The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

Publication:January 13th 2015 by Riverhead Books

Goodreads Description:
The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My thoughts:

I never read mysteries or thrillers and The Girl on the Train did not sell the genre to me. It wasn't the best one to start on; I'm not really interested in picking up more in the genre now because i didn't like this one. The Girl on the Train was just okay. I had a lot of problems with it.

Firstly the characters; not a single one of them is likeable or relatable. They were all awful people who are all selfish and self centred, They couldn't care less about the consequences of their actions. The only thing I appreciated about them was that they were all flawed.

Rachel, the main character was so depressing to read about. It was not fun reading about a sad alcoholic who was doing nothing to try make her situation better. The only good thing about her was she challenges readers to think about how much we assume about--and pre-judge--other people based on our limited knowledge of them.

A big problem I had with the story was how all the women were portrayed. They are all defined by the men they are married to/dating. The three female characters were all pathetic to be honest, it annoyed me how they were all so dependent on the men. As a 19 year old girl I want to be reading about strong admirable role models in the literature I read.

The writing was very plain. There was nothing special about it. The only good thing was the chapters were short an to the point. 

The plot was boring to me. I wasn't intrigued at all. I didn't care about the mystery.The big plot twist at the end wasn't a plot twist for me- I saw it coming a mile away.

Overall The Girl on the Train fell flat for me and I was very disappointed. It definitely didn't live up to the hype.

My rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Series: Six of Crows, #2

Publication:September 27th 2016 by Orion Children's Books

Goodreads Description:
Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world

My Thoughts:
I was anxious going into Crooked Kingdom because I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype and wouldn't be as amazing as Six of Crows but after reading it I am here to tell you Crooked Kingdom is just as amazing as Six of Crows and is a phenomenal conclusion to the Six of Crows duology.

I would recommend reading The Grisha Trilogy before reading Crooked Kingdom. You can reading it without having read TGT but characters from the trilogy pop up and play a big role in the story of Crooked Kingdom. If you hadn't read The Grisha Trilogy it wouldn't take anything away from Crooked Kingdom but I think it would be better if you knew the characters.

The plot of Crooked Kingdom was crazy. It was just as action packed as SoC. There was lots of twists and turns; I was surprised over and over again with all the plot twists.

I still stand by what I said about SoC that it is the characters that make this series. The six main characters are just so well rounded and complex. Bardugo did an excellent job with all of their character arcs in Crooked Kingdom. Kaz's character development in particular is done so well. When you finish Crooked Kingdom and look back he is a completely different person than when we first met him at the start of SoC. Inej is my favourite. She is like a little ninja in Crooked Kingdom; her chapters were probably my favourite. Nina is a freaking badass in this book I love it. I really liked all the others too. 

There was a lot of relationships going on in Crooked Kingdom and I was glad that Bardugo managed to give each one equal amounts of page time. Kaz and Inej's relationship is probably the most complex and complicated and the development was perfectly paced and so well done. I felt like it was done in a way that was super realistic. We get a lot more Jesper and Wylan in Crooked Kingdom compared to SoC and I loved it; there was some unnecessary drama but they are a fun pair to read about. I wasn't the biggest fan of Nina and Matthias; I just didn't care as much as I did for the others. And of course I loved all the friendships between the squad.

The ending wrapped everything up really nicely but some thing's could be explore more. I have my fingers crossed that Bardugo decides to write more in this world with these characters because I love reading their adventures. 

My rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Series: The Illuminae Files,#1

Published: 20th October 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Description:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. 

My thoughts:

Illuminae is freaking amazing! I absolutely loved it! It is a fantastic story told in a unique way that I throughly enjoyed.

The formatting of Illuminae is what really makes the book special. The story is told through IMs, survallience footage, interviews, transcripts of audio recordings, emails and lots more types of multi media. This unique format is hard to get used to in the beginning, the first 50 pages or so were difficult for me to follow the but I pushed through and eventually it started to make sense. Because of the unique formatting we get lots of POVs which is great, even artificial intelligence which is so cool!

I loved the two main characters Kady and Ezra so much. They were great. I had a hard time really connecting to Kady because it's all through dialogue it is hard to really get to know her but with time I really grew to love her. She is one of the coolest characters ever; she is a freaking genius computer hacker! And she is really pro-girlpower which I love and she so so sarcastic and blunt I loved it! Ezra was freaking hilarious; he is so snarky and just anytime he was in a scene it was so much fun. The banter between the two of them was on point. The authors really captured teen voices in their characters. The way they spoke (well typed since it was IMing mostly) was so relatable and realistic. Their relationship was so fun to read and was developed perfectly. 

The plot was a bit slow in the start; there is a goo bit of build up but then it gets crazy. Once it got going to story was so intense, with some surprises here and there, it was so addictive,I couldn't put it down. I was constantly on edge wondering will they make it or won't they make it.

