Hey everyone! I just thought I'd let you know that I have decided to take a little break from blogging. I am on placement for college at the moment for three weeks, and I just won't have time with all the lesson planning and resource making to write and post reviews and read. I will be back on my regular schedule of posting on Tuesdays on the 11th of April! Until then you can always follow my reading (if I have time to read anything!) on my goodreads (link in the side bar) or my twitter (@AsBookObsession)!
Thanks for understanding,
A :)

Through The Dark by Alexandra Bracken

*This post may contain spoilers for all three books in The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken' The Darkest Minds, Neverfade, In The After Light*

Series: The Darkest Minds, #1.5, #2.5, #3.5

Publication:October 6th 2015 by Disney Hyperion

Goodreads Description:
Don't miss this breathtaking collection of stories set in the world of the New York Times best-selling Darkest Minds trilogy. Featuring ebook original novellas In Time and Sparks Rise, and a gripping, brand-new novella, Through the Dark is a must-have for fans of the Darkest Minds. This collection contains three novellas: In Time, Sparks Rise, and Beyond the Night, as well as a sneak peek at the first novel in Alexandra Bracken's new series, Passenger. 

IN TIME 
Gabe's life has been devastated in the wake of the economic crash. The only option left for someone like him to escape his tragic past is to leave his small town behind and to attempt to become a skiptracer. This already almost-impossible task is made all the more difficult by his first "score,"a young girl who won't speak, but who changes his life in ways he could never imagine. 

SPARKS RISE 
Sam didn't think things could get worse at Thurmand rehabilitation camp. Then the Reds arrive. Everyone assumed the kids with firepower had been killed years ago. Instead they were taken away, brainwashed, and returned as terrifyingly effective guards. To her horror, Sam recognizes one of them: Lucas, the one spark of light in Sam's dark childhood. Lucas has a deadly secret--he beat the brutal training that turned his fellow Reds into mindless drones. When Sam defends herself against an attack by a vile PSF guard and faces a harrowing punishment, Lucas must risk everything to save her. 

BEYOND THE NIGHT 
The government-run "rehabilitation camps" have been shut down, but kids with Psi powers are anything but free. Sam would rather be on her own than put in the care of a foster family and given the "cure"--a dangerous procedure that unclaimed kids across the country are being forced to undergo. But there's more at stake than just her own safety. Sam once made someone a promise, and the time has come to fulfill it. Now that she's out of her camp, Mia only has one thought in her head: finding Lucas, her beloved older brother.

My Thoughts:
Through The Dark is an amazing addition to The Darkest Minds Trilogy. I would highly recommend reading the three novellas in between each novel; so: The Darkest Minds, In Time, Neverfade Sparks Rise, In The Afterlight and then Beyond The Night.
Alexandra Bracken is so freaking good at wrting novellas. even though the stories are short they have all the charm and emotional punch her full length novels have. 

In Time
The character development in this novella is enough of a reason to read it. It was my least favourite of the three but it was still really good.

Sparks Rise
I really enjoyed this novella. I gave readers a really good insight into what the camps were like. I was really surprised at how much of an emotional read Spars Rise was. The new characters,Sam and Lucas, introduced were just so likable. The more I read the more invested I got in them. I really grew to love both Sam and Lucas in the 80 or so pages we got with them. I really felt for them, I was cheering for them at points and I was genuinely worried for them at other parts.

Beyond the Night
This novella was definitely my favourite novella. The story takes place a few weeks after the events of In The Afterlight so if you weren't satisfied with the ending you should read this novella. It answered a lot of questions I had when I finished In The Afterlight. And I loved this novella because the old gang makes an appearance!! I'm not going to say who but I was so excited to see them.I missed them so much so it was wonderful to see all my favoruites again.

Overall, Through The Dark is a great addition to the series and a must read if you love The Darkest Minds Trilogy.

My Rating: 4.5

Thanks for reading,
A :)
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Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes

*This post contains spoilers for the first four books in the Falling Kingdoms series*

Series: Falling Kingdoms, #5

Publication:December 13th 2016 by Razorbill

Goodreads Description:
The ruthless Empress Amara of Kraeshia has taken the Mytican throne, and now uncertainty looms over the three kingdoms. Since Lucia unleashed the fire Kindred, wreaking havoc throughout the land, Myticans have been looking for someone—anyone—they can trust. They believe in Amara, not knowing her grand promises are built on lies.

