This Shattered World

Rating: 6.5/10

A Brief Blurb:
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner is the second book in the Starbound Trilogy. The story is set on Avon, a planet torn by rebellion and follows Captain Jubilee (Lee) Chase and rebellion leader Flynn Cormac who have more in common than they originally thought. 
If you want a proper blurb check it out on goodreads here- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13138734-this-shattered-world?ac=1

Discussion:

Alright. Where to begin… 
So This Shattered World, despite being the sequel in the Starbound Trilogy has a different set of protagonists to These Broken Stars. I quite liked this. Sure I was sad that Lilac and Tarver’s story had come to an end but i think thats a good think because we all know that YA romances are a bit like lollies or chocolate. Good at first but then they become too sweet and a little bit sickly and you just want it to end (Twilight anyone?). But thankfully Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner were smart enough to use the world they had created to explore new characters, planets and relationships, while continuing on from the events Tarver and Lilac introduced us to. 

That being said I didn’t enjoy Flynn and Jubilee’s relationship as much as Larver’s (please tell me thats their ship name, cause that would be awesome!). Sure they had some good banter at times but I guess I didn’t believe it as much as the other one. I also felt as though their individual characters weren’t as well developed. Sometimes they were a bit emotionless or too logical in their reactions. This may be because Amie and Meagan spent a year playing around with Tarver and Lilac before writing the book and they weren’t as familiar with them.
However I did really like where their relationship ended up and I really liked them as individuals. 

This Shattered World also had a mysterious element to it with the Fury and Whispers and I really enjoyed unravelling this. I liked how it explored the two sides of the rebellion and how Jubilee and Flynn were able to recognise right and wrong even though they were on opposite sides of this war. 
This book had a much quicker pace, which I enjoyed immensely and some pretty intense action scenes. 

I didn’t really like the dreams at the beginning or each chapter. I kind of skim read them and so they didn’t make much sense until the end. (my bad!) For most of it I was like what is the point of these dreams and although it eventually made sense I think it could’ve been done better. 

I loved the world building in this one. Especially as it was lacking in the previous book. My only problem is that Avon seems to be ridiculously small (unless it was only set on a small area of it) I hope that we get to explore more planets in the next one. 

I really like the fast paced, action packed style of this book. I loved reading about the issues in which Jubilee and Flynn faced and how their relationship developed and their perspective on the rebellion changed as they became more informed and consequently, empathic towards the ‘enemy’. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

-Rachael xx

These Broken Stars

Rating 7/10 

A Brief Blurb:
These Broken Stars the first novel in Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's Starbound Trilogy follows Lilac La Roux, the daughter of the richest man in the universe and Major Tarver Merendsen on their journey to rescue as their spaceship the Icarus crash lands on a deserted planet. It soon becomes clear that Lilac and Tarver are the only survivors out of 50,000 passengers and that no help is coming. 

Discussion:
Let me start off by saying this was not what I expected from the blurb (not the one I wrote. Obviously I mean the official one). For one, I for some reason thought that they were going to crash on a colonised planet and part of the plot would be keeping Lilac’s identity secret while they searched for help. What I didn’t expect was for it to be mysterious and creepy at times (tell me the whispers didn’t give you chills at first). In other words These Broken Stars was far better than I expected it would be.

One of my favourite aspects of the book was the beginning of each chapter where it showed a bit of dialogue between Tarver and his interrogator. I loved the way in which it set the tone for the upcoming chapter and filled me with a sense of anticipation and sometimes even dread.

I know this is completely predictable, but I loved Lilac and Tarver’s relationship. But I also loved their characters separately. Their banter was so much fun and I really enjoyed seeing their characters develop and how their perceptions of each other were constantly shifting as circumstances forced them to reveal themselves to each other. 

I did feel as though the world building however was lacking a bit and the world they exist in seemed so interesting. I hope we get to explore it more in the next books. Because of the lack of world building I was left feeling that Tarver and Lilac’s story was just the beginning to something. Almost as though it was a prequel, like the back story for what’s to come.

The ending of the book was quite strange and I don’t think i fully understood everything that happened but I did like it even if it was weird at times.

Overall and it definitely wasn’t what I expected. These Broken Stars extremely original (except for the weird titanic in space bit at the beginning which kept making me think of that Futurama episode where they take off Titanic and Bender is Jack), a surprising read, with a compelling characters and a beautiful love story. I hope you love it as much as i do.

-Rachael xx

Books of 2014!

     This year it was my goal to read 50 books that I've never read before and yesterday I completed that goal. The majority of the books I read can fall into one of 3 categories; fantasy, YA contemporary and dystopian fiction. So I have categorised and ranked all the books I read this year except 5 which didn't quite fit into the categories. I also read quite a few books that belonged to the same series and so in those cases I just bunched them together to make it a bit easier. I hope you like my list and discover a a new favourite book! 


