Monday 30 December 2013

Updates and YA mini-reviews

You may have noticed that I have been absent from the internet recently. You may have not. If so, I’m not offended. So where have I been? University! Wooo!

I have been having a fantastic time. Such a fantastic time, that I now have no time. Between the 22 hours of contact time, the lab reports and coursework (this is what you get for choosing science), friends and extra-curriculars, I’m finding it to keep up, and I’ve just been lazy when it’s come to updating this blog and my Youtube channel. But with New Year’s around the corner, I am now determined to a better job of keeping up this blog and (hopefully) my Youtube channel. I say hopefully for Youtube because the walls in my halls of residence are so thin! So if anyone has some advice for me please let me know below.

I have also been a lazy reader. In the 3 months I was at university, I read three books one of which was on the train to and from London. To say I’ve been in a reading slump is to put it mildly. Luckily, the Christmas holidays have snapped me out of it, and I am on a roll.

So here’s the first part of my mini-reviews of what I’ve read.

Geek Girl and Geek Girl (Model Misfit) by Holly Smale
Geek Girl (Geek Girl, #1)Model Misfit (Geek Girl #2)Geek Girl has been floating around the blogging circuit for a while and I now know why, it’s amazing! It’s funny and quirky (and not in a look-at-me-I’m-so-hipster kind of way). Harriet Manners is a geek (as you may guess from the title) and somehow ends up as a model, which of course is followed by several mishaps. I loved Harriet, especially once you peel off all the layers of facts and knowledge she was a normal, teenage girl. Geek Girl doesn’t take itself too seriously, but has a lot of heart.
I received Model Misfit from NetGalley 
Rating: 9/10

Heist Society by Ally Carter 
Heist Society (Heist Society, #1)Heist Society had an interesting concept, as we follow Kat, a retired teenage thief whose father has been framed for a crime he didn’t commit. As much as I found the plot interesting, I felt like there wasn’t much to the characters. Kat was emotionless and lacked much of a personality, and I found it hard to connect to her. Even the plot, though fast paced and clever in places, required too much suspension of belief for me to take it seriously. It was fun to read, but ultimately left me feeling let down.
 Rating: 6/10

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 
You may have noticed that I may be a tiney-winey (ok, massive) fan of The Mortal Instruments. So shockingly, I had not read the spin-offs. The reason for wanting to avoid them is that I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction. Eventually I gave in and picked them up. I wanted to love it. Really, I did. And I did. Sort of. I really enjoyed the steampunk Victorian setting and the fast paced plot complete with a slippery villain. I loved all the characters, from book-loving Tess, to calm Jem, to strong Charlotte. The only problem I have is that I’m getting sick of love triangles. But I have high hopes for the rest of the series!
 Rating: 9/10


I have a lot of things coming up for this blog and I will get back into the swing of things, so stick around!

7 comments:

  1. Do not fear about the TID love triangle! It's literally the only love triangle I can stand & that's because it is done beautifully! Clockwork Angel was actually my least favourite of the three, with Clockwork Prince being my favourite… I cannot even begin to think about Clockwork Princess – a book which brutally ripped my heart into tiny pieces! It's funny though, I really disliked TMI but looooooved this series. :)

    Oh and Heist Society was a fun book for me too… I guess I wasn't really expecting much from it, so it left me surprised. I haven't read the sequel though and I'm not sure if I will. I mean the series is just light and fluffy, not life-affecting, and I'm in the mood for quite heavy reads at the moment.

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    1. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it as a guilty pleasure, and I am deffo looking forward to the rest of the TID series! I think with TMI its a bit to do with me being old and it being nostalgic of my teenagehood :P. Not sure if I read it for the first time now if I would like it as much. Thanks for the comment :)

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  2. OMG THE INFERNAL DEVICES IS AMAZING, SO GLAD YOU READ CLOCKWORK ANGEL. Like Ruby said though, it's the best love triangle out there and the only one I can tolerate. I hope you continue with them. I love The Geek Girl series, it's so funny and quirky. It's like my fun uplifting read because they always leave me smiling. I loved GG so it's shame you didn't enjoy Hiest Society, I haven't read it yet but I read a bit and I get what you mean about Kat. Thanks for your lovely comment on my Blogoversary post. All the best for 2014.

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    1. I really need to get around to reading the rest of the books now I've seen all the Infernal Devices love! I haven't read GG, but I do hear it's better than Heist Society, so I may pick it up :)

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  3. Great reviews! I need to learn how to write better book reviews. I should take notes from you!! hehe

    Melissa
    http://wildflwrchild.blogspot.com

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  4. I love your reviews, definitely going to read some more YA fiction now. Have you read Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and Tina Fey's "Bossypants"? They're both memoirs but they're totally hilarious and perfect.

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    1. Thanks! I haven't, but I want to since I love both Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey!

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