I've been tagged by the awesome diva, Kelly at Diva Book Nerd. The rules are easy, I answer all the questions and then tag 5 other people.

1. Is there a book you really want to read but haven't because you know that it'll make you cry?
Not any that I can think of. I don't really cry often in books so I'm never afraid to pick up a novel despite the many reviews from people who have balled their eyes out while reading it.

2. Pick one book that helped introduce to a new genre
Anna and the French Kiss helped introduce me to contemporary. I was never one to read contemporary because I thought it would be extremely boring because who wants to read about real life right? Past me was so wrong!

3. Find a book that you want to re-read
Oh my gosh, for the past few weeks I have had the craving (can you crave a book...?) to re-read the whole Percy Jackson series! I think its because I am anticipating the release of Blood of Olympus which is coming out this October!!! I've already pre-ordered a hardcover of the book! Who else is excited?

4. Is there a series you read but wish you hadn't?
To be honest no I haven't! I've always had trusty bloggers to help me choose what to read next. Even before I entered the community, I would always find a second opinion whether it be a librarian or a friend.

5. If your house was burning down and all your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save?

I'm sort of copying Kelly's answer here but she has a valid point. I would go back inside and save all my signed books. Especially my copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

6. Is there a book on your shelf that brings back fond memories?
I have fond memories for all my books but to name one it would have to be The Sight which contained book 1 & 2 of Premonitions. This was a book I loved in primary school and I've probably re-read 3 times! If you saw what condition it is in you'd be appalled. The spines all cracked and the pages are bent!

7. Find a book that inspired you the most!

I think Inkheart inspired me, especially as a child because it taught me the power of words. Funnily enough, I never continued on with the series after the first book. It was daunting look at the size of the next ones.

8. Do you have any autographed books?

1. Teardrop by Lauren Kate - The publishers at Random House were nice enough to give me signed copy of this novel!
2. The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer - I wasn't able to go to the book signing, so my good friend Sunny got it signed for me!
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - At the last event at Hachette headquarters, (I have yet written a recap post for that...ooops) we had none other than the awesome Laini Taylor as our guest speaker. Nearly every blogger got their book(s) signed by her.
4. The First Third by Will Kostakis - Back at the Penguin Teen Live event last year, they had Will Kostakis speak to us and sign our books.
5. Friday Brown by Vikkie Wakefield - This was one of my first Aussie YA's, it is such a good read and I recommend it if you haven't already read it.

9. Find the book you have owned the longest.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is definitely the oldest. I've had this since I was a small child and I haven't parted ways with it yet and I don't plan to anytime soon.

10. Is there a book by an author that you never imagined you would read or enjoy?

I did not expect to like Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. I randomly stumbled upon this book with a friend and we had never heard anything about it or the author before but it was a great surprise!

And to end this tag, I have to post a photo of my bookshelf!

There's no particular order to my shelf but I do like to have everything in height order so it's slanting down. The last two rows are dedicated to review books and books I've gotten from events and the rest is sort of random novels I've collected over the years.

So that was the bookshelf tag! I'm tagging

Sunny @ A Sunny Spot Blog

Kayla @ The Bookish Owl

Rachel @ Booktastic Reviews

Laura @ Laura Plus Books

Belle @ Fangirling Misses

It's been a while since I did a tag (or anything blog related...) and I've been tagged by the lovely Belle from Fangirling Misses. I like the idea of this tag because it's not necessarily focused on books but on the people behind the blogs. So let's get to know each other! 

1. How tall are you?

*Pulls out tape measure* Hmmm the last time I checked I think I was 5'7 but I'm pretty sure I've grown since then, so probably 5'8. Yes, I'm pretty tall for a 15 year old girl.

2. Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?

*Thinks really hard* Oh I know! I can do this awesome thing with my eyes...but obviously you have to be in person to see it. *sighs* If only I could show you.

3. What's your biggest blog-related pet peeve?

Plagiarism. Thank god it's never happened to me but just the thought of it gets me angry. It's one thing getting inspiration from someone and it's a completely different thing to blatantly copy someone's work, word for word.

