Beautiful Hardcover, Not So Beautiful Paperback

Try as we might to ignore it, we must admit to ourselves that the vast majority of us do in fact judge a book by its cover-- in the most literal sense! And so what is worse than loving the premise of a book but absolutely hating the cover? Or, in a similar vein to…

Intimidating Books on my TBR

I, like I'm sure many others do, have a whole load of books on my TBR. It's only natural then that some of these books should be more intimidating than others, whether this be down to the hype surrounding it, the topics it explores or even the mere length of it. Below I've decided to…

Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

“Everyone’s immortal until they’re not.” A Gathering of Shadows is the second installment of Schwab's shades of magic trilogy, and was a book that unfortunately left me feeling slightly disappointed. While I afforded the first novel a full five stars, I felt that I could only give this one 3.5. This preference for the first…

Book Review: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

"You'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now." The Catcher in the…

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

“And that was what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have.” *This review is going to be very very spoiler heavy and also very long, read at your own peril* Crooked Kingdom is the second installment of Bardugo's Six of Crows duology, and it is, amazingly, just as good…

Book Review: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

"'You think I'm playing God? Fine, you play, Sydney. You decide, right now, who should live. Us, or them.'" Vengeful is the second book in Schwab's villains series, and it achieves a feat most sequels can't; it was equally as (if not more) brilliant as the first. Brilliant pacing, structural choices and character exploration made…

Book Review: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“When I lost my sight... people said I was brave. When my father left, people said I was brave. But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don't you do the same?” All The Light We Cannot See is a carefully constructed novel that takes place amid…

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

“Do your kind even know what love is? Can you feel anything at all, or is it just... programmed?” *Small disclaimer before you read: I am in no way trying to discourage anyone from reading this book, nor am I trying to claim that people that have read the book shouldn’t enjoy it. I am…

Book Review: Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

“The beauty or ugliness of a character lay not only in its achievements, but in its aims and impulses; its true history lay, not among things done, but among things willed.” Though it was written around 130 years ago, Tess of the D'Urbervilles remains an important read, largely due to the issues that Hardy approaches…