing Captain Hook!

This is a truly magical and captivating story and one that has been told for many years and will continue to be told for many more. I love the story of Peter Pan and Neverland has always been a place I would love to visit myself if that was possible.

The characters are so addictive and you can't help but love them all, even Captain Hook and his pirates, (however I've never been much of a Wendy fan, I find her pretty annoying!). Overall though the characters are fantastically described and it is so magical being transported into their imaginations and thoughts and go on all of these adventures with them.

The way Peter Pan is written is of course an older style as it was first published in 1911 (I think!) so naturally some of the language used we wouldn't see in today's more modern works. This didn't halter my enjoyment to the story at all however and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Neverland with all of the incredibly written characters.

As you can see from the above images, this edition of the story has also been beautifully captured by the incredible MiniLima (a company that also worked on the visuals for the very well known Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling). Through drawn images to newspaper articles, maps and interactive pop up pages, MiniLima have done an amazing job in helping bring to life this magical story even more.

Overall I'd highly recommend picking up this edition of the story as it brings a whole new level of magic to the characters, Neverland and your overall enjoyment to the story itself.

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished Turtles All The Way Down by John Green for another challenge for the AprilAThon. This covers the challenge of 'read a book you are excited to read' and I'm so glad that I did!

This book is about Aza who is in high school and enjoys spending time with her friends (mostly Daisy). However Aza also struggles with her anxiety which causes her to have worried and panicky thoughts running through her head a lot of the time.

As well as this Aza and Daisy also find out that one of Aza's friends from years ago (who is also in a very rich family) is also going through difficult times. Davis' father has disappeared and nobody has any idea of where he is. So Aza and Daisy try to uncover the truth of his disappearance.

That is all I'm going to say in terms of the synopsis however I'd love to be able to say so so much more as I loved this book so much! From the very first page I was engrossed in John Green's beautiful writing style. He has a way with words that just transports you into the world of the characters in his stories.

I felt very quickly attached to pretty much all of the characters and I wanted to help them and comfort them through all of the difficult things they were facing. Aza like I mentioned previously suffers from anxiety and the way John Green wrote about anxiety and used a lot of metaphors to try to explain what was going on in Aza's head was truly mesmerizing. As someone who does get anxiety I thought this topic was dealt with incredibly well and I couldn't have asked for a better written book involving this issue.

The story itself was eye opening and thoroughly engaging throughout. I never felt bored, my attention never wandered elsewhere, I was just captivated from start to finish. Overall I think this is a book everyone needs to read at some point in their lives however I will put a trigger warning on it for anxiety and depression.

I loved this story and it has definitely become one of my favourite books of all time.

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finally finished A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas! I'm currently taking part in a ReadAThon called the AprilAThon hosted by April over at the YouTube Channel Aprilius Maximus and there are challenges involved in this ReadAThon. One of the challenges is 'read a book you've been meaning to read for ages', so I thought instead of picking a book I hadn't started yet, I'd pick A Court of Wings and Ruin as I have been reading it for so long and wanted to get it finished. And I'm so glad I can finally say I've finished it!

If you aren't aware of this book, it is the third book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the fourth book to this series is coming out this year. In this third book we follow the characters from the previous two books in their search for the cauldron that is going to be used to destroy the wall separating the mortal lands and the fae lands.

The characters go on a huge quest and on the way build an army that will go into battle with the enemy to save the wall from being destroyed and keep the mortals safe.

As this is the third book I don't want to say too much about the synopsis so we will leave it there but I will say that I enjoyed some aspects of this story but not all. I found that the book probably didn't need to be as long as it was and I definitely got lost in a lot of places which meant the story wasn't always holding my attention.

However I did really enjoy the battle scenes and the excitement and tension they built. I felt like I was holding my breath hoping my favourite characters weren't going to come to any harm and that they would survive everything they had to face.

I did still really love some of the characters (mostly characters I became attached to in the previous two books) however I found that there were so many characters to keep up with that I couldn't really get attached to many more and didn't feel like I got to know all of them as well as I'd like to have done.

The descriptive writing within this series is always so well done and I could always picture where the characters were even when I felt myself getting lost. The world within this story is so magical and its a world that although it is full of danger, I would still like to visit (even for a very short amount of time!).

Overall I think this book has its pros and cons and although it did lose my attention on a few occasions and took me so long to read, I think that the bits I did really enjoy brought my rating up slightly.

Rating /5

3

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Aprilathon 2018 | BookTube

Hello Book Lovers!!!

Here is my 2nd video of the day! And I'm so excited about it! That is because it is my TBR for a Readathon that is taking place from 2nd - 8th April! It is called the Aprilathon and was created my April from the YouTube Channel Aprilius Maximus! I haven't participated in a week long Readathon for a while so I'm so excited to get stuck in with this one!

If you're participating in this Readathon then let me know as I'd love to know what you're planning to read and your progress throughout the week and I'll speak to you all very soon!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Intimidating TBR Tag 2018 | BookTube

Hello Book Lovers!!!

Today I have two videos for you! The first video is the Intimidating TBR Tag which is an older tag now however I've realized my TBR Shelf has become much bigger recently so I thought this would be a good tag for me to do! If you'd like to do this tag then I tag you! And post links to your tags when you have done them so I can check them out!

Keep your eyes peeled for another video I'm super excited about later on and I'll speak to you all then!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx