Friday 31 March 2017

Perks of being a Walflower



Book name: Perks of being a Wallflower
Author: 
Genre: Young Adult- Contemporary 
Standalone/Series: Standalone
Publishing Date:  February 1st 1999
My Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Summary:
Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic.

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

My Review

This book is a compilation of letters to an anonymous person from a boy named Charlie and it is set in the 1990’s. I have a thing for diaries and journals and letters and so this book was really appealing to me. The letters were combined in a very nice way which made sense. At times I felt as if the letters were directed to me. As if the person-Charlie, was writing those letters to me, talking to me, about his life. I got a strange positive feeling while reading this book which I can’t express in words.

The protagonist and the narrator, or writer of the letters, - Charlie, is the sweetest character I've met (in a book of course). He is so genuine and observant and what you can call a good person, an actual good person. He is referred to as a wallflower, who observes everything going around him and tries to know the meaning of life without even knowing it.

 The narration is excellent. We come to know about all the people in his life who have affected him in the past and are shaping his present. This book portrays Charlie’s journey through high school and all the problems children face during that time and how they cope up with them, make friends and how the time spent in high school is the best time of one’s life which is relished throughout life.

This book also talks about some serious issues seen from the eyes of an innocent boy. The language was really very easy. If you are just starting to read then this book can prove to be the one to get you into reading, and if you are already in love with the habit of reading, then this book has the power to make you fall for reading again and with more intensity. Also if you want to know what happens in high school or are going through hard time, this book can show you the positive side of life and give you hope that you’ll find a way out. Coincidentally, I was having a bad time and I read books when life seems tough, so I picked this book not knowing anything about it and now that I have finished it, I feel happy and not alone.

If you have read this book then what was your favorite scene? *Spoilers Ahead* Mine was when Bill tells Charlie that he is special. After reading that scene I thought if anyone had called me special or something like that ever, but unfortunately for me the answer was no. I just hope someone says that I am special too someday. 

Sunday 26 March 2017

A Court Of Thorns And Roses



Book name: A Court of thorns and roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: YA Fantasy
Standalone/Series: Series- 1st Book
Publishing Date:  May 5th 2015
My Rating: ★★★★★


Summary:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.






‘I love you’, I said and I stabbed him

It was at this point that the book actually stabbed me in my heart and I was just left awestruck. It was very hard to continue reading but I knew that I had to complete it.
This was my first Sarah J. Maas novel and after reading it she has become my queen as well. This sensational novel is a retelling of the classic beauty and the beast. The story is situated in a world where mortals, i.e., humans, and faeries live in separated worlds. There worlds are separated by an invisible wall which was created after a huge battle between the two worlds 500 years ago. This huge fantasy world created by Sarah j Maas is called Prythian and it is divided it seven courts ruled by different high lords who have special powers depending on the court they belong to.
This book has some mature scenes and is not for small children, but if you are of age then don’t hesitate to pick up the book.   

Characters:
Feyre is the protagonist of the story and the story is from her point of view as well. Being the youngest sister in her family, all the burden of the family is on her shoulders, and to feed their stomachs she hunts in a forest which is very close from the wall. She is the bravest badass huntress and female character, who loves to paint, that I’ve ever read and I like her a lot.

Feyre’s elder sisters- Nesta and Elain are too scared to go in the forest. Elain is very sweet and innocent and both Feyre and Nesta can do anything to protect her.
Nesta is a strong willed woman who is an own creature in herself. She loves her family but doesn’t show it.
Feyre’s father just sits in the house after he lost his wealth and his leg got damaged. He doesn’t even try to do anything for his daughters and I disliked him for it a lot

The characters across the wall, called faeries, are not as bad as rumors tell they are, though only some.
Tamlin is the high lord of the spring court. He is nice to Feyre; you’ll come to know why when you read it. He has the power of shape shifting and is constantly growing talons and fur when angry.

I really liked Lucien. He was the first friend Feyre had in Prythian and his story was really very heart wrenching. I just hate his family from the Autumn Court and his brothers are nothing but Villains to me.

