Michelle Moran Winner Giveaway

So a couple of weeks ago I hosted a giveaway for two people to win a signed copy of Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran and some Indian bangles. I'm pleased to announce that 2 winners have been chosen and their names are listed on the giveaway widget on the blogs homepage. If you are a winner please send your full name and address plus postal/zip code so I contact the author and your prizes can be sent out. If you have not won you will receive signed bookplates by the lovely author by using this link below! Congratulations to the winners and happy reading! :) Link for the runners up to win signed bookplates: http://www.michellemoran.com/books/rebelqueen/bookplate.html PLEASE NOTE: If I don't hear back from the winners within a week of posting this, I will select another winner so please send me your contact info as soon as possible if you are a winner. Thank You.

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#FridayReads - 30/01/2015

So I haven't posted a #FridayReads post on this blog before so I thought I would start doing it so people can see what I'll be reading throughout the weekend. It mainly happens on YouTube but I thought it would be simpler for me to write it down rather than talk about it in front of a camera. Anyway, this week I'm in the middle of two books. The library book I'm currently reading is Splintered by A. G. Howard, and its sort of a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, which is pretty interesting. Also, it has a beautiful cover which is so detailed and imaginative. The other book is All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, and I'm really enjoying this one. Its about time travel, the writing is really addictive and the storyline is keeping me hooked and turning the pages which is always a good thing. If you do a #FridayReads post on your blog or YouTube channel, then leave it below and I'll be sure to check it out. Happy Reading! =)

Book Review - Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Published: 2007

Publisher: Quercus

Format: e-book

Length: 528 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Nefertiti is one of the world’s greatest legendary beauties. Seen through her sister’s eyes, she is vividly brought to life in this heartbreaking story of celebrity, ambition, love and loss.

At the tender age of fifteen, Nefertiti marries Akhenaten, the Prince of Egypt, her dreams coming true as she rises to fame and fortune. Bathed and decorated by a team of body servants, her natural beauty is enhanced until she becomes mesmerizing. She is soon the darling of the people and her husband’s closest confidant.

But when her husband breaks with a thousand years of tradition, defying the priests and the military, it will take all Nefertiti’s wiles to keep the nation from being torn apart. She’s prepared to sacrifice her sister to strengthen her power and this act will lock the two women in a feud that only death can break.

Review:

This book was definitely an interesting and intriguing one for me to read. I had never before read anything to do with Ancient Egypt, and I had only heard of Cleopatra so it was definitely fascinating to get a glimpse into what life would have been like for an Egyptian royal. I really felt Michelle Moran’s vivid descriptions of the Egyptian palace and surroundings took me back in time to Ancient Egypt, where I was a fly on the wall, listening to all the conversations and sitting in an Egyptian audience chamber.

As for the plot, the story is told by Mutnodjmet, Nefertiti’s younger half-sister who follows her sister to the palace and lives by her side as she and her husband Akhenaten rise to power and win the people of Egypt’s love.

Mutnodjmet or Mutny as she is often referred to in the book was an easy character for me to root for and engage with. She does not desire a life in the limelight as her sister does, and is easily content with living the quiet life, tending to her garden and searching for love.

In a way, the contrast between Mutny and the power hungry Nefertiti, reminded me of sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn, from The Other Boleyn Girl; especially Akhenaten and King Henry VIII both being powerful kings who had a short temper.

The book also gave a fascinating insight into the politics and religion of Ancient Egypt. The people of Egypt are used to worshipping a god called Amun, and become quickly angry when Nefertiti and Akhenaten announce they are giving up supporting Amun in favour of worshipping the sun god, Aten. This aspect of the story gave the book a really dramatic turn and gave more conflict for the two sisters as they both try and live their lives and struggle with the conflicts that are increasingly risin.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story, is interested in learning more about Ancient Egypt, or to anyone who enjoys an entertaining historical novel.

Bout of Books 10.0 Readathon

So I have decided to take part in the Bout of Books Readathon 10.0 which has been getting a lot of talk on Booktube. I previously tried this readathon but didn't do that well so I'm hoping that this year I can do better and get through some of my TBR books that need to be read. I have decided to set myself the following goals:

1. To finish or round up a series that I currently own the last book of. For this I have decided to read Outside In by Maria V. Snyder, the last book in her Insiders series that comes after Inside Out. I really enjoyed Inside Out when I borrowed it from the library a few years ago. Seeing as its so long since I read the first book I thought I might as well try and finish the series and see how it ends, especially as it only has 2 books in the series and it is fairly average in size so I should get through it pretty quickly. The edition I own has 326 pages.

2. To read a dystopian book. I have plenty of unread dystopian books on my shelves, and many of them are firsts in series that I haven't even started yet so I figured I might as well try a new one and see if I want to continue with the series.

3. To read a classic. For this I have decided to read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, as I own the majority of her novels and I have only read Pride and Prejudice by her, so I thought I would try a short one of hers and see how it compares to P & P.

