I've Moved....To A New Blog Site

This is just a post to let you all know that I have moved my blog to a new website. It's called booklikes.com which specialises in posting book reviews.
It wasn't that I hated this format, but for what I'm doing, the more logical choice was to go over there.

So from now on, I will no longer be posting on this site.
For all my future posts please go to the following website redfoxtales.booklikes.com and hit the follow button.

Thank you all for your understanding. I can not wait to start my new adventure.

June 2015 Wrap-Up

Overall I had a great month of reading. Maybe it was the mood I was in, or it might have something to do with the read-a-thons I participated in. Whatever the reason, I was surprised I read eight books in total. Especially how a few of them were quite large novels.

Hopefully July will be the same, if not better.

Below are the following books I read and a link to their review.

Started the month off with a read-a-thon.

It was the monthly #AYearAThon, and this month was catch up on or complete book series.

I had to finally finish the Mortal Instrument series, so this was definitely a good motivator.

City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Once I finished City of Fallen Angels I was onto the next book in the series.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book in time for #AYearAThon, but I immediately started another one; Hooked on Books Week read-a-thon.

City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Next book I read for Hooked on Books Week read-a-thon was this beauty.

I was given this to me by the author, and I'm so happy he did.

I'm still in love with this book. Everyone needs to pick this up and read it.

A Whisper Of Leaves by Ashley Capes

There isn't much I can say about this book. It's probably best if you read my review.

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A great way to finish Hooked on Books Week read-a-thon.

This is the second time I read this book, but since it was a long time ago and I finally got the second book in the series, I had to refresh my memory. And to be honest, I'm not complaining.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Just like Outlander, I had read this book before. But for some odd reason I never continued with the series, even though I had book two and three. So I needed to refresh my memory before I continued with the rest of the series.

Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I finally finished the Mortal Instrument series!

Even though this wasn't my favourite book of the series, I still loved it.

So sad to see it end.

City Of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Sadly I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book.

If you want to know all the details why, you can check out my review.

Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas - Review

Book Two

Synopsis

Crowned by Evil.
Bound by Duty.
Divided by Love.

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan's deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies' blood - but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors - a captain and a prince - and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom...

Review

I sadly did not enjoy the second instalment as much as the first. Yes there were a few parts that I liked, but overall I found it to be boring and predictable. A few of the reviews I saw were shocked by the ending. Really? It was so obvious I knew it from book one.

The first half of the book was interesting and I basically could not put it down, getting to see Celaena's life as the Kings assassin was exciting. Unfortunately as soon as part two started (after something tragic happened), I was bored out of my mind. Not only did I not care for these characters any more, I found Calaena's decisions to be childish and stupid. 

I also don't understand why in the synopsis they mention that she is torn between two guys. Not once did I feel she was having trouble picking which guy to absolutely fall in love with. To be honest, it was both Chaol and Dorian who kept thinking about her in that sense, actually that's all they talked about. She has bigger fish to fry than worrying about which guy to pick.

This might only be me though, but I definitely didn't get that love triangle vibe. Not in book one and definitely not in book two. 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate this book. There were a few things I loved about this, like the writing style. I find Sarah J. Maas books easy to read and captivating at times. It's hard to write a fantasy world, you're basically starting a world from scratch and creating whatever you want without seeming over the top. 

My star review for Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas is:

City Of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare - Review

Book Six

Synopsis

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him—must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world change in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

Review

The final book of the Mortal Instrument series, sad to see it finally end. There is only a few book series out there that I'm obsessed over, and I'm happy to say this series is one of them.

I'm going to do something a little different for this review. The first part will be spoiler free, and the second will be spoilers. Why? Well there is no way I can talk about this book without mentioning major events that happened throughout this book.

SPOILER FREE

As soon as I started reading this book it was already full of action. So many things happening and of course not a lot of good things. There is going to be a big battle coming soon, so of course terrible things are going down. Sebastian/Jonathan is still out there planning the destruction of all Nephilim. 

I think the only reason this book is much bigger than the previous novels is because the many different point of views we get. I can't even tell you how many people we got to experience through their eyes. 

I don't think Cassandra Clare dragged it on or wrote unnecessary scenarios to make the final book that big (my edition 638 pages). Yes there were a few things I had problems with, but I'll save that for the spoiler section.

The only sad thing was, even though I was never spoiled, knowing nothing going into this, everything still felt predictable. I knew Jace and Clary's plan at the end, it was basically a no-brainer. As for the other "major" plot turns, I was never shocked. Cassandra Clare never kept me in suspense throughout this novel, not like the previous ones. 

Now onto the spoiler section.

SPOILER

Now let's talk about this book more in detail. 