4. What's your biggest non-blog related pet peeve? 

I hate being late so therefore I hate it when I'm meeting people and they're late for no good reason other than, "Oh sorry, I slept in." And what I hate even worse is when people make me late such as my family. *takes deep breathes* 

5. What's your favourite song?

Ugh did you really just ask me this question? I don't have a favourite song but I love most genres. I'm not going into detail of my fave singers because the list will go on forever. But the song I'm really digging at the moment is She Came To Give It To You by Usher ft Nicki Minaj. I've always liked Usher and I like the fact that he hasn't gone for the mainstream approach. 

6. What's your favourite Etsy shop that isn't yours?

??? Is it a bad thing that I don't know what an Etsy shop is? 'Cause I've never heard of it before. >_<

7. What's your favourite way to spend your free time when you're alone?

Besides from the obvious (reading) I love to redecorate/clean my room. (Is that weird?) There's nothing like that satisfied feeling after your room is clean. I also like to watch a lot of youtube videos (I could spend hours doing this) and watch TV shows. (e.g. Supernatural, Doctor Who, Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries/The Originals, The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, etc)

8. What's your favourite junk food?

Ah there's so many! Doritos, Ben & Jerry's, Chocolate - Boost, KitKat (most Cadbury), Grainwaves and heaps more.

9. Do you have a pet or pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

Nope I don't have any pets sadly. I had a rabbit called Chestnut once...

10. What are your number one favourite nonfiction and fiction books?

I don't ever read non-fiction unless you count a textbook and I can assure you have no favourites of them. Fiction wise...there's so many. (I take it you can already sense that I am a very indecisive person) I love books such as Percy Jackson, Throne of Glass, Shatter Me, Starcrossed and many, many, many (is that enough many's?) others. 

11. What's your favourite beauty product?

I'm not a huge make-up person but I love my Studio Fix Mac foundation as well as my Mac False Lashes Waterproof mascara! I also have to say I love my Super Liner Blackbuster eyeliner by L'oreal.

12. When were you last embarrassed? What happened?

Hmmm...to be honest I don't get embarrassed often. I can't really remember the last time. Sorry guys, no funny stories.

13. If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think it would have to be Lemon Lime and Bitters. I absolutely love that drink! My second option would be pink lemonade.

14. What's your favourite movie?

*sighs* Enough with the favourite questions! Obviously I can't answer these!!! My favourite movies are most Marvel movies as I love anything and everything to do with Avengers. 

15. What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist prep etc.?

I don't really know how to answer this question because we don't really have this in Australian schools. I feel like American movies make such a big deal out of social class when really it's not actually like this. Since I like books so much I would be put in the nerd category right? But I am friends with a lot of people so I don't know.

16. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I would love to live somewhere in America simply because it seems like all the good authors live there but I love Australia so much! I wouldn't mind trying out Melbourne but it gets so cold there!!!

17. PC or Mac?

Mac for the win! I used to have a Toshiba but my school is Apple friendly so lets just say I've converted!

18. Last romantic gesture from a crush, day, boy/girlfriend?

*chokes on water* Romantic gesture? Oh no no no no! I've never really had a crush either. I'm just fine with my lovely book boyfriends!

19. Favourite celeb?

I'm not into following the whole celeb craze but I have to say that one of my top faves would have to be Jensen Ackles from Supernatural. Have you seen him? Who can resist that?

20. What blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with?

I'm already best friends with Sunny @ A Sunny Spot Blog that's no secret there. But I secretly want to be best friends with Jeann @ Happy Indulgence, Laura @ Laura Plus Books, Vivienne @ This Book Saved My Life, Joy @ Thoughts by J , Kelly @ Diva Book Nerd and Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist. Also I'd love to BF's with the girl who tagged me, Belle from Fangirling Misses!

I tag all of you lovely ladies!

So this was a bit of a long post but I'd love to hear what you think? Do we have anything in common?

It's been a while since I've done one of these and I want to share with you what I recently bought. Have I made good choices?

I am so excited to start reading Isla and the Happily Ever After, I am such a major Stephanie Perkins fan and I don't doubt her ability to produce another amazing novel. Although I have an issue!!! It's not the same size as my other two in the series, it's a lot smaller!!!

I saw Eleanore & Park for only $12 in K-mart! Obviously I couldn't walk past it without buying it so this is another book I can't wait to get into. I haven't read a Rainbow Rowell novel yet.

