Book Review | Hunting Lila

Title: Hunting Lila

Author: Sarah Alderson

Genre: YA/ fantasy sci-fi 

Pages: 315

Series: Hunting Lila series

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Rating: 5 stars



"Lila has two secrets she is willing to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever."
"After a mugging exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex.
They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called the unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises she is not alone - there are others with special powers out there - and her mother's killer is one of them..."


I know the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' , but in this case who couldn't? The blurb of this book and indeed the cover just made me want to dive straight in! 
I gave this book a 5 star rating simply because I couldn't put it down and read it cover to cover over the course of a day. I was hooked right from the beginning and that for me is what makes the book the triumph it is.
 I think Sarah Alderson made some awesome characters who all have something which the reader can relate to, making the story engaging and gripping. 
The actual story plot in itself is awesome and I haven't come across a book quite like this one! I have read it at least 5 times by now and each time I feel my heart racing and I finish the book feeling totally satisfied. 
  I actually really enjoyed the romance aspect of the book. The balance was perfect: not too much to lose sight of the plot but plenty to keep me interested. 
I hadn't heard anything about this book or indeed Sarah Alderson when a friend gave it to me so I wasn't expecting great things, however I was pleasantly surprised to discover a book which deserves lots of praise and hype. 
The style of writing was a perfect balance between conversational and detailed. I think this made the story even better as the protagonist (Lila) is just a teenage girl and so the writing style couldn't be too deep and descriptive and had an essence of chattiness to it. 
All in all this book is definitely up there in my list of favourites and I highly recommend it to fans or romance, Young adult literature, fantasy and science fiction. 

Book review | A swift pure cry

Title | A swift pure cry

Author: Siobhan Dowd

Genre: Contemporary/ Young adult literature

pages: 320

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: David Fickling books

Rating: 4 stars

"After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. he centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again."

I hadn't heard much about this book at all really, only that I was intrigued by this cover. I started to read and at first I didn't know how to feel about the strong christian religion that appeared to be at the forefront of the book. However, after a few pages more characters were built up and introduced and other features were unveiled. 

In parts I felt that the protagonist, a girl named Shell was very slow to realise some obvious predictions, yet in a way I felt this added to Shell's Naivety in her situation. I thought that the story played out really nicely and I never got bored as there were a few plot twists to keep the reader hooked.
The writing itself within the book is utterly beautiful and that in itself made the book. The beauty of the naivety of the characters contrasts really effectively with how...well...knowledgeable (or whichever antonym for naive you want to use) the situation they find themselves in is. 
There was Romance in the book, yet I don't think it overpowered the sense of strong family love, religion and indeed scandal that play the leading role in the book.

The plot itself has probably already been told many a time in its varying forms but I think that it was definitely the writing style and development of the character's emotions that gave this book it's three stars. I felt I couldn't give it a 5 as I thought that although I really enjoyed it and I was not expecting to find such a good book with virtually no hype beforehand, it was rather predictable and I thought some characters needed more focus on. I have to say though it was really fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a fast, but beautiful stand alone.

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Series I need to finish

Series I need to finish!

Whilst sorting out my overflowing bookshelves today, I stumbled upon some series of books which I just hadn't completed. This is unusual for me as I generally like to see thing through until the end but there were some series which I'd just abandoned and some which I hadn't even bought the sequel. So, here they are!


Beautiful Dead - by Eden Maguire

This is the 4th and final book of the Beautiful Dead series called 'Phoenix'. I read the first three really quickly and I did sort of enjoy them. They weren't my favourite books of all time but I liked the ideas and characters that Eden Maguire is writing about in these books. I think the main reason as to why I stopped reading this one halfway through was because I wasn't in the mood for a sad ending and I presumed that's what this book would be. I of course, have no idea whether the ending is actually sad or not but I guess there's only one way to find out! (there are actually multiple ways to find out but let's not go into too much detail!)


Little Women - by Louisa May Alcott

This is a copy of Little women that I found for £1 in a second hand bookstore when visiting the beach with my cousins. It is a beautiful early 1900's copy of the book and has inscriptions on the inside from the previous owners, which I find, makes this book even more special. I read little women very fast and enjoyed it immensely! The language and characters were beautiful and upon doing some research I discovered that yes, there are sequels to this well-known classic! I believe it is in fact a trilogy. I don't actually own the other books, which is why I haven't read them. the reason I'm holding back is I want copies to match my beautiful copy of Little Women! So until I've had a good delve into some second hand bookshops I won't have my own copy...however I can always borrow the books from the Library.

