Ceri’s Random Posts (#27)

Hi guys! Today I am taking a break from the court case to do The Liebster Award. Next week I shall post the last instalment of the court case. I already have a cool idea lined up for the week after that as well!

The Liebster award is a chain award that was created by bloggers and is a tradition to make new friends in the blogging community.

 

I was nominated by Katherine. So thanks! I’m really excited to do this…

 

Here are the rules:

 

– Link back to the person who nominated you

 

– Give 11 random facts about yourself

 

– Answer 11 questions from your nominator

 

– Nominate 11 bloggers

 

– Come up with 11 questions for them to answer

 

– Inform your nominees

 

 

So here are 11 facts about me:

1. I’ve always secretly wanted to be in a musical but I can’t sing for toffee.
2. If I could go back in time I’d visit the 80s.
3. If I had three wishes I would get a scholarship to Melbourne University, become slim and marry Jack Gilinsky (only if he wants to).
4. My favourite colour is orange because I feel bad that not many people like it.
5. My favourite place in the world that I’ve visited is my Auntie’s old pink bathroom.
6. The best smell ever (excluding Jack Gilinsky) is freshly baked bread.
7. If I had a superpower it would be to read people’s minds.
8. Interestingly, frogs are my favourite animal.
9. I aspire to be a CEO of an international company.
10. There is a playlist on my ipod to suit every mood.
11. My favourite song that isn’t by Jack and Jack is For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder.

My questions from Katherine:

• What book character is most like you and why?

This question had me stumped for ages. There are many characters that have similar characteristics to me that Katherine would probably imagine me as eg. Bridget Jones, America Singer or other feisty people. Even though I’m not a guy (woah get out) I was struggling to choose between Jace from The Mortal Instruments and Brian from I’ll Give You the Sun. I actually think that everything about Brian is exactly the same as me apart from he’s a boy and he’s gay. Brian is a bit nerdy and different, yet he can still hang around with the ‘cool kids’ and I’m not saying I’m popular, but I definitely don’t hang around with dodgy people. He stands up for himself, like I always do. Also, he gets deeply hurt by other people but manages to always get over it and turn it into a positive thing that makes a difference.

 

• What drink/snack do you like to consume when reading?

Interesting question Katherine. Well I tend to not consume anything whilst reading because it is extremely difficult and there is a chance you will spill something on the book. However, around my reading time I will tend to have tea and biscuits. Sometimes I might be adventurous enough to have crackers or cheddars.

 

• Why did you choose to start blogging?

Ooh, I don’t think we’ve ever actually discussed this before have we Katherine? When Katherine started her blog and asked for a guest blogger I wasn’t going to be left out was I, no no no. It actually seemed like a really good idea, especially as I love writing so I thought it would be a good experience to do something like this, as it might be useful in the future. As well as this being a fun experience, I thought it would look good on my CV or university applications in the future.

 

• What’s the longest book you’ve read?

I see Katherine enjoyed coming up with these questions. The longest book I’ve ever read is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, which I have only finished reading recently. It was so tough to read it; I’m still in shock that I finished it. Reading it was such a gruelling process because it isn’t a light fluffy story at all, it is incredibly deep and thought provoking.

 

• If you could only ever re-read a single book, what would it be? (You can read new books though)

I would re-read The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles. The Kissing Booth is in my top three books and obviously I want to re-read one of my favourite books. I didn’t want to re-read Soulmates (another top 3 book) because the ending makes me cry and it is such a magical book- I don’t want to ruin it by re-reading it. It is also more intense than The Kissing Booth, which is a happy, chill story. I’ll Give You the Sun (the other top 3 book) is just too beautiful for me to continuously re-read it, especially with all the drama in it. I’m perfectly happy to re-read The Kissing Booth forever (I know it’s already in my two most read books).

 

• What is the most popular book that you own but haven’t read?

Ooh, I’m not sure about this one. There are so many books in my room that I need to read and I’m slowly working my way through them. Maybe Paper Towns by John Green, although I will read it before the movie comes out. Or any other John Green books, I guess.

 

• Who is your favourite author that you’ve met?