In Paelsia, Magnus and Cleo reluctantly follow King Gaius to the home of his exiled mother, Selia. Selia is a powerful witch and claims she can help unlock the magic of the Kindred—if the visitors agree to her terms. When Jonas arrives from Kraeshia, he is shocked to find that his rebel army now includes his sworn enemies. Along with Nic, Felix, and the mysteriously resurrected Ashur, the contentious group agrees to cast aside old grudges—for now—and united against their common enemy: Amara.

Meanwhile, bearing the child of a Watcher and feared by all, Princess Lucia travels across Mytica to find her family. But time is running out. The impending storm signals the dark prophecy Timotheus warned her about. Her fate is written, and it includes none other than the rebel Jonas. When their paths collied, Jonas and Lucia must decide between blindly following their destiny or fighting for their own free will.

The battle for power culminates at the Paelsian palace, where Amara resides. Rain pours. Blood spills. And soon all will discover that the darkest magic comes at an even darker price.

My thoughts:
Crystal Storm is just as good if not better than the previous books in the series. The story starts right were Frozen Tides ended; so I would recommend either reread the last few chapters of Frozen Tides right before Crystal Storm or read a really good summary because you literally get thrown straight in.

I really liked how we get some background information on the king. He has been an antagonist for the whole series and before Crystal Storm all we know about him is that he is an awful person so it's great that we get to know him a bit better in this instalment. 

There is so much characters and switching POVs that the overall story only moves forward a tiny bit compared to everyone's individual stories.

Jonas has a very interesting storyline in this one. There is some very cool developments with his character which I really liked and can't wait to read more about but I can't talk about because of spoilers!

I actually liked Lucia in Crystal Storm. I found her to be not as much of a bitch as she was in the last books in the series. She has an air about her that she really wants to fix her past mistakes and I just felt like she has really matured into a character I can like.

Cleo and Magnus' relationship definitely has a main storyline in Crystal Storm so be prepared for drama. They are trying to figure out their new relationship. They are both very cautious with each other for different reasons and there is definitely some tension between the two. At points I felt like it was a bit much and they were acting very immature and a bit out of character but it wasn't anything major. 

There is a good bit of death in Crystal Storm which made it stressful to read. There were people being killed, coming back from the dead, in the process of dying. It was crazy and it didn't help with all the switching POVs. I'd be so invested in a chapter and something intense would be happening and then it would switch POV. It made me read the book so quickly.

Be warned that there is a massive cliff hanger at the end of Crystal Storm so if you hate waiting for the next book in the series I would recommend you wait until closer the release date of the last book to pick up Crystal Storm because the cliff hanger is driving me crazy; I am so anxious to get the next book!

My rating:4.5 stars out of 5

Thanks for reading,
A :)
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The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín

Publication:August 30th 2016 by David Fickling Books

Goodreads Description:
Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun.

Could you survive the Call?

My thoughts:
The Call is dark and bloody and I loved it. I couldn't put it down.

Nessa, our main character, is a determined young girl who I really admired. I loved how she didn't let her disability stop her from anything. She had a strong mindset of not falling behind and trying her very best in spite of her legs.
We do get a good grasp of the other characters, but I would have liked a bit more. There was so many characters, I felt like we just skimmed the surface of them.  The story does swap POVs a lot; personally I would have preferred to stay with Nessa because she was my favourite but if we had then we wouldn't really see how bloodthirsty and twisted the Sidhe are.

The plot was super gripping and engaging. I couldn't stop reading, I had to know what was going to happen. It was so fast paced and chapters often ended on a cliffhanger which made me eager to keep reading.

The setting was great. I am Irish so I loved how the story was set in Ireland, I have never come across a YA set here! I loved how our culture really shined through and how some of the names were irish, like there was an Aoife! I have never come across an Aoife in my reading! I loved how our mythology was woven into the story with the faeries and stuff. Those who don't have Irish/ aren't from Ireland might have a hard time pronouncing a lot of the names/places.

One of my problems with The Call was that the ending wasn't an ending in my eyes. It was a bit anticlimactic. I really hope there is a sequel because there is still a lot of questions unanswered.

The book was marketed as horror but I didn't find it scary at all. It was pretty violent but nothing I haven't read before.

Overall I really enjoyed The Call and will definitely be picking up anything else Peadar Ó Guilin writes, especially if there is a sequel!

My rating: 4 stars
Thanks for reading,
A :)
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The Madman's Daughter Trilogy by Megan Shepherd

Series: The Madman's Daughter Trilogy

Book 1: The Madman'd Daughter

Book 2: Her Dark Curiosity

Book 3: A Cold Legacy

Goodreads Description of book 1, The Madman's Daughter:

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.