I want to start by talking about all the things I didn't like about this book, which is why I didn't give it that extra star rating:

The name dropping in this book was to a point I wanted to smack it against my head. Yes I get it, you want to link this series to the Infernal Devices series by bringing in Tessa and Jem. It constantly felt like every time she wrote Tessa's name, Cassandra Clare wanted to get some sort of reaction from us. For me, all I felt was yes I get it, can we move on to more important things. Tessa was the hero in that other series, not this one. 

The foreshadowing......I wonder what the next series in the Shadowhunters is going to be about? Let me guess, Emma Carstairs, not only a point of view character in this book, but also on her own mission? That wasn't extremely painful, more like obvious.

Now onto the deaths in this book:

Jordan Kyle. I actually felt sorry for him, not only did he die thinking Maia loved him, but I felt like Cassandra Clare needed to kill him off because of that. It's like she decided, "How am I going to get Maia single again? How can I get rid of Jordan without making him look like a bad guy? I want my readers to be shocked". Answer, kill him off. Odd because as soon as Jordan died, I didn't like Maia any more. 

Raphael. This was my one shock moment. I did not see this coming at all. 

Sebastian/Jonathan. Even though he is the most evil character and is supposed to be the enemy, he is also the only character that I shed a tear when he died. Reading how all that evil was washed out of him and showing what he would truly look like if his father didn't pump him with demon blood. It was heart breaking to think of the person he should of been and never was. 

Let's talk about the things I do like about this book, because the more I think about the things I don't like, the more reason I should give this book fewer stars.

Even though there were a few problems, I still absolutely loved this book. Well paced, great character development from Clary and Simon. Going from weak mundanes to these strong characters, hats off to Cassandra Clare's writing skill. 

And finally after six books my otp (one true pairing) finally get that "happy ending". I've never read a couple going through that much drama than those two. 

Can I talk about the sex scene? So they are all in a demon realm prepared to finally have their last battle with Sebastian/Jonathan, and yes there is that "I might die" going through their heads. Am I the only one who found it odd that Jace happened to bring a condom with him? 

Before they left for the demon realm, Jace still had the heavenly fire in him knowing he can't get that close to Clary because of it. But he still brought a condom? I'm still completely confused by this. Please tell me I'm not the only one who found this odd.

Now that I've finally finished the series, I'm happy there will be a TV show starting in January 2016, because I really don't want to let go of these characters. 

Will I continue with the Shadowhunter series? Of course I will, you can never leave this world once your in it. 

My star rating for City Of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare is:

Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - Review

Book One

Synopsis

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Review

What a fantastic, compelling, addictive novel, I literally loved every second of it.

Where do I basically start? Well let me just briefly talk about the one thing I found a bit annoying, even though I absolutely loved this book, there was a moment where I had to remind myself this was a YA novel.
Okay....Celaena is the worlds best assassin, she can basically kill someone in a blink of an eye. So why during the book did she act like she didn't have a clue what she was doing. I know she was in that death camp for a year so her abilities might have worn off, but come on.
It was a few things like that in the middle of the book where I assumed she was better than what she was, essentially.

Now that was the only problem I had, which in contrast is minor. Throne of Glass was interesting to read, because even though it had it's typical "YA" theme with the love triangle, the romance in the story really took a back seat. It was there, but it wasn't the main vocal point. And in all honesty, unlike most people who have already read this series, I don't care who she chooses, all I care about is how she is going to survive and hopefully win her freedom.

The premise of this story is basically a group of criminals competing amongst one another, the winner to be named King's Champion. Which means you will be his assassin/slave.
It was slightly like the Olympics (hear me out), every so often they had a trial where they compete amongst each other in different abilities, like archery, poisons and the sort. Whoever was last will be sent away to wherever they were taken from. I did say slightly like the Olympics.
There are a few books out there that I wish I came up with their plot idea, this is one of them. What a brilliant concept.

I enjoyed the majority of these characters, Dorian a cocky but also the most sweetest gentleman. Chaol is the strong character, very good at hiding his true feelings. People are saying there is a love triangle between Chaol, Dorian and Celaena, but I didn't see that throughout the book, all I felt from Chaol was him trying to trust her. If you want to call that falling in love, then so be it.
My favourite character would have to be Philippa, even though her role wasn't a major one, I still loved her. Every time she appeared, it made the story just that more enjoyable.

I should stop rambling on, because I could go on for days about how much I enjoyed this book.
This book is recommended for anyone who wants to start reading Fantasy, it's easy to read and well written. Actually it's for anyone who enjoys reading in general.

Can not wait to read the next book in the series.



My star rating for Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is:

Hooked On Books Week Read-A-Thon June 7-14 2015

As soon as I finished #AYearAThon (actually the same day), I started the next read-a-thon on my list; Hooked On Books week read-a-thon.
Even though I have been doing so well with my reading, I wasn't sure I'll be able to continue. What surprised me was how much I read and how many books I finished.
This is a personal achievement for me, I set out to do these read-a-thons in the hopes to read more as well as never to be in a readers slump ever again. So far I'm pretty happy with the way things are going.

