2017

And unsurprisingly yet again I failed 2016's book challenge!!! *facepalm* I think this just adds the cherry on top of the cake when it comes to bad things that happened 2016. However, this year I am lowering the bar to 40! I am determined! And I realise that I say this every year but still!  I'm 100% blaming school for impeding on my precious reading time... 40 books - let's go!



Book goal: 40
Books read: 40
% complete: 100%                                    - COMPLETED -


-A-

• A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas
• A court of mist and fury - Sarah J Maas
• A court of Wings and ruin - Sarah J Maas
• Also Known as Lard Butt - Ann Herrick
• Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins (re read)
• Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz

-B-

• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - April Tucholke

-C-

• Cinder - Marissa Meyer
• Cress - Marissa Meyer

-D-

• Don't look bcak - Jennifer L. Armentrout

-E-

• Everneath - Brodi Ashton
• Everbound - Brodi Ashton
• Evertrue - Brodi Ashton

-F-

• Silence - Becca Fitzpatrick (re read)

-G-
-H-

• Heir of Fire - S.J Maas
• How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran

-I-

• In Pieces - Danielle Pearl
• In Ruins - Danielle Pearl

-J-
-K-
-L-

• Lord of shadows (Dark artifices #2) - Cassandra Clare
• Love letters to the dead - Ava Dellaira

-M-
-N-

• Need - Carrie Jones (re-read)
• Normal - Danielle Pearl (re-read)

-O-

• Okay - Danielle Pearl 

-P-

• Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld

-Q-
-R-

• Red Hourglass - Scarlet Risque

-S-

• Scarlet - Marissa Meyer
• Lacey's story (Skinniness is Next to Goddessness) - Julia Keanini
• Stardust - Niel Gaiman

-T-

• Teardrop - Lauren Kate
• The Aureate Spectacles - Eliot Mckay
• The Ballad of Captain Thatch - Leah Price
• The Bane Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
• The boy who sneaks in my bedroom window - Kirsty Moseley
• The Girl of Ink and Stars - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
• The Immortal rules - Julie Kagawa
• The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
• The sky is everywhere - Jandy Nelson
• The Test - Gregg Bell
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachael Joyce

-U-
-V-
-W-

• Wonder - R.J Palacio

-X-
-Y-
-Z-

Book Review | I was a Bitch

Title: I was a Bitch

Author: Emily Ruben

Genre: YA contemporary

Pages: 503 

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: Inkitt

Rating: 4 stars


What if you woke up having forgotten the last two years of your life?
After a horrific accident Lacey Jones has to try piece together her shattered past. With no memory of the previous two years she finds herself in a relationship with a man she doesn’t know, and with a reputation for being the Queen Bitch of High-School. 
She decides to keep the secret of her memory loss until she can figure out what happened in these two years she lost, trusting only the mysterious and sexy Finn to help her, but will she continue being that bitch or will she decide to rewrite her story?

Sometimes I find reviewing actually really difficult. Some books I am sent are admittedly really hard to get into and some I even struggle to get to the end. However, this was probably one of the easiest books I've ever had to read and review, just because I was completely and utterly hooked from the moment I unboxed it.

I think many people would underestimate this book for its cover and title being seemingly very orientated towards teenage girls. However, it has a lot more waiting inside - 500 pages more in fact. Despite its length reading this book didn't seem like a mammoth job in the slightest, which I think shows how good it is. For me I was grabbed by the title as it's short and snappy and the word 'bitch' certainly grabs ones' attention! (This might of course be because I am a teenage girl)

Something I really enjoyed whilst reading was the writing style. It was very chatty and informal, which really suited the book and was engaging as it made you feel like Lacey was a friend and therefore more real. I especially loved how Lacey expresses the feeling of 'fangirling' and her excited outbursts because not only is this something I think many people can relate to (particularly teenage girls) but I found my excitement was reflected by Lacey's thoughts and vice versa.

The plot was fast paced and got me completely hooked. There were a few mysteries tied into the main plot that threaded in really well and although a few outcomes were slightly predictable, there was enough to keep you guessing. There were a few scenes I felt were not needed and dragged the book out a bit. It was almost as if there was so much to write about all the characters, memories and emotions it sometimes became a little repetitive. That being said, I wanted to keep reading so badly any extra information I could cram in about the characters was pretty welcome, so this didn't pose too big a problem.