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this, my excitement for Heir of Fire has not dulled down yet! I'm going to try and take this slow as I hate having to wait a whole year for the next one. It literally kills me!

Gayle Forman receives so much praise and Just One Day was quite cheap on the Book Depository so I just had to buy it. I'm not really sure what to expect but I'm really trying to get into more contemporary's.

Another author I love is Becca Fitzpatrick who wrote the Hush Hush series but this time round it looks like an intense thriller. Black Ice looks extremely suspenseful and it'll be interesting how the author goes with this sort of storyline. Thank you so much Simon & Schuster for sending me this, can't wait to post a review.

Currently on it's way in the mail!

You can see my review for Angelfall here

So tell me, did I make good choices?
Have you read any of these novels? If so, what's your opinion?
What's on your shelf this week?

Author: Susan Ee
Release Date: May 21st 2011
Publishers: Feral Dream 
Pages: 283
Genre: Apocalyptic, Angels  
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Review

I was not expecting this novel to be so damn kickass! I randomly picked up this novel in my school library just to 'pretend' to read during a reading lesson. Lately I've been feeling very uninspired to read but from page 1 I was hooked. My plan to not read ended up failing!

The apocalypse has begun and who humans once admired as being harbingers of peace, soon changed into messengers of hell. Angels have descended upon earth but not in the way we expected. War has broken out, and humans have to resort to anything just to survive. Even if that means partnering with an enemy angel. Penryn's younger sister has been taken and she will do whatever it takes to get her back.

Susan Ee has created a perfect apocalyptic story-line where you cannot help but be drawn into the war-torn world. It was so awesome reading from the perspective of the main protagonist, Penryn. I swear she is in my top favourite characters because not only was she kick-ass but she had the smarts. She knew how to survive and she had common sense...to an extent. Penryn had a goal and she made sure no one got in the way of her plan, not even a smoking-hot angel. This is so rare in YA now days because main character are always the damsels in distress and they rely on the "overly-attractive" male too much.

An important theme that was present throughout the book was the importance of family. Penryn's mother was a bit on the crazy side (maybe a little more than a bit) but Penryn didn't allow this to deter her from her mission. I think the mother was a really interesting character because it is not often you get a character like this in YA. (It's sort of avoided) Since Penryn was young, her mother had been battling her own "demons".  No one knows what exactly she sees but she talks to "them" frequently. Because of her fear of these demons, she enrols Penryn in many self-defence classes which has actually become useful in the situation they find themselves in. I really want to read a novella in the mums perspective as I think it would be really interesting seeing the destroyed world in her eyes. 

Susan Ee is an amazing writer. She doesn't shy away from adding graphic detail which I think is important for a novel like this. In so many scenes, I felt like cringing but it made it so much more realistic. I think this book could be translated really well on the movie screen as the whole time I got such vivid imagery of what everything looked like. All I know, is that I never want to be in a situation like this. (Obviously it's an apocalypse!) 

To say I was surprised by Angelfall is an understatement. I was greatly surprised and as soon as I finished this novel I bought the first and second one. I cannot wait to begin the next one as I'm sure the next will be even better. If you haven't already read this and you like apocalyptic based novels then you better find the time too. Angelfall has a courageous (and sometimes stupid) protagonist that doesn't let up on the humorous lines. It is action-packed with scenes that get your heart racing, and basically everything you need in a great faced pace novel.

If you missed my last post, click here to see my review for The Maze Runner movie!

Just wanted to let you know that my hiatus is OFFICIALLY OVER!!! Wooooh *throws streamers* All my assessments are over and holidays are in a week so lets hope I'll be able to read heaps.

The Maze Runner was ah-MAZE-ing!!! (You see what I did there?) But to be honest I didn't have high hopes (except for the fact that it had
DYLAN OBRIEN!!!) because the producers didn't really advertise it that much. Luckily I was able to attend an advance screening last Friday but the cinema was so full!

The movie almost followed the book exactly but obviously there were changes. But it wasn't those type of changes where you're like, "WOAH! Back the f*ck up, this doesn't happen in the book!!!" No it was more like, "Ooooh I'll roll with this." I'm not going to tell you what changed just in case you haven't read the book but definitely keep an open mind.

