Jump Into Books

You may be thinking, 'What is Cicely doing, starting a new series of monthly round-up posts in  March?!'. You may not be thinking anything at all. But I just wanted to start doing round ups at the end of every month because I think that I post a lot of reviews and read a lot of books that I feel sometimes don't get the attention they deserve and I want to highlight them again and also just to keep track of everything each month, you know? So hopefully I'll be doing a round up of what I've read/reviewed each month. I hope you enjoy! (Just give me a couple of months to figure out how I want to format it and what have you. Bare with me.) Books read: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger Soulless by Gail Carriger Undone by Cat Clarke Beauty by Robin McKinley Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys In The Hands of The Goddess by Tamora Pierce Requiem by Lauren Oliver Clockwork Princess by Cassie Clare Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald Total: 9 (my best month so ...

Requiem Lauren Oliver March 21st 2013 Hodder & Stoughton   Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever... Told from the alternating viewpoints of Lena and her best friend Hana, Requiem brings the Delirium trilogy to an exhilarating end and showcases Lauren Oliver at the height of her writing powers - emotionally powerful and utterly enthralling. *This review will probably contain spoilers for the first two books in the trilogy, so read at your own risk!* I know that a lot of people had problems with this book, particularly the ending, but I thought that it was fitting despite being slightly frustrating. Pandemonium is still my favourite book of the series, though. Again, Requiem...

Beauty  Robin McKinley 25th October 1978 (this edition, January 6th 2011 David Fickling Books When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter to the Beast's castle, with no guarantee that she will be seen again. Beauty accepts the challenge, and there begins an extraordinary story of magic and love that overcomes all boundaries. This is another spellbinding and emotional tale embroidered around a fairytale from Robin McKinley, an award-winning American author. Beauty is kind of a weird one for me. I don't usually read books that are this old, and I don't read a lot of fairytale retellings, but I love Beauty and the Beast and I always hear great things about Robin Mckinley, so I thought this would be a good place to start. I enjoyed it a lot, but i...

. . Letterbox Love is the UK's version of IMM, hosted by the lovely Lynsey at  Narratively Speaking  :) Just the one book this week, but a very fine book it is!  Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (I haven't read it yet, but it's next on my to-read pile, though depending on how much I enjoy it or not, it may be the end of my love affair with Cassie's books until she writes something not about Shadowhunters. I'm just not as bothered about them as I was before, I guess, which is sad because they were my gateway books back into reading. They've just lost that sense of wonder and amazement for me. Thank you Walker!) Sorry for that bit of depressingness, and the short post! I should have a couple of reviews up next week. What did you get in your letterbox?

Out of the Easy Ruta Sepetys March 7th 2013 Puffin Books Out of the Easy is set against the vivid backdrop of 1950s New Orleans. Written by New York Times bestselling author Ruth Sepetys, this novel has something for everyone: love, mystery, murder, blackmail and warmth. Josie Moraine wants out of The Big Easy - she needs more than New Orleans can offer. Known locally as a brothel prostitute's daughter, she dreams of life at an elite college, far away from here. But then a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie caught between her ambition and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans is luring Josie deeper in as she searches for the truth, and temptation beckons at every turn. I feel a bit torn by this book, because on the one hand, I loved Josie's voice and the writing and the characters, but on the other hand, I never really felt like I knew where the book was going or why it was going there. The setting and the characters came alive with every page, though, so I feel like ...

Letterbox Love is the UK's version of IMM, hosted by the lovely Lynsey at  Narratively Speaking  :) For review: The Hit by Melvin Burgess (Very intrigued by this one! Never read a Melvin Burgess book before. Thank you Chicken House!) The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd (I love the sound of this! Thank you HarperCollins.) Bought: In The Hands of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (Tamora Pierce. 'Nuff said) What did you get this week?

I've probably titled this a bit inappropriately, but whatever. Book news! This isn't going to be a regular feature or anything, by the way, just feel like I should tell you that. There's just a bit of news about this week that I need to tell you about is all. If it was going to be a regular feature, I probably would've given it a better name... Anyway!  First off, Marissa Meyer, author of the brilliant Cinder and Scarlet, will be making a brief stop in the UK in a week and a bit! How exciting is that! She'll be a doing a talk/Q&A/signing at Waterstone's Bromley on the 26th March, 6:00pm. I'm really upset that I won't be able to go to this one, actually. I would've loved to meet her, but even if you can't make it, she'll hopefully come back to the UK soon! And also, you can phone an order for a signed copy from the shop if you're desperate :) Also, Laini Taylor of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and fame is hosting a trailer competition f...

The Madness Underneath (Name of the Star #2) Maureen Johnson 28th March 2013 HarperCollins Children's Books After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city's secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late. In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spec...

Letterbox Love is the UK's version of IMM, hosted by the lovely Lynsey at  Narratively Speaking  :) Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (Not read one of her books, so I'm looking forward to this! Thanks Puffin.) A Face Like Glass by Francis Hardinge (I have no idea about this book, but I like the cover! Thanks Macmillan.) If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (Really intrigued by the sound of this book. Thanks Indigo!) Bought: Beauty by Robin McKinley (Bought this because I watched Beauty and The Beast the other weekend and felt in the mood for it. Might read some of her other books after this!) What did you get this week?

Undone Cat Clarke 31st January 2013 Quercus Jem Halliday is in love with her gay best friend. Not exactly ideal, but she's learning to live with it.  Then the unspeakable happens. Kai is outed online ... and he kills himself. Jem knows nothing she can say or do will bring him back. But she wants to know who was responsible. And she wants to take them down.  A searing story of love, revenge and betrayal from a bestselling author. Cat Clarke has done it again. Undone broke me more so that both of her previous books combined. I don't know what it is about her books, but they're just so real and this book in particular was pretty brutal to read. A lot of the time I did feel that Jem was very difficult to relate to and to like, but even though I couldn't empathise with her, I could sympathise with her even if I didn't agree with a lot (or anything) that she was doing.  This is not one of those contemporaries that's about grief and love and overcoming it and learning ...

Perfect Scoundrels Ally Carter February 7th 2013 Orchard Books Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting—or stealing—whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir—this time, Hale might be the mark.  Forced to keep a le...

Pandemonium Lauren Oliver 28th February 2012 Hodder & Stoughton The eagerly anticipated sequel to the international bestseller DELIRIUM, one of the most addictive books of last year. Unflinching, heartbreaking and totally addictive, this novel will push your emotions to the limit.  Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it. She's made her decision. But can she survive the consequences? PANDEMONIUM is the explosive sequel to the critically acclaimed and bestselling DELIRIUM. *There will probably be spoilers for Delirium and possibly Pandemonium in this review. You have been warned*  Pandemonium was amazing. I wasn't too certain how I would I feel about it because it's been about two years since I read Delirium, and ever since an English teacher stole my copy of it I've not had a chance to read it again (I'm holding out for the new UK paperback that matches this Pandemonium cover), so ...