Chris Higgins. I was fortunate enough to escort her to the Queen of Teen awards, where I met lots of other famous authors. I was actually supposed to escort another author but my Mum didn’t reply in time so I couldn’t take her. This actually turned out really well, because that author was not very nice at all when I met her but Chris was so lovely to me and it was a pleasure to meet her. I think probably every author I’ve ever met apart from said individual have always been extremely friendly!

 

• Have you written anything?

Of course I’ve written many stories and poems before as any aspiring author has! At the moment I’m writing my first Wattpad story, which is probably my first proper story as it is more than a thousand odd words. I am also putting together a poetry journal at the moment for a school project, which I’m really excited about.

 

• What is, in your opinion, a completely underrated book?

Oh I don’t know. I’m surprised that Matched and Soulmates haven’t been turned into movies yet because they are amazing books. I think I’ll go for the Ask Amy Green books by Sarah Webb. I never really hear people talking about these books or people pass them off as a nice chick flick, but I think they are actually really good books that tell a story. They’re brilliant and Sarah Webb is such a nice author.

 

• What is your favourite dramatic scene from a book?

SPOILER ALERT

I have to go for the scene in Insurgent when it turns out Tris isn’t dead and she escapes with Four. I was just so happy she wasn’t dead I was like GO TRIS! It was awesome in the movie when they managed to broadcast the message from the box as well.

SPOILER OVER

 

• Book or Movie? What is your favourite book to movie adaptation?

Movie, because I can just watch the movie and decide if I want to read the book of it. Even if I’ve already read the book, I love the movie because there may be people like Theo James in the movie and it’s so exciting to see it come to life on the screen. My favourite adaptation is The Fault in Our Stars because when I saw the movie I thought it was the realest thing I had ever seen and it is now my favourite movie (although I do love The Holiday).

Bloggers I Nominate:

Seeing as I only guest write on this blog I don’t really know any bloggers. I have my own blog but I don’t want to include that. So I guess I am going to just nominate whoever reads this because I’m cool like that. You could still do it even if you don’t have a blog, you could do it on Goodreads or even in a word document. Leave the link to it in the comments because I’d love to read it!

Nominee’s Questions:

1. What character would you like to be your boy/girl friend?
2. Do you read any classics, and if so what is your favourite classic book?
3. What poem got you into poetry? If you don’t have one, what is your opinion on Because by James Franco? (Search it up.)
4. Are there any books that you desperately want to be made into movies?
5. What is the shortest book you’ve ever read?
6. If you could only take three things to a desert island, would you bring a book with you? Why/why not?
7. Do you have any friends that deserve to have a book written about? What would it be about? (If all your friends are really boring then, what story would you write about yourself?)
8. Assign a book to each colour of the rainbow and give reasons (just red, orange, yellow… not azure, turquoise, crimson)
9. Do you remember the first proper book you ever read? If you can’t remember, what was your favourite childhood book?
10. Which fruit would you put on the cover of the other three Twilight books e.g. New Moon- banana, Eclipse- pineapple, Breaking Dawn- Mango and why?
11. Is there a certain genre that you will never read?

Okay guys, so that’s it and I want to thank Katherine and say good luck to my nominees…

Ceri’s Updates/Reviews (#31)

Hello! Today I shall be reviewing Gingersnaps by Cathy Cassidy. I’ve never written a review for a Cathy Cassidy book but I love all of her books. She’s an awesome person and it was really nice to see her win Queen of Teen when I was there. She is actually the person that got me into reading I suppose you could call them romantic, teenage books. Thank you Cathy! Seriously, Cathy rocks, guys.

Is Ginger’s best friend really her biggest rival?

‘You can make a wish come true, if you’re determined . . .’

Gone are the days when Ginger was an outsider, always on the fringes of friendship. She’s swapped puppy fat and pigtails for make-up and hair straighteners and never looked back – until now. Ginger and Shannon are best mates, but when they befriend lonely Emily, everything changes. Even the saxophone-playing boy in the trilby hat can’t help – he’s part of the problem. Are Ginger and Shannon drifting apart or can they stay best friends forever?