The characters were portrayed really well!!! It was amazing being able to watch Dylan O'brien on full screen and he played Thomas perfectly. I felt like they could have focused a little more on the character development and not so much on the maze aspect of the book. I think they could have portrayed Minho and Gally a lot better since I felt like they were more secondary characters in the movie. (Until the end) Gally needed to be depicted more as a bully! In the movie, he was more of an as*hole than anything.

The pacing was alright...it went too fast for me but I think it was the perfect pacing for a movie. Prior to watching the movie, I was really interested as to how they were going to portray the actual maze. I was worried it was going to look a little fake but I have to say they did a pretty good job. The whole time throughout the movie I was entranced with the twists and turns and the different levels! I was really impressed and I think it was better than how I imagined it. I was expecting just basic walls but it actually was pretty high tech.

The grievers didn't look completely realistic but it didn't stop from scaring the crap out of me. The whole time I was on the edge of my seat and I'll admit with one scene I may have screamed a little. (Just a little...) The whole time throughout the maze, I felt like getting up and running with Thomas. It was so suspenseful and boy did it get my heart racing.

I have to admit, at times it was really cheesy but I can move past that. If you haven't read the book, I encourage you to beforehand since my friends who hadn't found it really confusing. They didn't really explain a whole lot and besides, you don't want to get spoiled. I was really happy with how movie turned out but of course there could have been changes.

It's discussion time!!!

*Cough* sorry it's been a while since of done one of this. As some of you know I put up a hiatus notice a couple weeks ago but this post isn't signifying the end (sadly) but I just wanted to give you something so you know I exist. 

So this "topic" has been weighing on my mind for a while and I've been thinking, thinking, and yes more thinking over whether to take out my rating system. So for those who don't know what a rating system is, it's basically like on Goodreads where you rate your book something out of 5 stars.

For example:

If you're a regular on my blog, you'll know that on average I tend to give out 4 stars. But I was thinking the other day that all the books I've rated 4 stars aren't necessarily on the same level. Some may have been really good but not good enough to be a 5 star, and then there are those that have been not great but not bad enough to be a 3 star. (That probably made no sense...)Do you see my dilemma? 

Of course your solution might be, "But Francoise, there's aways the half star ratings!"

Believe me I've tried to give these out, and occasionally I've given out a 4.5 but it still doesn't satisfy me! I just think the rating system is so inaccurate and this brings me to my last question...

Should I take out the rating system from my reviews?

My reasoning is that you should be able to tell whether people liked a book from their review, not the rating. I've seen some blogs that don't have ratings and some others that have a different way of expressing their opinion on novels. 

If you have any suggestions or opinions please let me know in the comments below.

Hi guys I'm sorry for being a bit MIA lately and to be honest this is going to continue for a while. So this means yet another hiatus! I'm pretty sure I did one the same time last year because it gets difficult with all the school work around this time of year. I haven't been reading any books lately but if I do in the next couple weeks I might post a review.

I'm sorry I haven't been commenting lately and I'll try to make an effort but it's just a little difficult at the moment so sorry for the lack of comments. I hope to be back in about 3 weeks but this could even be extended so no promises.

Thanks
- Francoise

Author: Kylie Fornasier 
Release Date: July 23rd 2014 
Publishers: Penguin Australia
Pages: 304
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Buy the book

It's the Carnevale of 1750 and Venice's ballrooms, theatres, palazzos and squares are filled with delicious gossip, devilish fun and dangerous games. In this glittering masked world, everyone has a secret...

Set in an age of decadence made famous by Casanova, Masquerade uncovers the secrets of seven teens, from the highest aristocrat to the lowest servant – their dreams, desires, loves, loyalties ... and betrayals.

All the world's a stage. Let the show begin.

*I'd like to thank Penguin Australia for sending me this for review, it does not influence my opinion.*

Review

Orelia travels to Venice in search for answers about her mother who recently passed away. She is welcomed by her uncle who is part of a well known aristocratic family and has two daughters, Veronica and Angelique. Soon enough Orelia is just another sister and is quickly swept up into the life of fancy dresses, masks and secrets.