4. To read a standalone novel. For this I have decided to read If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch which is a fairly recent release and something that I've been wanting to read for a while.

So these are the goals I have set myself. I hope I can read all the books I have mentioned. If you are participating then please let me know in the comments what your goals are and what books you plan to read and good luck! Happy Reading!

12/05/2014
Book Currently Reading:If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
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13/05/2014
Book Currently Reading:If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
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14/05/2014
Book Currently Reading:If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Pages Read:Read from page 112 to 205

15/05/2014
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16/05/2014
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17/05/2014
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18/05/2014
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Readathon Wrap Up:
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Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – Book Review

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Published: 2014 (UK)

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback

Length: 459 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life – and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely out of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words…And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review:

I initially picked this book up because of all the hype surrounding it and I guess I wanted to jump on the Rainbow Rowell bandwagon as everyone seems to love her books. I also wanted to read more contemporary novels and this one seemed right up my street.

I really liked Cath, the main character. I felt I could relate to her as I am quite an unsociable person and have troubles meeting new people and talking to people that I don’t know well. I personally haven’t written much fan-fiction in my life but I think it definitely shows how much love a person can give a certain book or series. (There are definitely some that I fangirl over – a lot).

I liked the twin dynamic between Cath and Wren – her full name is Cather and I had never heard that name before and I thought it cool how their names went together. (You’ll have to read Fangirl first though to figure it out)

Wren is the opposite of Cath – being that she likes to flirt, party and drink a lot and pretty much make the most out of the university experience. Cath even is dismayed that Wren cut most of her hair off without telling her as opposed to having long hair like Cath.

My favourite part of the book was definitely any scene that had Levi in it. He was definitely my favourite character; he was just such a sweet, kind and considerate guy and I just loved how he and Cath fell in love. I just want to find my own Levi in real life now! Haha.

I also liked the aspect of Cath and her fan-fiction writing and how each chapter started with an excerpt from a Simon Snow book – as I said previously Cath really reminded me of myself and how I am quite a socially awkward person. It was really refreshing to see how she expressed herself through fan-fiction, but with the help of Levi learned how to talk to and meet people in the real world.

Reagan was also a cool, snarky character that was quite outspoken and who wasn’t afraid of letting Cath know how it was; I really admired her feistiness and how she was different to Cath; she’s definitely someone I wouldn’t mind being friends with in real life.

I really enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s writing – the story just flowed and she really has a way of creating flawed characters that you can’t help but root for and become attached to – I will be definitely be purchasing all of her other titles, especially since I haven’t read Eleanor & Park by her yet.

March 2014 To Be Read Pile

I am going to start doing TBR's and trying to stick to them. I need somethingto motivate my reading so hopefully I'll get through a lot of these this month (at least then I'll be able to a buy a few more :D )

March to be read pile – 5 books maximum

·        The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory (Cousins War series) – I really enjoyed watching the television show The White Queen which is based on Philippa Gregory’s Cousins War book series. The series follows key female characters that were a part of the Wars of the Roses in England in the 1400s. The Kingmaker’s Daughter focuses on Anne Neville, the daughter of Warwick the ‘Kingmaker’, who put king of England of the time King Edward III on the throne. I am a really big history geek and love learning about royal families of the past. Before watching the TV show I hadn’t heard of any of the historical figures so I like to read historical fiction book based on these historical figures to try and get a glimpse of what life may have been like for them in the time period. I’m not even 100 pages into this yet which is really bad so I need to get a move on before I can move onto another book :P

·        If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch – The plot of this book sounds really interesting and intriguing to me. The tagline is “What happens in the woods stays in the woods” which immediately makes me wonder what is going to happen in the story. I have skim read the first few pages and the writing style almost reminds me of Blood Red Road by Moira Young (one of my favourite books ever check it out :D) so that gives me high hopes. This cover is quite cool, the way you can see lots of yellow trees and 3 yellow figures dotted throughout which must represent the characters.

·        Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers – I’m going to be honest. I’ve tried to read this book before but I just couldn’t get past the first few chapters – I just think I wasn’t in the mood to read historical fiction at the time but I’m willing to give it another go as a lot of people seem to like it. It definitely has an interesting concept – assassin nuns - that just sounds so funny when I think about it. Anyway I hope I will enjoy it the next time around.

·        The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan – this book sounds pretty good – it is about two sisters and their mother moving to Paris after learning their brother has gone missing. I’m definitely interested in any book that’s set in Paris – it looks like an amazing city to visit and I’m really intrigued by the story. I haven’t heard a whole lot about it either so I’m going in with not a lot of expectations.

·       Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – I started reading this book last month but struggled to get through it a bit – I feel a bit bad because I know the book and its sequel are very hyped up and a lot of people love them. Parts of it are good for me and other parts are okay;  I’m not saying I dislike it but I hope it picks up as the book goes along as I would really love to become addicted to the series like everyone else.