The first Cathy Cassidy book I read was Sundae Girl and I thought it was the best thing ever. It still is pretty good, I have to say. After that, I read all of her books, which I loved but they weren’t quite as good as Sundae Girl. When I read Gingersnaps I was so excited because I haven’t decided if I love it more than Sundae Girl, but it was more in the style of Sundae Girl and I instantly loved it. Only a few months ago I re-read Gingersnaps, so I still think it is a really good book. Mostly it’s a nice book to read because it’s not over complicated at all. It’s strange to think I first read this six years ago. God, I’m getting old.

I love Gingersnaps because of Sam the saxophone player. Personally, I think saxophones are really vibey and I wish I could play one. The saxophonist in Careless Whisper is the best. Sam is a really nice person, and I like how he tries to bring out the best in Ginger. They make a cute couple, it has to be said. He is pretty smart for, what- a twelve year old? Sam and Ginger seem older but in a good way because when I was younger I liked how it showed that some of us younger people are mature even though there are a lot of immature idiots at that age.

Was there blue lemonade somewhere in this novel? I vaguely remember something about it, so if there was blue lemonade in there then that’s fab. It’s all the little quirky things I love about this book. I love the title ‘Gingersnaps’ because I thought it would be a book about starting a baking thing or something BUT it isn’t. Ginger is a swaggy name as well. Thank god Sam wasn’t called Spice otherwise that would be the end of that relationship. The house boat thing is awesome- not that I want to live on a boat. Oh, and let’s hear it one last time for Sam’s saxophone!

Even if you aren’t eleven anymore (I was actually eight the first time I read it), I think you would still adore this book because the cuteness factor is off the scale.

Ceri’s Random Posts (#26)

Heya everyone!

So I’m really enjoying being back at school. It’s way better than lying in bed every day. Yeah. I figured that today I would give the defenders a chance to ask Carlisle some questions, like the prosecutors did with Charlie. Next Tuesday I shall write one final post where each side gives a closing statement and Edward’s sentence will be passed.

Defenders:

I would like to call Carlisle Cullen to the witness box.

Can you describe the relationship between you and your son, Edward?

Edward is and always will be my brilliant son. We know each other so well that he probably knows what I’m thinking most of the time. Our relationship is full of love and trust. We help each other; he has never hurt me and I know he never will.

Do you like Isabella Swan?

Of course I like Bella. Bella is undoubtedly part of my family. All of my family love Bella, we would do anything for her. In fact, we were all there for her when she was recently ill.

Have you seen Edward being violent in any way?

I think most of us get frustrated at times, but this is human nature. Edward has never been violent toward Bella in my presence. He has never shown any violence towards us because he knows better than that. From his grades at school you can see he is an incredibly bright young man who has common sense.

So I take it that you believe he did not abuse Isabella Cullen?

I know he did not hurt Bella; he loves her and you would be blind to not be able to see that. Bella is the first woman he has brought into our lives for ages and this is for a reason. That reason is that she is his soulmate who he would do anything for. Yes, Bella has been ill around Edward but that is because I am a Doctor and Bella feels more comfortable with me looking after her.

What was wrong with Bella the two previous times (mentioned) when she was ill?

The first time, Bella had accidently fallen down stairs and broke several bones. On the other occasion, Bella was already weakened by her pregnancy therefore she suffered severely from her flu. This was nothing to do with Edward.

Thank you Carlisle. Whilst Charlie does not feel safe with Edward living with Bella, Carlisle is happy with this as he says he trusts his son. Carlisle has confirmed that Bella was in fact ill on the two occasions mentioned so this provides evidence that Edward was looking after Bella not abusing her. As Carlisle is a doctor, we should be able to trust that he has never seen any marks that suggest physical abuse on Bella. I also know from reading previous statements that Bella is a bit of a ‘klutz’. This could explain why people may claim to see bruises and cuts on Bella.

 

Okay so that’s all for now! Next time I shall be deciding whether Edward is guilty is or not… at this moment in time I’m not sure if he is guilty. We’ll have to wait and see!