As much as I hate to say it, the first thing that drew me to this novel was the brilliant cover. It's been a dream of mine since I was young to attend a masquerade ball and lets just say this novel is the closest thing to it. From the first page I could tell so much research had gone into writing this novel and it paid off. The imagery was flawless! Prior to reading this novel I got to meet and talk to the author, Kylie Fornasier. She is the most loveliest person and it was clear she was passionate about her novel.

Masquerade is filled with deceit, betrayal, loyalty and romance. Every character had their own secret that was bound to be let out in one way or another. The one thing I loved about this novel was that it was so easy to immerse yourself into the world of venice. Kylie Fornasier puts these tidbits of Italian in it that was easy to follow along with. Also in the back of the book there's this glossary so if you get totally lost you don't have to resort to the internet. You could tell a lot of research was put into this novel because it was so easy to imagine yourself as part of the Venetians.

Orelia was a great protagonist but I feel like her story isn't finished yet. A lot of the novel was focused on her interactions with the characters around her and not enough on her backstory. The premise was based on Orelia finding herself in the city of masks and that was great but for some reason I wanted to know more about her past. I liked her character though, her uniqueness and naivety to the world of Carnevale made it feel like I was seeing everything from her eyes. At the start of the novel I was so confused as to how everything worked but as the story progressed I felt like I was accustomed to the Venetian way of life just like Orelia.

I thought the romance was going to be incredibly cliche but it was the exact opposite. Usually I like a little cliche in stories like these but the ending came to me as a shock and it took me a while to process what happened. I absolutely love it when authors surprise me because then it completely smashes my expectations.

I extremely enjoyed Masquerade and I hope there will be a sequel. Apparently it's not a definite and I think I might die if I didn't know how the story properly finished. Ill miss Venice and the interesting characters in it and if you haven't read it I hope you do because you know you want to! Even if you're not a historical fiction fan, Masquerade is a perfect novel to ease you into it.

Favourite Quote: 

'It was like a song; you didn't need to understand the words for it to touch you.' 

- Page 101

Do you like historical fiction?  

Do you share my fantasy of going to a masquerade ball?

*If you have not read Allegiant, I advise you don't read this review because it may contain minor spoilers*

Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: July 8th 2014  
Publishers: Harper Collins
Pages: 185
Genre: Dystopia
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling divergent series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son, and The Traitor—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to have the chance to win a copy of this and a signed book plate from Veronica Roth! Giveaway ends at the end of this month, enter while you still can!!! AUS & NZ only.

Review

*I'd like to thank Harper Collins Aus for sending me this for review, it does not influence my opinion.*

Four ended up being such a great surprise! Allegiant somewhat left a bad taste in my mouth and I was a little hesitant about reading this. I've never been crazy when authors continue writing in their own world (when the series is clearly over) but this novella collection actually worked! I wouldn't say it's up to Divergent standards but I still enjoyed reading it. 

In Allegiant, one of my main issues was the changing perspectives between Tris and Four. I generally don't like it when there is more than one POV so Allegiant was a struggle for me to get through. In fact I found the Four chapters so boring that I had to fight the urge to skip them. Four was such an improvement and I actually enjoyed seeing into Four's mind and I feel like I got more of a connection with him. More depth was added to his character and there was more of a backstory as to how he became 'Four'. 

Not only did we get more of a background on Four but also on the Dauntless way of life. For some reason I feel like we didn't really get to see that from Tris's perspective so it was like I was being immersed into the Dauntless world all over again. I really recommend reading this because it answers all your questions about how dauntless changed and how it became to be this way. 

This novel made me miss reading Divergent for the first time and I wish I could go back in time and read it again. (A re-read of the series may occur soon) I wish it went for a lot longer it was way to short for my liking. I was able to read it in about 2 sittings and it was hard to put down. (I was reading it during class instead of Shakespeare...ooops) 

This image does not belong to me

Author: Gayle Forman
Release Date: April 6th 2010 (first published April 2nd 2009)
Publishers: Speak
Pages: 262
Genre: Contemporary 
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository

On a day that started like any other,

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

*I'd like to thank Random House Aus for sending me this for review, it does not influence my opinion.*

Review

If I Stay was a riveting novel exploring the power of family, friendship, love and the challenging choices we make. I had heard a lot of Forman's books beforehand but this was my first experience with her writing and she does not disappoint. For some reason I found If I Stay slightly slow paced but it worked. I read little bits at a time and I think I enjoyed it a lot more than if I had sped read it 

I think the main factor that made me love this novel so much was the large amount of character development. Each and every character had such depth and personality to them. They each held some importance to the story and it was almost like there was no secondary characters. I was impressed because a lot of novels lack in this department and Forman did it so effortlessly. 

