The Raven King - Review

Book Review:
Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic

“He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn't want it to be over.”

Read my review for the The Raven Boys (1st in series) HERE, my review for The Dream Thieves (2nd in series) HERE and my review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue HERE

This review may have some minor spoilers for the entire series.
 
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I can't believe it's over. It's actually over. No more Blue. No more Gansey. No more Ronan. No more Adam. And no more Noah. What do I do with myself? I've become way too attached to these characters (like I do with every series I read) and I just don't think I'm ready to let go yet. 

However, saying that, this was quite a brilliant finale. It was action-packed from start to finish (some may argue it was too packed) and my heart was racing - and breaking - constantly throughout it. From the very first book, we've both seen and been told of Gansey's fate. Even Maggie herself said that - and I quote - 'That kid is going down.' Furthermore, I think we were told like four times within the first couple of chapters of The Raven King that Gansey was going to die. Knowing something like that really keeps you on edge. I mean, I could have easily read this book in one sitting, but the constant death reminders scared me, so I ended up reading the book over 2 days to prolong the experience and preserves Gansey's life. 

In the previous books there are little hints of romance, but it's not focused purely on that topic. This book however, has so many more 'romantic' moments with pretty much every character. Some people may not enjoy that, but I for one am a sucker for romance so I loved it. The Bluesy scenes and the Pynch scenes we got were everything I wanted and needed. So much swooning! 
The relationships as a whole within the gang, both romantic and platonic, are just inspiring. They always had each others backs. They always saw the best in each other. And they would die for each other. Literally. It's the kind of friendship you strive for in life.

The Raven King is without a doubt my favourite book of the series, but I did have one little issue with it. I wanted more Noah! Noah is my son. My precious Cinnamon Roll. And I felt dissatisfied with how much Noah we got in this book. It felt like he had been pushed to the side as a minor character, and I didn't like that. Some might disagree with me, but that's just my personal view. If we had more Noah, this would definitely be a five star read, but unfortunately due to that issue I can only give it 4.5 stars, which to be honest is still an amazing rating. 

Other than that, I cannot fault this book. Maggie Stiefvater knew exactly what she was doing. I think the direction that this book took was done well and even though it completely shattered my heart, I wouldn't change anything (apart from having more Noah, obviously.)

So, I guess those are my views about this finale. I haven't spoken much about the plot, because I don't think I can say anything without spoiling it, but in short, I loved it!
It's sad to say goodbye to such a fantastic series, yet I'm excited to see what Maggie has in store for us next. And hopefully, she *might* consider writing about the gang again? (One can dream)


4.5 Stars
Goodreads

When We Collided - Review

Book Review:
Title: When We Collided
Author: Emery Lord
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: 7th April 2016

I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

"We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know"

I don't want to say too much about the premise of this book, but I'll give you a little insight on what it's about. When we collided follows two protagonists by the name of Vivi and Jonah. It's safe to say, that these two teenagers are completely different: Vivi craves adventure and living life to the fullest, whereas Jonah is more reserved and uses all of his time to look after his family. Meeting these two characters, you wouldn't associate one with the other, they're polar opposites, but when their lives collide (see what I did there) everything thing seems to lock into place.

I was quite sceptical going into this book after hearing that it deals with a mental illness. I normally find that when reading a book that deals with mental health, the topic is glossed over and kept quite tame. It's never realistic enough. This book however, could possibly be one of the best portrayals of a mental illness that I have ever read. It dealt with the topic very maturely and realistically.

Every character is going through their own personal struggles and fighting their own demons, but they fight through it with the help of their loved ones. And I admire that immensely.

My favourite character and the one I admired the most was Jonah. From the start, we can see that Jonah is living a hard life. He's only seventeen, yet he carries the burden of looking after and providing for his siblings. He has essentially put his own life on hold, so that his brothers and sisters can have have everything they want and need in life. When Vivi bounces into his life, she encourages him to break out of his shell and start living for himself like a normal teenager and although we did see him embrace his life much more, he still continued to put his family and even Vivi's joy before his own. There's this one quote that comes from Vivi which I think describes Jonah perfectly,

"All this pain in his life, all this care he doles out to everyone else. And yet he still cracks his broken heart open even wider - wide enough to fit me too."