Sequins, Secrets and Silver Linings - by Sophia Bennet

I believe this is the (very pink) US cover and I think this book is also known as 'Threads' . I borrowed this book from a friend and she said I could keep it and I read it a good few years ago but reread it recently. It was a funny, light hearted read and I really enjoyed it. Again, not the best read ever but I would be quite interested to read the rest of the trilogy. it's not on the top of my list of books to buy or read but I'm curious as to how the rest of the story plays out.






Malory Towers - by Enid Blyton

 Yes, it's true and I'm ashamed to say that Malory towers in yet to be completed by me. I love Malory Towers and have read them dozens of times, but I have never read the final one by Enid Blyton! I definitely am keen to finish this series as it means a lot to me!


The One Dollar Horse - by Lauren St. John

 I loved this book and indeed the second book, however I have not yet got my hands on the 3rd but I certainly will at some point! I always thought 'horsey' books were seriously overdone and childish, so when I was given this I wasn't that keen to read it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed both the plot and characters, although predictable in some places I thought it was a fun, exciting read. I also loved the element of romance in the book and thought it didn't domineer the story but was a strand with threaded into the plot really nicely. I really need to read the next book (I think it is also the last book) as I can't wait!!!




Mr Gum - by Andy Stanton

Call me a child but I love Mr Gum. Andy Stanton's writing is so funny I was in stitches and I even know adults who have enjoyed the Mr Gum books as their guilty pleasure. I got the first two as a birthday present and I think I read one later in the series but I really want to read them all as after heavy books where I'm emotionally drained and my finger nails have been reduced to stumps Mr Gum is a quick light-hearted read.

Starting my blog...

Hi My name is Hebe!

Is that really how you start a blog?? I literally have no idea but after about 5 'drafts' I have decided that this is how you start a blog post. Well not this...this bit is my awkward teenage girl ramble of an explanation that is really unnecessary but I feel is the essence of this blog.

Moving swiftly on...

If you are still reading by this point, (congratulations! If you feel the need, you may arise and applaud yourself in this true show of endurance) you may have already asked yourself..'Hebe??'...and so I suppose I'd better explain. Hebe...if you aren't aware of Greek Mythology is a minor Goddess and represents youth. My parents (the witty people that they are) decided that because my last name is Young... my first name should also technically mean young. Hilarious.
Right, weird name explained and out of the way I shall move on to why I am wasting your time with this blog!

This blog is supposedly about, primarily, books. Another thing I should tell you about myself is that I am a complete bookaholic and indeed a huge fangirl. I love any type of book, from children's books to dystopian, historical fantasy and contemporary... I love them all. in fact as I write this I have two books to my left, a Mortal Instruments poster above my head and a Hogwarts t-shirt on me. I am proud to say I have an obssesion with books and have done all of my life.
For any readers who are groaning at this aspect and itching to escape this blog at the mention of books, have no fear! I hope to include other things like general advice into this blog.

Before I round off this post I think I'd like to mention what really drove me to start writing a blog. I think for me, I have always used books as an escape from reality...as many people say, books are like falling into a different world. I have been trying for years to keep a diary but I have eventually almost given up as I always forget to put the most important things in! (I write almost as I am a strong believer in that one must never give up!) And I think writing a blog might be another way of finding that 'escape' and doing something worthwhile with my life. I have always wanted to be an author or an actress and simultaneously save the world (you know...as you do!). I hate those lessons where you have to say what you want to be when you're older as you are always expected to say an architect or a lawyer or something. I always say I want to be a teacher or a journalist, which I suppose I wouldn't mind as careers. I've never told anyone where my real passions lie and here I am admitting it to a bunch of strangers. And This...this is my way of being an author...maybe not in the way I expected but I'm being an author...that in itself excites me! I know I'll probably never ever be a movie star or look like Emma Watson or Lily Collins or anything so the actress thing has gone down the drain (I'm not even that good at acting!)  but at least I gave this a shot and hopefully I won't regret a thing.

I hope you made it through to the end of this safe and sound and not too bored and hopefully you'll find something in my blog which you can relate to, or maybe (*mentally crosses fingers as it is hard to cross fingers and type*) even enjoy it :)

Thanks for reading.