Ceri’s Updates/Reviews (#30)

Hiya! I can’t believe I have my first day back at school today, so that sucks. As promised I am going to be reviewing ‘Forever’ by Judy Blume.

Katherine and Michael meet at a New Year’s Eve party. They’re attracted to each other, they grow to love each other. And once they’ve decided their love is forever, they make love.

It’s the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine’s parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart…

Woah. So I know that this is a much loved book but I have to say I didn’t really like it. Forever had a lot of good reviews, which made me really excited to read it. Unfortunately I didn’t like this book much at all. There’s not anything specific that made me dislike it, but if you compare it to other books then for me there are many better books.

I really didn’t like Michael. I think he was described as ginger with a mole on his cheek. Katherine has my book now so I can’t check that but I’m pretty sure that’s what he looked like. I’m used to having Theo James as the leading man in the books I read not him so I wasn’t impressed. For me it’s important to have leading men like Four, Edward Cullen and Thomas [from The Maze Runner] in books because when I read books I imagine myself as the leading female. What even happened in this book? Not much probably as I can’t remember it. The first thing that comes to mind is Katherine wanting to go out with her tennis teacher at the end. Now that should have been the story. I would have loved to have heard about how that relationship went. Michael and Katherine were pretty boring together; it didn’t make for an exciting story. This book is supposed to be realistic but from my own knowledge this isn’t actually realistic. At least other YA romance books go way over the top and don’t pretend to be reality. The writing was so bland all those ellipses got on my nerves. I’ve always had a problem with ellipses because so many people overuse them.

I’m not being funny, but this book really chose its moments be descriptive. It went into detail about the wrong things and that’s all I’m saying about it. And the Ralph thing? Just gross. You’ll understand me if you’ve read it. I know this was like a hugely important book at the time so well done for that but times have changed and it really just didn’t cut it with me in this day and age. Even if I read this in the seventies I probably still wouldn’t like it though because of the characters. I can’t empathise with them at all; I wish they weren’t so mundane, it actually pains me.

Next week I’m going to review Ginger Snaps by Cathy Cassidy, which I actually like. Thanks for reading!

Ceri’s Random Posts (#25)

Hola chicas y chicos

I hope everybody had a lovely Easter! So last time I started Edward Cullen’s trial. I’m not really sure how that went but I’m going to carry on anyway. I bet everybody is REALLY excited to hear that (YEAAHH!!!). Last time we heard a statement from the prosecutors and the defenders. Today we are now going to bring in a witness. Below I have put the previous statements as a reminder:

Prosecutor: We have reason to believe that Edward Cullen physically abused Isabella Cullen. Jacob Black went to the police on Isabella Cullen’s behalf. This indicates that Isabella Cullen was too frightened of Edward Cullen to speak out. As you can see from the pictures (there are pictures of finger shaped bruises on Bella) it is clear that Isabella Cullen has been physically abused as there are bruises in the shape of fingers. On Isabella Cullen’s medical record, it states that Isabella Cullen had a horrific accident, in which she broke several bones. It has been confirmed that Edward Cullen was with her at the time of this incident.

Defender: Edward Cullen would never hurt his wife Isabella Cullen. There is no history of violence for either Edward Cullen or Isabella Cullen. Looking at Edward’s school reports, I can see he was a straight A student, on his way to Harvard. Why would a role model student ever hit his wife? He has plenty of common sense, which is proven by his reports. In Edward’s statement, he says “I love Bella. I love her with every inch of my soul.” Does that sound like something a violent man would say? I think not. It is clear to me that Edward is very much in love with Isabella Cullen. There is no reason for him to hurt her. If Isabella did not go to the police herself that shows that she is content with her and Edward Cullen’s relationship. If she was not happy she would be the one to go to the police.

Edward Cullen is being accused of domestic violence.

Prosecutors:

I would like to call Charlie Swan to the witness box.

Now, Charlie, how would you describe your relationship with Edward Cullen?

I don’t know, well I never liked the guy. I made that clear from the beginning; I gave Bells some pepper spray on her first date with him ‘cause I didn’t trust him at all. We hardly talk but he lets me see Bella and Nessie anyway. I suppose you could say we have a hate/hate relationship. There’s definitely no love in there.