He's such a sweetheart.

Now moving onto Vivi. I found her chapters quite difficult to read at times. Not because I didn't enjoy them, but because they were very intense. Through Jonah's pov we see Vivi acting carefree and just embracing life and seeing the good in everything, but in Vivi's pov we see the truth. She tries her hardest to not let her disorder consume her after feeling flat and unaware for so long, yet these little snippets come out of when her actions catch up to her and we can see that she's struggling. As Jonah's life was improving, Vivi's was slowly crumbling around her. It broke my heart.

Both Jonah and Vivi are complex well-developed characters and their relationship was no different. The journey that they went through together was both beautiful and bittersweet. Both of their lives were shattering around them, but with the help of each other, they managed to build each other up again. The book didn't end exactly how I wanted it to, but it really did not bother me all that much, because when you really think about it, it works. It's realistic.
This book will stay with me for quite a long time, it would be quite difficult to forget such a powerful book. I laughed. I cried. I fell in love.

The YA genre needs more books like When We Collided. They are incredibly brilliant for teaching people about mental health if they do not know much about it themselves.
So, if you haven't ordered this book yet, do yourself a favour and go buy it.

This was my first book by Emery Lord, but it certainly won't be my last.

4 Stars
Goodreads

ILLUMINAE - Review

Book Review:
Title: ILLUMINAE
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Rock the boat (Oneworld publishing)

“The universe owes you nothing, Kady. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is to do something worth remembrance.”

The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice covered speck. With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet. But their troubles are just beginning. A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth its clear only one person can help her. Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started and she isn’t supposed to be talking to him.

I want to first off praise this book and the authors for creating what is probably the most uniquely written book I have EVER read. Many would say that reading a book is an experience and I agree. However, this book encompasses the true meaning of an experience. It was visually pleasing, the story was awesome and the formatting was original. Instant messaging. Surveillance cameras. Interviews. Documents. These are some of the ways in which we are told the story, and let me tell you, it was brilliant.

Although, since it is such a uniquely written book I must admit it did take some time to really get into the story and adjust to the layout. But that was inevitable. You can't jump into a book so differently written and become immersed straightaway, it takes time to wrap your head around it all. Or maybe that's just me.

I think it was about a third of the way through where I found myself completely hooked. I grew to love all the characters, especially their interactions with one another. They were witty and relatable to any teenager (the characters, not the situation.) Even in the most tense of times I found myself laughing out loud (mostly because of Ezra. I loved Ezra!) But then at the same time, there were many parts where my emotions were at a high and I felt my heart breaking. And those twists placed throughout the story? Did not see them coming at all! Let's just say that my emotions were messed with once or twice (more like a dozen times.)

I'm actually finding it quite difficult to put into words how cool this book truly was. All I can really say is, if you haven't read this book yet, I highly suggest you do. There's a reason why this book is so hyped. I'm not the biggest fan of sci-fi books, but this book is an exception. So whether you are a sci-fi fan or not, this book will capture you in some way or another. The second book in the series Gemina is set to release in October of 2016, which I am now highly anticipating, and is going to follow some of the old characters as well as some new ones.

Overall, a truly all encompassing unique experience.

4 Stars
Goodreads

Favourite Book Quotes

*These aren't necessarily inspirational quotes, but they are quotes that give me all the feels.

“Meeting your soul mate is like walking into a house you've been in before - you will recognise the furniture, the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelves, the contents of drawers: You could find your way around in the dark if you had to.” 

 

“Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passion. If you don't have questions, you'll never find answers.”

“They were infinite. They were the beginning and the ending; they were eternity. The king standing before them gaped as the shield of flame died out to reveal Aelin and Dorian, hand in hand, glowing like newborn gods as their magic entwined.”

“You were the sun, and I was crashing into you.”

  

“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.”

“Books are easily destroyed. But words will live as long as people can remember them.”

“While I'm gone," Gansey said, pausing, "dream me the world. Something new for every night.”

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength.”

“Sometimes in life, we need a few bad days in order to keep the good ones in perspective.”

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”

So, there are some of my favourite quotes from some of my favourite books. Obviously I have favourite quotes beyond these 10, so maybe some time in the future I will do a part 2. 

What are some of your favourite book quotes? Leave them in the comments below!