Mia was a perfect protagonist and her voice really shines through in the story. I admire her as a character because she faces a decision that no one should ever have to make. I don't want to spoil anything for you but lets just say there are challenges to each choice. Not only was the novel based on friends and family but it was also centred around music. Forman's knowledge of classical music was portrayed in Mia's character and it gave the story more of a backbone. 

I wish I was a part of Mia's family. Her parents were so supportive and I feel like they're an image of the ideal parents. They held such a passion for music and it was obvious this passed on to their children. Mia's boyfriend - Adam - was so down to earth and his love for her was so evident. I can't wait to this translate onto the movie screen and I really hope it's done well. 

The whole novel was based on flashbacks and I wanted to see more of what happened in the long run. I guess that's what's going to happen in the sequel but I also felt like the novel was too short (that's how much I enjoyed it). All I can say is that if you're looking for a light and happy read, this is definitely not the sort of book to go for. I'm a bit hesitant for recommending this book to friends because I know this isn't everyones cup of tea. 

If I Stay was an emotional novel and I'm so glad I got around to reading it. I'm excited to read Where She Went and I feel like it'll take me on an even more emotional ride so I'm mentally preparing myself. I really recommend you read it especially before the movie comes out and I think if you like strong characters then this is the book for you.

Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: July 8th 2014  
Publishers: Harper Collins
Pages: 208
Genre: Dystopia
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling divergent series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son, and The Traitor—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy

Giveaway Conditons

• You must be 13 or older to enter this giveaway 
• This giveaway is open to Australian and New Zealand residents only
• Winner will receive both prizes
• Giveaway ends on the 31st of July
• Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or another contestant will be drawn. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's been a while since I've done a post and I've accumulated quite a few books recently.

Review books:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I'm so excited to read one of Forman's novel as I've heard so much about her writing. I also have to make sure I read this as I've heard there's going to be a movie!!!

Thank you Random House for giving me this to review!

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan - I haven't read many reviews on this so I'm not really sure what to expect but I have seen quite a few Aussie bloggers receive it as well.

Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor

Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan - I'm excited to read this! It's sounds like a cute novel which will be filled with humour.

I Won:

Spark by Rachael Craw - I'm really excited to read this (partly because I won it at a giveaway on Joy's blog) because I've read some good reviews - but not too many - so I don't have any expectation. Also look at the cover! It's so pretty!!!

PTA Live

At the start of PTA Live, the whole audience got to choose out of 3 books they could take home .(For FREE!!)

The Choices were:
Half Bad by Sally Green
The Cinderella Moment by Jennifer Kloester
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

I also got the chance to by Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell at a discounted price of $13.50!!!! I'm so excited to read this as basically everyone's labelling it as every fangirls bible. (Yes I've literally heard people take it that far) I'm a little worried that the hype will ruin it for me.

So these are the books I've gotten lately. What's new on your shelf?

Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: April 2nd 2013
Publishers: Headline
Pages: 404
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Links: Goodreads | Buy the book

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Review

I want to start off by saying sorry for my sudden disappearance. I haven't had the time to blog at the moment let alone read and yada yada yada [insert bullsh*t excuse] 

This novel certainly lived up to the title by inducing such happy and fuzzy feelings inside me. In one word it would be cute! Everyone always talks about how well Smith writes and I have to say she is such a good contemporary romance writer. I am so excited to start The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Such long titles!) and I have to buy The Geography of You and Me. I want to own ALL her books!

Let's start off with the story-line. From the first page I knew I was going to enjoy it but I also knew it was going to be cliche. It's both sort of cliche and non-cliche at the same time. Cliche because of the whole 'middle of nowhere' town and a celebrity comes bringing unwanted paparazzi but not cliche in terms of the characters. Jennifer E. Smith creates such vivid imagery of what the town looks like and I feel like I could just a walk around the town. Usually I don't like reading in third person but in this case it worked really well. It changed POV between Ellie and Graham and it worked so well because there was a huge distinction between each characters.