The characters were really good mainly because they were so accurate to what (sadly in many cases) teens are like. Finn was perfect. He had just enough vulnerability and sadness in his life to make him real and relatable, yet he still managed to be a character one could really aspire to be because of his attitude towards others and his utter perfectness. (Sorry, I'm obsessed). I also thought Lacey was a tremendously relatable and funny character. I found myself laughing along with her, sympathising with her and wanting to be her to an extent. At times I found her slightly annoying...that being said I think that is the desired effect as it helps show that she's just a normal teen in many ways trying to find who she is and maybe the part of her I didn't like as much shone through to remind the reader at times she must feel like two different people in her situation.

The reason I didn't give this review 5 stars was because although I am a total sucker for romance and I found myself internally squealing at some of the sweet things that happened, I also had a few moments where I almost inwardly groaned at the cheesiness. A dash of cheesiness is fine, but sometimes the romance I thought was too intense for teenagers. However, this could be a poor judgement seeing as this review is coming from a teenager who is very critical of any romance that is non-fictional, in a setting where romance and chivalry is just about dead.

The morals of the story were fantastic. They send a really good message to teenagers, especially younger ones that you should be who you want to be and never bow to the gigantic pressures telling you otherwise. It's also never too late to turn the tables. I think it is a book everyone can take something from, whether you were a bitch, are a bitch or will never be one.

Happy reading,

Hebe x

About me now

Hello all!

Yes, I do realise this blog post title sounds worryingly like a 'sugar babes' hit...but don't you worry there will be no singing, naughties hairstyles or shimmery mini skirts! (Some small part of me is actually slightly disappointed at this notion)
I digress...

Basically, what brought this about is recently I've been going through the terrifying process of applying to university and thus writing my personal statement. In which I have included: 'I have written a blog since I was 14'.

Then it hit me...wait...14!?

Surely it hasn't been 3 years? To confirm my utter horror at reaching near adulthood I checked out my first blog post and realised that yes rather tragically14 year old me and 17 year old me are pretty much one and the same...however, there have been some notable changes to who I am and what my ambitions are.

Although there is an evident need to update my 'about me' page so people can actually know roughly what the person behind all these god-awful reviews is now like, I don't want to get rid of my original 'about me' section. After all, that Hebe was the one who started all this and thought it all up so I guess she deserves a mention.

I feel like growing up and changing who you are is something that needs to be documented. Even though it happens to everyone in pretty much the same way, it's an experience in life that is somehow very unique. As awkward and squirmy as this is, I want to be able to look back at my blogging experience and say 'wow...look how far I've come'. I want to be able to adapt and change my plans and hopes and dreams and notice they've been achieved or made more achievable. I want to be able to show myself and all my readers who I've become and then I feel I and you all can decide if that's someone worth listening to.

So here we are...gushy bit over sorry felt a little inspired!

Who am I now?

Well, to start my name is unsurprisingly still Hebe and this blog is still all about books. However instead of just reviewing I am now: recommending, hosting authors and giving advice to a much larger audience on lots of different social media sites. I'm now proud to say that no my blog isn't big or famous but it has a base and has expanded into more than I ever could have dreamed of.

I am now also receiving A LOT more review requests, which is humbling, flattering and also overwhelming. There have admittedly been times where blogging hasn't been the stress relief I first envisioned and desired and I still have so many reviews embarrassingly overdue, but fundamentally I still love what I do and blogging is still my escape.

Blogging was at first a bit of a step away from my everyday life, however, like all secrets eventually people were going to find out. 14 year old me would've died at the embarrassment of anyone at school finding this blog and shock horror maybe even reading it. But, as I've come to realise upon its discovery everyone I care about supports me and everyone who I don't doesn't care. I love what I do, so to hell what anyone else thinks frankly.

I'm still keeping my diary, however, still sporadically and I still do forget to write the most important things down. Being an author and actress are still my dreams but it is the saving the world part that has become the most prevalent of my ambitions. I've decided to study Geography at university and one day I want to work in the environmental sector in the UN. Seems impossible but why not dream big? It seems so far not many things about me has changed and you're all probably yawning or switching tabs at this point but hold tight...the part where I'm different is coming I promise!