Would you describe him as violent?

Well, I don’t know if he’s violent… all I know is one time Bella was with Edward and she ended up in hospital. She sure as hell looks a lot different now. I’m pretty sure it was Edward that caused her to be so ‘ill’ for a long time. Look, I know Bells loves him, but I’m not sure if he’s that good for her.

Why did Bella end up in hospital?

She broke up with Edward one night and said she was gonna drive all the way home. Next thing I knew she was in hospital with loads’a broken bones. Apparently Edward went to her motel and she fell down some flights of stairs.

And the other time- Charlie. Why was she ill?

I never found out. Everyday Edward told me she was too sick to speak to me. Then one day, Bells called me; she said she was better. Jacob told me to go see her. She looked so different- so so beautiful. They said she had to change a bit because she was ill.

Finally Charlie, are you comfortable with Bella living with Edward Cullen?

No. No way in hell. Bells knows I’m not happy about it. I just want her to be happy but I don’t think she’s safe with him.

Thank you Charlie. Mr Swan is not comfortable with Isabella Cullen living with Edward Cullen. He does not trust him. This supports that Edward Cullen has violent tendencies so therefore could be abusing his wife- Isabella Cullen. Mr Swan has also spoken of two mysterious incidents where his daughter was either ill or hurt when she was with Edward Cullen. In the first case, how do we know Isabella was not pushed down the stairs by Edward? ‘I fell’ seems like an excuse to me. In addition to this, we do not know what Isabella was ill with in the second case and she was denied access to her further. Does this mean Edward had badly hurt her and she had to wait for her injuries to heal? It appears that it is not safe for Isabella to be around Edward.

 

Okay so I hope you enjoyed this progression in Edward’s case. Next time we shall let the defenders speak again. Good bye!

Ceri’s Updates/Reviews (#29)

Happy Easter!

The only book I can find in my room beginning with ‘E’ is Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. I have googled books beginning with ‘E’ but I can’t find any others that I’ve read apart from Expecting to fly by Cathy Hopkins but I can’t remember it. I have Elegy by Tara Hudson, which I’m really excited to read! I know I’ve written a lot about Twilight but I really have no choice but to review it today. I’m going to make a compilation of everything I’ve ever said about… Don’t worry, next week I shall be reviewing Forever by Judy Blume, so it’ll be a bit different!

In the dead silence, all the details suddenly fell into place for me with a burst of intuition.

Something Edward didn’t want me to know. Something Jacob wouldn’t have kept from me…

It was never going to end, was it?

 

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

This book was basically a filler book. I wasn’t engaged as much as I was with the other Twilight books; it was just an unnecessary book. You could have put the half the contents in the other books or just cut it out. I didn’t like how the book focused on Victoria coming back to kill Bella when in the end it took like 5 minutes for Edward to kill her. Victoria’s extremely irritating no one cares mate it

Plus, this book didn’t have much substance and I was- not bored, but- again- just not engaged as much. At the end of New Moon Victoria’s death could have been worked in there, so could Bella and Edward’s engagement. It really didn’t need that filler book- it would’ve been the perfect trilogy. I’m just saying I’ve only watched Eclipse about 5 times but I’ve watched the others except for New Moon like 20 times.

After Edward proposes at the end of New Moon, you’re left gagging for the next book (well I was anyway). I could not wait to get my hands on Eclipse to see what Bella’s decision would be… then it fell a bit flat. Breaking Dawn was more what I was hoping to read after New Moon. It felt like the pace slowed down a lot and I wanted the pace to stay fast/constant. There’s a lot of action in the other three books so it feels as though something is missing.

It was in Eclipse that I began to realise that Edward wasn’t all I thought he was. When I first read and watched Twilight, I thought Edward was flawless. After watching and reading Twilight many times, I’ve come to realise that actually Edward is subtly abusive. No one can deny that Edward is extremely controlling. Come on who would break their girlfriend’s car to stop them from seeing their best friend? He doesn’t even have any emotions like when Bella and Jacob kissed in Eclipse he was just like ok.