I'm not a huge sci-fi reader so I was apprehensive going in that I wouldn't have a clue what was going on but it was grand. Illuminae is very sci-fi- there is spaceships and computers and artificial intelligence but I didn't have a problem with it at all. 

The ending makes me so excited for the next instalment in the series; I've heard the second book is about different characters so it will be interesting to see how their story connects with Illuminae.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Illuminae, it was nothing like I've ever read before and I highly recommend it!

My rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Thanks for reading,

A :)

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Trapped In Silver by Emily Sowden

*I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Series: The Eldryn Chronicles 

Publication:February 7th 2017 by Oftomes Publishing

Goodreads Description:

Courage comes from a shadowed place in our hearts; a blurred line that straddles love and sheer stupidity.

To seventeen-year-old Ava, wild woodcats, hungry stragglers, and simple-minded townsfolk are the evils she’s grown accustomed to. But when Ethan, an unusual man with eyes of smoke and fire opal, enters her world she quickly understands that there are worse things out there than drunken men and carnivorous forest creatures. She’s a specialised liar and a hell of a fighter, but against a group of animalistic men called Berserkers she struggles to survive the encounter as the desperate swing of a dagger is all it takes to change her life for good.

Half-dead and hunted by the Berserker’s leader when he forms a monstrous obsession with her, Ava escapes his pursuit in an unfamiliar land full of impossible creatures, unlikely allies, and the man she doesn’t know whether to kiss or kill. 

But after dreadful news of her missing brother surfaces, Ava becomes more involved in the centuries-long war and begins to unravel the reasons behind her relentless nightmares, discovering truths long-buried in a violent history of love, loss and betrayal. 

My thoughts:

I liked Trapped in Silver but didn't love it. It was just meh for me.

My favourite character was Ava. She's headstrong and makes rash decisions but she's independent and sarcastic too which I liked.

There is a lot of characters in Trapped in Silver. There was so many that at times I was confused who was who, especially the side characters and antagonists. 

There were a good few relationships developed throughout the story. I really liked Ava and Lavander's friendship. They almost have a sister bond which was nice to read. Their relationship was probably my favourite aspect of the book.

I also liked Ava and Ethan's relationship at times too but not as much. Their dialogue was fun here and there when they got going it got very sassy and flirty which was fun to read. There wasn't enough of it though for me to ship it or care that much about them to be honest.

The plot was all over the place. I don't know if I missed stuff or was reading too fast (I skimmed a lot towards the end to tell you the truth) but I had no idea why the characters were going to the places they were/ doing what they were doing. It was pretty slow and when there was action it was over before it even started or didn't happen at all. It wasn't engaging at all and I kept getting bored which led to me skimming chunks of the story.

The writing wasn't anything special. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it was just simple and plain to me. It was easy to understand and I had no problems with it.

Trapped In Silver is told in dual points of view, Ava and Ethan. Personally I don't think it was necessary to have them both narrating. Ethan's chapters were short, he probably had 10 pages total scattered throughout the book, and they didn't add anything to the story really.

I felt like the building was lacking. We are given very little information on where Ava is from. And I felt that the paranormal stuff was just as vague with were the berserkers and demons came from and how their world is connected to ours and how Ava got there.

Overall I felt like Trapped in Silver was a good read but I had a lot of problems with it.

My Rating: 3 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)

The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

Series: The Ascendence Trilogy, #1

Publication: 1st April 2012 by Scholastic 

Goodreads Description:
The False Prince is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats. 

My Thoughts:
The False Prince is a fun adventure story that I flew through. It was such a quick read and I really enjoyed every minute of it.

Sage is such a fun character to read about. He is so sassy and clever. His voice is so distinct, the author did an excellent job with his narration. I was hooked from the first page.

Over the course of the story Sage builds relationships with the other boys. Some could be considered friendships but others are more like enemies. There was lots of backstabbing, alliances, secrets and lies going on that made relationships more interesting and complex.

The plot was enjoyable for the most part. It was predictable at time but it was fun to read. There was a good few twists and turns and while I predicted what would happen I think a lot of readers will be shocked at some of the plot twists.

The False Prince isn't really Young Adult but isn't really Middle Grade either. It bridges the gap between the two. Sage, the main character, is only 14 making it not YA (YA MCs are usually 16+) but MG MC's are usually younger.

There was no romance in The False Prince which was refreshing to read. The majority of books I read have a romance and it sometimes overshadows the plot which I hate. The girls in the story are very minor characters and the interactions between them and Sage are in no may romantic. A relationship may develop in later books but at the moment in glad there wasn't one included in the first book.

The ending that shocked everyone else didn't surprise me. I predicted what was going to happen pretty early on. Had I not predicted the ending I would have given the book a 5 out of 5.

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Thanks for reading,
A :)

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