Fantasy 
1. Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus, book 5) by Rick Riordan 
2. Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead 
3. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
4. Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, book 1) by Melina Marchetta 
5. Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
6. Slaves of Socorro (Brotherband, Book 4) by John Flanagan
7. Mortal Instruments series (books 4-6) by Cassandra Clare
8. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
9. Shadow Throne (The Ascendance Trilogy, book 3) by Jennifer A. Nielson 
10. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, book 1) by Leigh Bardugo 
11. The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare 

YA Dystopian 
1. Pivot Point series by Kasie West
2. Legend series by Marie Lu
3. Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey
4. Maze Runner Series by James Dashner
5. Delirium (Delirium, book 1) by Lauren Oliver
6. Taken (Taken, book 1) by Erin Bowman


Contemporary
1. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
2. Panic by Lauren Oliver
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 
4. On the Fence by Kasie West 

5. Paper Towns by John Green 
6. The Distance Between Us Kasie West 
7. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 
9. Looking For Alaska by John Green

Macarons & more | Paris + London

One of the great things about travel is that you get to try all different kinds of delicious food. Unfortunately the food was so good, I forgot to take a picture of most of my meals. So only the best looking dishes managed to get snapped. Coincidently most of these were my desserts. 

Pistachio macaron w/ pistachio cream and fresh berries | Laduree

Chocolate Brownie w/ vanilla ice cream and caramel popcorn |
Jamie Oliver's Italian Restaurant

Angus Beef Burger | Jamie Oliver's Italian Restaurant 

Honeycomb Cheesecake | Prezzo

Pistachio, Chocolate and Strawberry Guimauve macaron's | Laduree

Paris

After nine days in London we boarded a train and headed to Paris for the remaining five days. Here are some of the highlights.

Friday night markets along the Seine

The view from the Pont Alexandre III

The gardens at the Palace of Versailles

Sunset on the Seine

L'Arc De Triomphe 

The View from Mont St Michel

Mont St Michel 

The view from the top of the Eiffel 

Le Eiffel Tower

Harry Potter Studio Tour

The Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour had to be one of the highlights of my trip to London. I absolutely adore Harry Potter and it was so amazing being able to see all the sets, costumes, props and really just experience the world that is Harry Potter. The level of detail put into the production of the Harry Potter films is insane and I don't think I really appreciated it until after I saw the studios. We also managed to score ticket to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the studios and the whole time I was watching it all I could think was "the actual great hall is just on the other side of the screen". And I mean literally on the other side. Like, there's not even a wall separating the theatre and the Great Hall entrance chamber. Anyway, it was so amazing I just had to share it with you all. Please don't hate me to much out of jealousy. 

For real though. 

Diagon Alley

Great Hall Shenanigans 

Gryffindor Common Room

Driving Lessons in the Ford Anglia

The Burrow

The Cupboard Under the Stairs 

I found the Chamber of Secrets!

Dumbledore's Office

Me about to trash Umbridges office 

Hagrid's Hut

Butterbeer  Skepticism (and rightly so)

Hogwarts

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

While I was getting lost in the expensive labyrinth that is Harrods, I somehow managed to stumble upon Percy Jackson's Greek Gods. Keep in mind this was ten days before the release date. I immediately picked up a copy and went straight to the nearest cash register. I was so excited that I walked straight past a goldmine of Harry Potter merchandise without even noticing it until after Rick Riordan's latest book was safely in my possession.

I hope that gave some idea of the level of my excitement for this book and thankfully it didn't disappoint. I rate this book 5/5 stars and it deserves every star.

I know some people who've read the Percy Jackson series might be reluctant to read this as it's about Greek mythology not Percy adventures, but don't be put off this book is both interesting and hilarious.

When I imagine Rick Riordan writing this book I picture him writing the basic myths then going "you know what? I'm gonna add ALL the sass."
Seriously though, this book is still written by the POV of Percy and he is the one who is retelling the myths and he is so hilariously honest about his godly relatives and the ridiculously stupid and selfish things they did. It's fantastic!
I studied Ancient Greece in school last year and we did a whole term on myths and legends, so I was quite familiar with most of the myths, but the whole time I was reading it I was wishing this book came out a year and a half earlier. It would've been so useful! It gives a great recount of various myths, but unlike most 'informative' websites the stories are clear and entertaining. That being said I don't think it would be the best book to reference in my assignments. For some reason I don't think 'the promise of delicious cookies' would be accepted as a reason for the Titans turning on Ouranos by my teacher.

Another awesome thing about Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is that the brilliant chapter titles are back from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. My personal favourite titles are 'The Beginning and Stuff', 'Persephone Marries her Stalker, or, Demeter the Sequel' and 'Hephaestus makes me a golden  llama (not really but he totally should)'.
Seriously though, Rick Riordan makes learning fun.

One thing I was disappointed with was that I brought the British edition which doesn't come with illustrations and an uglier cover. This cover features a Logan (movie Percy) Lerman wanna be, some lightning, statues of Poseidon and Athena and the caption 'half boy, half god, all hero,' on the cover. Yeah. That happened.
But it's okay. I have ordered the other edition online.
The book also came with a sneak peek of The Heroes of Olympus which comes out on the 7th of October and I'm SO flipping excited for it!

For real though, if you're still reading this you should just stop and go and buy this book.
Bye! xx