I do still love the Twilight series as a whole, I’m just not very fond of Eclipse. Anyway, I would still encourage you to read the other books in the series. You don’t miss much if you don’t read Eclipse! Bye!

Ceri’s Random Posts (#24)

Hola to ma people. Do I have any idea what to write? No. Am I distraught that Zayn left One Direction? Yes. Am I still going to write a blog post? No. Na joking. Or am I…

So. Let’s see what google has to say. Well google was a bit crap. I’ve decided to once again take inspiration from my English lessons. We recently put George Milton on trial for premediated murder. If you’re interested, we found him guilty. I would like to do some sort of trial for somebody else. My idea was to write a transcript of the trial but I may do it differently… First, I should decide who I want to put on trial. Oh you know what, let’s just go for an obvious person, which I know lots about. It’s time to take Edward Cullen to court.

 

Edward Cullen is being accused of domestic violence.

 

Er, I don’t know how this works, so let’s hear a little something from the prosecution side.

Prosecutor: We have reason to believe that Edward Cullen physically abused Isabella Cullen. Jacob Black went to the police on Isabella Cullen’s behalf. This indicates that Isabella Cullen was too frightened of Edward Cullen to speak out. As you can see from the pictures (there are pictures of finger shaped bruises on Bella) it is clear that Isabella Cullen has been physically abused as there are bruises in the shape of fingers. On Isabella Cullen’s medical record, it states that Isabella Cullen had a horrific accident, in which she broke several bones. It has been confirmed that Edward Cullen was with her at the time of this incident.

Right. Well I suppose we should hear from the defence side. I am aware that court does not work like this and the statements are nothing like what actual lawyers would say. In my defence, I am a teenage girl not a lawyer.

Defender: Edward Cullen would never hurt his wife Isabella Cullen. There is no history of violence for either Edward Cullen or Isabella Cullen. Looking at Edward’s school reports, I can see he was a straight A student, on his way to Harvard. Why would a role model student ever hit his wife? He has plenty of common sense, which is proven by his reports. In Edward’s statement, he says “I love Bella. I love her with every inch of my soul.” Does that sound like something a violent man would say? I think not. It is clear to me that Edward is very much in love with Isabella Cullen. There is no reason for him to hurt her. If Isabella did not go to the police herself that shows that she is content with her and Edward Cullen’s relationship. If she was not happy she would be the one to go to the police.

I would like to drag this thing on for a bit (maybe one or two more posts) so I’m going to leave it there for now. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more to come next Tuesday.

Ceri’s Updates/Reviews (#28)

Aloha! As you know, I am going to be reviewing Deep Water by Jo Cotterill. I’m excited to review this book because I love Jo Cotterill!

“He fancied you, Pearl. Don’t you notice anything?”

Pearl can’t believe her luck when she’s selected for the British Synchronized Swimming team, competing at the London Olympics. It’s a dream come true! But non-stop training leaves less time for friends and fun- a sacrifice Pearl is willing to make if it means her team can bring home a medal… Even cheeky journalist Bailey won’t distract her from going for gold. But he has other ideas!

 

First of all, let me just say I haven’t read this book for ages, so this review may be a bit dodgy. It’s a lovely, quick read which I’ve read two or three times. I like the whole concept of the Sweet Hearts Series; basically it’s a romance story revolving around the girl’s hobbie e.g dancing, ice skating and in this case: synchronized swimming. Synchronized is such a hard word to spell. It is quite a nice idea and I find it pretty cute. It’s also really interesting to learn about synchronized swimming and everything else.

 

The bit that I and probably many other people found most heart wrenching was all the stuff about her family. I thought all the emotions were beautifully portrayed and it was realistic. Especially when Bailey and Pearl were arguing about how he called her Mum needy. I felt really bad for Bailey because to be fair he didn’t know it was her mum and he didn’t mean it in a mean way. Like, I get where Pearl’s coming from but grow up love. I guess most people would get angry with Bailey like Pearl but I’m a unique individual.