The characters were really unique and I love how Smith portrays Graham (Famous movie star) as not the typical rude boy who's a rebel because he has fame but the caring kid who just wants time away from all the cameras. She puts a different light on what being a celebrity really means and it made me think that it's not as amazing as they advertise it to be. Ellie, our main protagonist, was such a down to earth character and didn't allow Graham's fame effect anything. It didn't give him the upper hand and in her eyes he was another ordinary kid. The one thing I liked about this story was the fact that each character had their own individual story. Weirdly enough, I found myself wanting to know more about the mother's past even though she's a secondary character.

There's nothing more I can really add because I know I can't do it justice. Trust me when I say that this is a book you should consider when you feel like a light, summery romance. Its a good length novel - 400 pages - so I felt like it ended on a good note and there were no potholes. This book made me so happy but the only negative thing I can say about it is that I want summer to arrive a lot sooner!

*I advise not to read this review if you have not read the book!*

The Fault in Our Stars movie has been all the talk for weeks and I finally got to watch the movie yesterday. After declining an offer to watch the pre-screening a couple weeks ago, I finally got the chance to watch it for a birthday party!

I'm not saying the movie was better than the novel but it was probably one of the best book to movie adaptations so far this year. This movie broke my heart again! I was always the odd one out because I never cried in the book but somehow I knew I would in the movie. Let's just say I did not bring nearly enough tissues for me and my group of friends.

It was just so exhilarating watching the movie with a whole cinema of fangirls. I think they needed to turn the audio up a little because I could barely hear the dialogue over the sniffling of girls (including me) ranging from all ages. It was kind of funny though because my friend was already bawling her eyes out from half way through the movie and things hadn't even gotten sad yet. The whole cinema ended up laughing because at every happy moment she would cry harder because we all knew these moments wouldn't last long.

Now onto the actual movie! Words cannot explain what a top job the producers did. There were obvious changes but it fitted in with the movie so well. They did such a good job of every scene they put in that it didn't matter so much. Prior to the movie I wasn't a huge fan of the casting. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep the image of Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as brother and sister but surprisingly I did not think of that once.

Ansel played the perfect Gus and every scene he was in I was just grinning. He portrayed the humour perfectly and every time he smiled I couldn't help but do the same. I thought that Shailene wouldn't do a very good job of Hazel because she is a very down to earth character but I actually loved her as Hazel. I actually think she did a better job of Hazel than Tris. For some reason I really liked the parents in this movie, I feel like their emotions were displayed better in the movie than the book.

I don't think I can say anything else. You have to watch the movie to get the feels. All I can say is that even a girl like me who doesn't cry very often was brought down to a mess. It was kind of funny because every girl that exited the cinema would make a bee-line to the bathroom to fix up their ruined make-up. This movie receives an obvious 5 stars and I cannot wait till it comes out on DVD. They say The Notebook is the ultimate movie to make you cry...I'd say this beats it by a long shot.

Does anyone else feel like this month just zoomed by? It felt like yesterday I was doing my last wrap up post. I guess May has been a pretty eventful month for me since it was my blogoversary and I hosted a giveaway. Rebecca Graham won and you should definitely check out her blog. I also attended the National Book Bloggers Forum at the Random House headquarters in the city.

The Penguin Random House National Book Bloggers Forum was probably one of the best events I had been to so far since it went for the whole day! I was so impressed because some people flew over from all around Australia. Some said they came from Perth and I met a lovely girl who flew from Melbourne, check out her blog here. I also met Laura from Laura Plus Books and Joy from Thoughts by J for the first time. I saw Estelle again from Reading in the Dark, Mands from The Bookish Manicurist and Belle from Belle's Bookshelf. Of course I had already met the awesome Sunny before.

A group shot on the balcony of Random House Headquarters
Angel, Laura, Sunny, Estelle, me and Felicity (Penguin Teen publicist)

After the very confusing start of trying to find the venue I finally entered the building and suddenly felt very out of place. It was filled with adults heading out to work in their suits and there I was standing in plain jeans and a jacket... The first thing I noticed with the office was that it was very classy! I must say I was impressed and the view was pretty good.