The teenage years are similar to babyhood in the way that you learn so many new things and have so many little adventures in a very contained amount of time: I've made new friends, learnt new lessons and gone to new places. I've played sport, acted, danced, sung. I've had first kisses, let loose, been stressed, panicked, made mistakes. I've liked a few boys; some too much, some not enough. I've laughed and cried (sometimes both at the same time). I've been surrounded by people and felt desperately lonely (again sometimes at the same time). I've been nervous but brave and I've worked hard and admittedly drank wayyyyy too much tea (that took an innocent turn some of you probably weren't expecting!). As you can see my experience as a teenager so far has been fairly normal and seemingly very boring. All these things seem minute but at the time and in the moment they were huge and they've all made me the me I am now.

Where I think I've changed the most is that I am more open to myself and others about what I want out of life and what my passions are. I tell people where I want to go, what my dreams are and who I want to be without hesitation now.

Not because I'm super confident or because I know exactly what the future holds. Not because I know what I 100% want out of life, but because I've taken it upon myself to not be that person who always hides behind piles of books and can only express herself through a keyboard (of the computer variety...piano keyboards and me are not the best of friends).

Expressing your interests in something you love is a bold move, especially if you have very different interests to the people you are showing them to. But at the end of the day, I figured surely its better for someone to know your interests and love you for them than for nobody to really know who you are?

By letting the people I care about see the real me is my way of showing them that I really want them in my life. They're as important to me as the thing I am telling them, which is a real complement. That's not to say I don't let anyone but my nearest and dearest see who I am. If you love something or someone why not shout about it? (obviously in the right context...there is a time and a place after all!) Why not let people see that there is a lot more to you than they choose to see? You're only as 'boring' as you let yourself to be.

So to round this all off...no I don't know what I really really want from life, yes I'm still finding my place and getting things wrong and being a stroppy teenager. And yes often I do hide behind both piles of books and a computer screen (it's easy when you're still 5 ft 2"- yet another thing that hasn't changed) But I'm getting there...and so far. I haven't regretted a thing.

happy reading,

Hebe x

She does Twitter now too!!

Hello all!

I know it has been an achingly long time since I've posted a book review (especially for all the wonderful authors whose books I am supposedly reviewing...sincerest apologies!) and I can assure you I am slowly but steadily working my way through the huge mountain that is my review pile. it seems that, as in many aspects of my life, I have maybe bitten off a tad more than I can chew and so will be making adjustments to the style of my blogging/reading/reviewing! Anyhow, more of that another time!

What this post is really about is that I have joined Twitter!!! For those of you who haven't already given up on this post...this may have been the push you needed to click off this tab. However, For those of you who are still here I applaud your stamina and endurance and hope you might give me a chance and check out my twitter in the link I will (as always) make blindingly obvious.

Blindingly Obvious link for my Twitter

What can I say...I stick to my word.

Because I am gloriously untechy and computers and the like seem to reel away and break at my touch, I am yet to put the twitter icon in my social media bar...which may seem like the logical option! Trust me, I'm working on it!

Here you will be able to keep more up-to-date on my reading, life in general and further promotions of any books I review or authors who feature on my blog! As an added bonus you also gain access to my almost ironic tweets for the day (sorry...at least I think I'm hilarious). So if for some reason you wish to hear more from me and my catastrophe of a life...as well as some cool booky type things then give me a follow and I will most probably give you a follow back!

Happy reading,

Hebe x

Guest Post | Author Julia Copus

The wonderful world of Harry & Lil!

 I’d like to say a big thanks to Hebe for inviting me to tell you about the Harry & Lil series of picture books. If there are any little people in your life between the ages of one and five – of if you just happen to have a passion for picture books – this one’s for you!

Children’s books are sometimes seen as the poor relations of other, supposedly more important forms of writing. But I believe that books written for young children are among the most important of all: get children hooked early and they are likely to remain readers for life – and being a reader brings with it all kinds of benefits. By the time I started writing for children, I had been publishing adult poetry for many years (one of my poems is currently on the EdExcel A’ Level English syllabus) and I’m sometimes asked what made me turn to writing for a younger age group. One, simple answer is that – like most authors – I write the sort of thing I have most enjoyed reading.  