 

I was just thinking if you put Bailey and Pearl together, it sounds like Pearl Barley. I don’t know if that’s just me, but I suppose it’s something for you to think about. It’s nice that in this book *SPOILER ALERT* Bailey and Pearl get together but they don’t rush it and it’s just a cute kiss at the end. Go Jo for writing a cute, normal (in a good way) book.

I would say that this is my favourite book in the Sweet Hearts Series, as it is more relatable to me as my sister is a competitive swimmer. Forget Me Not and Ice Dreams aren’t very relatable as I’m not a florist or an ice skater. I still really like those as well, in particular Ice Dreams. The relationship between the ice skater (it’s been a long time okay) and Zac (?) was my favourite of all the relationships because they hated each other but then they loved each other (Aw…).

If you’ve never read any Jo Cotterill books then you definitely should because she’s an awesome writer. She’s such a lovely person as well (I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions). Good bye.

Ceri’s Random Posts (#23)

Ello darlings 😉 Today I shall be showing you three upcoming or newly released books I thought looked pretty cool…

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

 These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

 As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.

Wow. I think this book is going to be amazing. The front cover drew me in straight away- how fab does it look? In general- great covers = great books. I remember seeing the front cover for Soulmates and thinking this looks brilliant and it was. Then I read the synopsis- the first couple of sentences made me so excited and I love the name Ash. I like the sound of this Dane as well…

 

 

Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door

 

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:

– find the liquor cabinet blindfolded

– need a liver transplant

– drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:

– well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

 And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this return to the world of My Life Next Door is a story about failing first, trying again, and having to decide whether to risk it all once more.

So this sounds pretty cute… I just loved the title and I saw the couple holding hands so being the romantic that I am, couldn’t help but squeal and look at the synopsis. This book is perfect for me; it’s a book about a boy and girl trying to be together whilst facing a load of problems. I think that both of them will end up together in the end, but it’ll be interesting to see if I’m right or not.

 

 

There’s death all around us.

We just don’t pay attention.

Until we do.

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn’t look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she’s just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that’s all she’ll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there’s a secret she hasn’t told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

Lex’s brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn’t have to be real to keep you from moving on.

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

So this sounds like the sort of book that will make me cry. The title speaks volumes- I reckon I could write a whole essay on it in English. I really want to read about the last time ‘we’ said goodbye. I want to know why her brother killed himself and what’s going on in her life. She must be going through hell and I want to hear her story. Furthermore, what is this secret?? I have to know. I don’t know how but I can just tell it’s going to be a great book.

 

I can’t wait for these books to come out! Blood and Salt is going to be amazing…

Ceri’s Updates/Reviews (#27)

I MET JACK AND JACK. IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE AND THEY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL.

Anyway, today I am reviewing a book beginning with ‘C’. The book I have chosen to review is Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I am 87% sure I haven’t reviewed it before, I think I just kept going on about how I was going to read Clockwork Prince, which I never read by the way but I think I will before Christmas.

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…

I wasn’t sure of what to expect from this book. The Mortal Instruments was so amazing- I wasn’t sure if The Infernal Devices would be as good. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be my kind of book as I normally read books set in the modern day or dystopian books. It came as a pleasant surprise when the book wasn’t that bad at all. I didn’t fall in love with the book but I still think it was a good read.

So what made it a good read? Firstly, Jem is such a cutie. I forgot what I was going to say about Jem because I was having another meltdown about Jack and Jack, but basically he is adorable and I’m so happy he got to have all those little moments with Tessa. My favourite part was when I think he was playing the violin (or piano maybe) and I remember something about Tessa coming to find him and they shared an intimate moment. I can’t remember exactly what happened but I think anything that happens with Jem in is good.

In addition to this, actually I don’t really know what else was good except I guess the story line was good. My problem lays with the characters. I strongly dislike Will; he is self-centred, arrogant and cruel. I can’t believe Tessa’s even thinking about hooking up with him.  Clare chooses really bad role models for her characters. Take Jessamine for example- all she cares about is fashion. Jessamine thinks women shouldn’t fight- how bad is that for young girls to read? Yes it is set in the Victorian times, but can’t there be at least one strong female role model?

See you next Monday, when I shall be reviewing Deep Water! I can’t believe I met Jack Gilinsky.