For this read-a-thon, all we had to do was read as much books as we possibly can between June 7 - 14. Here are my results:



My Reading List:
What I planned to read

City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
A Whisper Of Leaves by Ashley Capes
Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout
White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L.Armentrout

Pages Read:

7/6 - 90 pages
8/6 - 213 pages
9/6 - 201 pages
10/6 - 93 pages
11/6 - 149 pages
12/6 - 92 pages
13/6 - 202 pages
14/6 - 50 pages

Total Pages Read: 1,090 pages

Books Read:

Review:

City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Review:

A Whisper Of Leaves by Ashley Capes

Review:

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Review:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Review

Book One

Synopsis

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Review

Second time reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I wasn't disappointed. It has been close to two years since I read this book, and to be completely honest I'm not sure why I didn't continue with the series.

So when I found out it was being turned into a TV show I had to finally get the rest of the books in the series. I hate the thought of starting a series and not finishing it. 

Even though after reading this two years ago the plot was still fresh in my mind (especially that ending), but since I loved it so much the first time around, there was no harm in refreshing my mind.

Usually when I'm reviewing a book I talk about the things I like and disliked, Outlander I loved everything about it (so this will explain why the review will be short). The setting, romance, time travel to the past, writing style, characters, I could not find one fault with it. 

Even with some of the choices Claire made, I could understand where she was coming from and understood why she did it. 

Diana Gabaldon can write chemistry between characters like nobody's business. Not only the interaction you get between Claire and Jamie, but also the other characters involvement in the story. Everybody has their own voice and characteristics that it was easy to pick out who was talking.

I have not yet seen the TV show, but I've heard nothing but great things. I mean c'mon, can we take a moment and just admire Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan):

I'm thinking as soon as I get it on DVD I will review it as well. Is the plot similar to the book? Are the characters how I pictured them? Things like that.

Also, now that I finally have the next book in the series, I can not wait to start it and see where Claire and Jamie go.

My star rating for Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is:

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Review

Novella

Synopsis

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining the balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again... 

Review

I really did not enjoy this book, which is sad because I've heard nothing but great things about this author. I did see a few reviews for this book saying to skip it all together and just begin the series. For those who don't know, this is a novella / prequel to the Dark Elements series. 

The concept of the book and the writing style was great, I've never read a book about gargoyles before. It was the characters themselves that I couldn't stomach. 

Not only I did not understand their relationship, but I just didn't care. All it seemed to me was Dez using his sex appeal to Jasmine who doesn't have a back bone. They both just made me mad.

The one thing that I hated the most was the portrayal of females in this book. All they are good for is breeding and getting kidnapped my demons a lot. Really? Wouldn't it be smart to teach them to fight for themselves. 

I will be reading the first book in the series, hopefully it will one hundred times better. Don't let me down Jennifer L. Armentrout.

My star rating for Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout is:

A Whisper Of Leaves by Ashley Capes - Review

Synopsis

When ESL teacher Riko finds an old journal buried in the forests beneath Mt Fuji, a malevolent, untraceable force begins to threaten her at every turn.

But is it all in her head?

The more she studies the journal for answers, the more questions she uncovers. Worse, no-one takes her fears seriously and her best lead appears to be a belligerent old man, whose only care in the world is raking leaves deep in the forest.

With her grip on reality shaken and friendships strained to breaking point, Riko has to discover the truth about the journal in order to put ghosts of the past to rest, as strange events turn deadly.

Review

Yet another brilliant book by Ashley Capes. This book was everything and more. I was completely engrossed in this book that it took me seven straight hours (breaks cause of house duties), to finish it. 

Set in Japan, a first for me as I've shockingly never read a book set in this country, we follow a young woman whose life has turned upside down. Falsly accused of inappropriate behaviour with a student, she is set out to make things right. What she doesn't realize is a simple hike will make her life even crazier with a mysterious journal. 

A Whisper of Leaves is a novella , and for those who don't know what that is, its basically a short story. Usually I'm not a huge fan of novella's as they always rush a story just to get to either the point or the end. A Whisper of Leaves is not that, I'm happy to say this story was well paced. Not slow but definitely not fast either. 

Actually I didn't want it to end it was that good. Nail biting, edge of my seat rollercoaster ride of ghosts, friendship and dealing with, well, difficult people. 

I unfortunately did have problems with the pronunciation of people's names and locations, but this didn't hinder me in the slightest. In all honesty, I have trouble with English words too. 

There is so much more I want to talk about, but unfortunately I don't want to give away any spoilers. Just pick this book up and read it, you will not be dissapointed. 