My thoughts (spoiler free):

The Madman's Daughter Trilogy is a solid YA trilogy. I found it to be good but nothing ground breaking.

My expectations were a bit too high. I was looking forward to a scary and creepy read but that's not what I got. Book 3 was the only one that had the creep/ eerie vibe I was looking for.

It was pretty standard YA. The characters were average and of course there was a love triangle. I really felt like I'd read it before. I wasn't a fan of the love triangle. It consisted of the usualy insta love and the childhood best friend and mysterious new guy. I didn't feel this 'love' Juliet was going on about feeling. I didn't have strong feeling for either of the love interests. I felt like there was no chemistry between the characters, even friendship wise I felt like they were all a bit detached from each other. There was also a lot of secret keeping between theses so called 'friends' and 'love interests' which drove me crazy.

The plot in the first two books was really predictable but there was a good few twists in book 3. The plot was also very slow in book 1- the last 20% saved it for me and made me want to pick up the second book. Book 2 was even slower; I only picked up book 3 because i hate leaving series unfinished if I pass the half way mark.There just wasn't a lot of action happening.

Overall it was an okay series. I think i is better suited for those who haven.t read much YA.

My ratings

The Madman's Daughter: 3.5

Her Dark Curiosity: 3

A Cold Legacy: 4

Thanks for reading,
A :)

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This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Publication:September 17th 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Goodreads Description:
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, This Song Will Save Your Life is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

My thoughts:

This Song Will Save Your Life is a good book but by no means amazing. Personally I didn't love it.

I usually love a book if I love the characters so I think a big reason why I didn't like This Song Will Save Your Live was because I didn't like Elise. I couldn't relate to her at all and she was so annoying in the beginning with the whole 'I need to change to be cool and impress people' thing going on. Maybe if I'd read this when I was younger I might have liked her better. But I just think you should never change to impress people so her thoughts in the beginning were so irritating to me. She was so judgy as well- she constantly made judgements about people who she didn't even know-it annoyed me so much. She bashed on music she wasn't into, musicians, her classmates, everything! She was so hypocritical- she didn't want other people to judge her and she was going around judging them!

I felt like the story was way too short. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me to care about them and the relationships weren't developed enough. I didn't care about Elise's new friendships with these people because I didn't know these people.

I didn't like the ending. A lot stuff was just left hanging and I wanted more closure.

I did like the message of the story but I wanted more from it. It is a story about finding yourself and doing what makes you happy regardless of what others think but I felt like it could have been executed better. I think it's  great message but it's more aimed at younger teens which is why I don't think I enjoyed it much.

Overall, This Song Will Save Your Life, didn't leave a lasting impression on me. I thought it was okay but nothing special. 

My Rating: 3 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

*Warning this post may contain spoilers for the first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods Asgard Series, The Sword of Summer.

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #2

Publication: 4th October 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Description:

Thor's hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high. 

My thoughts:

I absoultely loved The Hammer of Thor! It was even better than Sword of Summer. No second book syndrome here! It was such a wild adventure and I had so much fun reading it!

Firstly the diversity in this book was great! I love how Rick Riordan is writing more diversely with ever book he writes! A gender fluid character is introduced in The Hammer of Thor and it was handled sensitively and in an appropriate way for middle grade readers. I really appreciated how gender fluidity and pronouns were discussed openly.

The Hammer of Thor covers a lot of topics and issues that other authors would normally shy away from. There is a big emphasis on religion and sexuality throughout the story. I love how although Sam is Muslim and Magnus is atheist they both respect each others beliefs.

The characters were just as much fun to read about as they were in The Sword of Summer. Magnus is still a little sarcastic dork and I love it. Sam is as stubborn and badass as ever. (side note: I love how there is no romance between her and Magnus they are just friends! We need more of this in books- boys and girls can be friends without it turning into a romatic relationship). And a new addition to the cast in The Hammer of Thor is Alex. Alex is a child of Loki and a freaking shape shifter! That's all I'll say. Alex is my favourite in the series!!!

The plot was fabulous. It was fast paced with lots of action. The fact that we know a lot about the world already from book 1 means we dive straight into the action. There is not as much info being thrown at the reader so it's quick to read. The plot was engaging and the short chapters made the story fly by. 

The Hammer off Tor is hilarious; like all of Riordan's books. We get to meet lots of new wacky gods. And there is a load of  pop culture references like selfies and netflixs. It was great.

And the ending!!!Oh my gods it makes me so excited for the next book!!!! I can't believe this is only a trilogy. I can't wait to see how the story wraps up.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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