I have very clear memories of my own picture book favourites from childhood – and I remember, too, that special feeling of being read to as I fell asleep or sat snuggled on my parents’ or grandparents’ laps; there’s no feeling quite like it. I can still hear the soothing rumble of my father’s voice as I lay an ear to his chest and settled into the story. The books I asked to hear over and over included The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Go, Dog, Go!, Where The Wild Things Are, Harry the Dirty Dog and Do you like My Hat?

This last is by the incomparable Dr. Seuss, author of the more famous The Cat in the Hat – a story so enduring that it was made into a live action film in 2003. Do you like My Hat? was unusual for a Dr. Seuss book, in that it didn’t rhyme. But I had other Seuss books too, and what I loved most about those was the sound of the words – the bouncy rhythm, and playful rhymes that tripped off the tongue – as in this snapshot from Horton Hears A Who!:

Then Horton stopped walking.

The speck-voice was talking!

The voice was so faint he could just barely hear it.

“Speak up, please” said Horton. He put his ear near it.

When I came to write my own children’s books, it never occurred to me to write without rhyme. Rhymes are very reassuring for children: the steady beat and chime of the words fixes the text in their memories, and it also encourages them to predict what comes next (as in ‘When Lil and her friends at last appeared / all the animals clapped and —.) The confidence instilled by guessing the right word in this way can make the reading experience a whole lot easier when children move on to reading by themselves.

But rhyme is nothing without a good story, with characters that the children can relate to and engage with. The Harry & Lil books are based around two central characters. Candy Stripe Lil is a fearless little shrew who is resourceful, quick on her feet and happens to like to wear candy stripes. Her best friend is the lovable Harry the Hog; Harry likes to party, is loyal, fun-loving and very fond of sleeping! Together, the pair get up to all sorts of adventures at home on Piggyback Hill. In Hog in the Fog, Lil ventures out into the swirling fog to search for Harry when he fails to turn up for his tea. In The Hog, the Shrew and the Hullabaloo, the two set about investigating the strange noise that is stopping Harry from sleeping. And in The Shrew that Flew, Harry looks on anxiously as Lil draws on all her powers of inventiveness to work out a way to fly up to the rooftop and rescue her favourite hat – just in time to wear it to Badger’s birthday tea! Each book contains a small twist or element of surprise – an essential ingredient for keeping children interested through to the end.

To see a free preview of The Shrew that Flew, please click here.

The illustrations for these books are by the prodigiously talented Eunyoung Seo, who is a joy to work with. As an author/illustrator partnership, we have received some wonderful feedback. Here’s a small selection:

Harry & Lil are eternally endearing. Eunyoung Seo’s delectable scenes, coupled with Julia Copus’ tongue-tingling rhyming text are guaranteed to bring joy to listeners and readers aloud, at every turn of the page. Spectacular! – Red Reading Hub

There are lots of rhyming picture books but very few that read aloud as beautifully as this one. Lil and Harry are an endearing partnership and this little story of try, try again is made even more appealing by Eunyoung Seo’s captivating illustrations, and that silvery rhyming text. – Lovereading4Kids

If this gem of a book from poet Julia Copus and illustrator Eunnyoung Seo is anything to go by, there is another partnership to rival Donaldson & Scheffler. They work with equal skill and apparent consummate ease to produce truly wonderful, memorable picture books. – Books For Keeps

I hope you’ll enjoy the Harry & Lil books as much as these reviewers have, and that your children will become part of their ever growing fan-base. All the current titles are available online from Amazon, WHSmith and Waterstones, as well as many independent sites, like the excellent Hive Books (hive.co.uk) – and, of course, from any good high street bookshop!

Julia Copus is poet and children’s author. Both her adult poetry and children’s books are published by Faber & Faber.

Just to round off I wanted to say Thank you to Julia Copus for giving me the opportunity to host her and her wonderful work on my blog! I don't usually promote Children's books as my audience are mainly teens I believe, however, I hope you know someone (as I know I do) who would love the wonderful world of Harry & Lil!!

Happy reading,

Hebe x