There’s a bitch queen who has been ruling Prythian for the last 50 years, her name is Amarantha. The twists and turns are very intriguing in the book.

Then we have Rhysand who is the most good-looking male Feyre has ever seen, but the things he does to Feyre in this book are really bad and humiliating and I hated him in this book. But your perception of Rhys will change when you read a court of mist and fury (the next book in the series) as mine did.

Writing style:
I really liked the writing style of the book. It was from Feyre’s point of view and was written very well. There were many plot twists in the book as well and we see the biggest twist after reading more than half of the book. All the characters were very well portrayed. I’ve heard many people say that they didn’t like this book very much as it was slow or for whatever reason, but I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to every fantasy lover of age. There are some disturbing scenes in tne book though, but if you can look past them like I did then you will love it!

It has everything that a good YA fantasy should have in my opinion- thriller, adventure, romance, a new world, awesomely portrayed characters, incredible plot twists and last but not the least- an astounding ending.

One advice from me- keep A court of Mist and fury with you while nearing the end, because you will need it!


Monday 20 March 2017

Midnight Castle- A Souls of Darkness Novel


Book name: Midnight Castle- A Souls of Darkness Novel
Author: Prem K. Kaur
Genre: YA paranormal  romance
Standalone/Series: Series- 1st Book
Publishing Date: April 30th 2017
My Rating: ★★★★★



Summary:
A sibling is a like a rock, the calm behind the shore; little did I know mine would crash like a wave...

Robyn Garrison lived in remorse, in guilt - until the day she got to rectify herself, until the day she finally found out her sister was still alive and breathing. 

She needed one thing only, and that was to free her sister from vampires. So she set off, into the Castle, into the hell she never anticipated she would set foot in. But it would be a breeze! That thought was the only mistake Robyn made. 

Her job of searching for her sister would place Robyn in the midst of blood-sucking creatures and passages with cryptic clues that never ended. Even if the search didn't finally destroy Robyn, succumbing to Dante Ivanov's - a mortal born to protect the vampires - deadly looks, just may. 
His brown wavy locks, captivating eyes, and rippled muscles are the only thing that keeps Robyn going. Too bad they don't get along! 

But Robyn needs her focus, because no matter how captivating and gorgeous Dante may seem, her motive is way beyond him. Each vampire is deadlier than the other, and Robyn soon realizes she would need her wits to find her sister. Or die trying...




I really loved the book a lot and after completing it, my heart craved for more and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out to answer all the questions in my mind.

The plot of the book is that a sister wants to save her twin, when she comes to know she is alive after 2 years, for which she would even cross the ocean but actually has to go in the world of vampires and complete her task amidst more than a hundred vampires.

This book has vampires but not in the way other books do, like roaming freely and destroying human kind. The idea in which the ‘world’ of vampires was portrayed in this book was really very unique and I liked it a lot.

I loved the writing style of the author. Whenever Robyn said something stupid it followed with an exclamation like ‘shit’, ‘What!’ etc. and similarly for her other actions as well which I enjoyed a lot.

We get to hear from Robyn’s perspective, who is the protagonist, only, but all the characters and side characters are also very well portrayed and you get to know them all very well.
I got another fictional boyfriend- Dante Ivanov, who is the best and he is just perfect. I love Dante so so soo much. No one can’t not love him!
 Robyn and Dante seem to be made for each other with their small fights and private moments of love. I always looked forward to their moments and it felt that I couldn't get enough of both of them.
Another character I loved is Joy. Besides being a vampire she is outgoing and remains cheerful and I really felt sad for her.
The concept of seekers is a new one for me and I totally agree with Robyn about them being stupid.

 Humorous and Passionate moments were very well balanced. It was a thrilling read as well. You never know what is going to happen next and I was hoping with all my might for the book to not end the way it did.
The book ended in a cliffhanger and I really want more of it!

If you don’t like reading romance or dystopian(it wasn't that unpleasant though) novels then this book won’t be of your taste but if you do then just grab a copy of it and start reading it if you haven't already!

This book was a perfect mixture of adventure, thrill, romance, dystopia, family love and what not. I loved it a lot and am sure you would too!