Once I entered, I was greeted with the sight of these massive goodie bags filled with about 6-7 books. I was one of the first to arrive and once all the awkward introductions were over, everyone was finally at ease with each other.

The 'conference' room as I like to call it!

Random House in one word was hospitable. They were very friendly and a lot less intimidating than what I imagined they would be. They offered food and drinks and they started the program as soon as most of the people had arrived. They offered us great tips on how to get the most of online, tips to promoting our blogs, and even how to get publicised. I even learnt some cool facts like how 88% of bloggers are female and the other 12% are male! I found it funny because they encouraged us to be on twitter the whole time! Apparently it's ok to be on your phone while at these events...

We had Sneh Roy who owns the award-winning blog called Cook Republic  speak to us about her blogging experience. She was so inspirational because she had been blogging for 10 years. It's such a relief to see that she hadn't lost her passion. She said she only lost that passion about twice in her blogging experience. Sney gave us a few tips and basically said to stay true to yourself and just enjoy blogging.

These awesome floating bookshelves

2 authors spoke to us about their upcoming books which was interesting. Random House and Penguin also showed releases that we should look out for this year. I'm excited for some new books this year but I wish they showed more Young Adult novels.

During the breaks it was so much fun talking to the publicists. They are just as much a a fan as any other and it's so easy to talk to them. It makes requesting review books a lot less intimidating because you've actually met them and seen what there personality is like. Felicity from Penguin is just so funny and outgoing and her enthusiasm is very contagious. I'm so excited for the PTA Live event in June!

So in a nutshell that was my month! You probably saw a lot of my tweets on the National Book Bloggers Forum because I must say it was very exciting. I got to miss out on a day of school to basically talk about books!

How was May for you?

Did you read any interesting books?

If you haven't read Pivot Point, I advise you don't read this as it may contain minor spoilers.

Author: Kasie West
Series: Pivot Point #2
Release Date: February 11th
Publishers: Harper Teen
Pages: 360
Genre: Paranormal
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website  | Buy the book

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.

Review

There's only so many words that can explain how much I love Kasie West's writing. I thought she couldn't possibly beat Pivot Point but Split Second just took it to the next level. The only thing I'm disappointed with is that there's not going to be another book and I can't bare to let this story go!

After dealing with an extreme amount of drama inside the Compound, Addie decides to take a break and stays with her dad in the Norm world. After meeting people who seem familiar, one guy immediately grabs her attention. Trevor manages to make her heart beat erratically whenever he's present but she has no idea why. He's just a stranger to her or is he? In the Compound, her best friend Laila holds a secret that ways her down every day. She's has to learn how to restore memories but has no clue how to or if she can. All she has is a note from Addie who doesn't even remember writing it. 

Pivot Point changes between each search so we sort of bounce back and forth with two possible futures. But in this one we change POV's with Addie's best friend, Laila. I thought I wouldn't like it as much but I loved Laila's separate story line. It also enhanced our view of how deep their friendship runs. Both Addie and Laila would do anything for each other and they have such a loyal friendship. I never got confused between each chapters because each character had a different voice. 

In Split Second we go through all the feels of new love all over again. I fell in love with Trevor again as well and it was just as sweet as the first time. But along with the romance with Trevor and Addie we get a new relationship that begins to form. Laila gets a new love interest and it's cute viewing how Laila goes against everything she thought she knew about guys. 

Split Second is more suspenseful than the last and Kasie West doesn't let up on the plot twists. I'm constantly on the edge of my seat because anything can happen. I was happy with the ending but I wish West would continue and make it into a trilogy or make a short novella of what happens next. I guess I always want this in books, like an epilogue of some sort. For example Harry Potter had that little 19 year later thing.

Overall Split Second was a great read. I was up reading it when I was supposed to be studying for an exam but it was so worth it. I'll be buying the rest of Kasie West's books because I just love her writing style. There's humour, suspense, cute romance, plot twists and everything you need in a great novel.

Do you like Paranormal books?

Can you predict plot twists?

Note: I may not post at all next two week because I have assessments for school nearly every day...that'll be fun times! So obviously it means I won't have time to read let alone write any reviews. I may be able to squeeze in small discussions.