My star rating for A Whisper Of Leaves by Ashley Capes is:

City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - Review

Book Five

Synopsis

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Review

There is so many things that I love about this book, the many settings, point of view characters vary, the suspense was definitely killing me. I'm not joking when I say I did not want to put this book down. It explains why I stayed up until the wee hours of the night finishing it. 

I was shocked to realise only six months had passed for these characters since book one, City of Bones. I know a lot can happen in that amount of time, but this takes it all to the next level. 

So much has happened, it's a shock that it has only happened in that amount of time.

There is one final book in the series, and I know, I'm really not looking forward to it. It's not that I don't like this series (far, far from it), I just don't want it to finish. But what I want, and it better happen, is for Clary and Jace to finally live happily ever after. That might be Disney fairytale coming out, but at this point nothing seems to be going smoothly for this couple. 

Finally I can say Clary has grown up in this book, yes it might of taken her a while, but she is accepting what she is and isn't saying or doing stupid things. Okay, she does risky moves, but all for a good cause right?

What shocked me was how much I find Jocelyn annoying now. In the first book, City of Bones, I wanted to smack Clary for the things she said about her mother. She is protecting you from bad things that she knows more about than you do. But now I'm finding her over protectiveness is too much. Every time she tries to hide Clary from "danger" she ends up in a worse state for it. 

She is a Shadowhunter trained to fight off the "bad guys", and that is what she has chosen. Just accept it. And I know what it's like wanting to bubble wrap your child, but unfortunately you can't do that forever.

Simon, he wasn't my favourite character at the beginning, but slowly and surely he is becoming a character I can't wait to read in his point of view. I still think he is over obsessed with Clary, but hopefully by the next book he eases off a bit.

I can not wait to read the final book in the series, City of Heavenly Fire, even though I'm going to cry. Not because I think people are going to die, I hope not, I have been lucky that I haven't seen any spoilers in the past year since it's release date. The reason for my ugly tears is because this will be the last in the series. 

My star rating for City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare is:

#AYearAThon June 2015 Finish/Catch Up • Day #7 & Wrap-Up

Day #7 & Wrap-Up

Last day of the read-a-thon and even though it wasn't my best day, overall I think I did a not bad job. I'm happy with the amount of reading I did, though I didn't complete all the books I planned to read. 

I enjoyed myself throughout the #AYearAThon that I will definitely be continuing every month. 

Bring on July, I'm ready for you.

Pages Read: 90

Total Pages Read: 854

Books Finished:

Total Books Finished:

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

#AYearAThon June 2015 Finish/Catch Up • Day #6

Day #6

Unfortunately I didn't read much, actually I don't think I read anythin . It was one of those days when there was no time to stop (or in my case) multi-task.
Last day tomorrow and I plan to read, read, read.

Pages Read: 91

Total Pages Read: 764

Books Finished:

Total Books Finished:

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

#AYearAThon June 2015 Finish/Catch Up • Day #5

Day #5

The good thing about car trips (especially long ones), and you are the passenger, it gives you a lot of time to just sit there and read. 

I only read three hours today but I got a lot of reading done 

Pages Read: 127

Total Pages Read: 673

Books Finished:

Total Books Finished:

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

 

#AYearAThon June 2015 Finish/Catch Up • Day #4

Day #4

Even though I didn't read as much as day one or three, the important thing is I read. 

I started my second book for the read-a-thon, and I hope to at least finish it on day five or si . Here's hoping. 

Pages Read: 111

Total Pages Read: 546

Books Finished:

Total Books Finished:

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare - Review

Book Four

Synopsis

Simon, Daylighter vampire teen is protected by the Mark of Cain, a pillar of fire from Heaven blazes attackers into salt, but an enemy gets at him through his first love Clary, who must face consequences, and maybe lose Jace. A Greater Demon infects nights of her Shadowhunter beloved for control, and sends grey-garbed minions for Simon himself.

Review

Again another great instalment in the Mortal Instrument series. I don't know how Cassandra Clare does it, draws you in and doesn't let you go. What can I say, I was once again fangirling. 

What was also great was the different point of views from a variety of characters. Mainly from Simon, Clary and Jace, but also a glimpse of other characters minds and actions. 

Of course nothing is peachy and happily ever after, there is a lot more problems these guys need to face. Especially Simon, which was refreshing to see what he is going through since he became a vampire and the mark of Cain.

Even though Clary is growing up and accepting of what she truly is, I found her sometimes to have that immature streak. I have nothing against people crying, but when it becomes excessive I tend to lose my mind. 

Yes her and Jaces' relationship isn't perfect, but whose is? I hope to see more maturity from her in the final two books, or something border line of that. Maybe just no more crying and I would be happy.

There is something else I wanted to discuss, but I'm trying to keep this spoiler free as possible. Just the mention of this characters name blares Spoiler Alert. So if you have read it and want to know what I am talking about, you can leave a comment below, or check out my updates on Goodreads.

My star rating for City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare is: