Top 5...#11

Hey internet! I thought that today i'd take a break from the non-stop reviews and bring back one of my favourite posts to do: my top 5's!

Seeing as over the past couple of weeks i've been on a kind of Mortal Instruments high i figured i'd carry on with that theme and do my top 5 characters from The Mortal Instruments!

Let's go!

5 - Simon Lewis.

I adore Simon. He's funny, sarcastic, caring, and most of all, he's so real. He's such a great friend and one of the best characters i have ever read about. I think he deserved more from the series, people didn't treat him the best and that makes me sad, but him and Isabelle man, that was just...i can't even describe how happy that made me throughout the books. I love Simon, and i'm so glad he was in the books as much as he was.

4 - Jace.

I love Jace. He is the ultimate 'oh man i love him' character. He goes through SO MUCH in the series and parts of it make me so sad. I just want to constantly reach into the books and give him the biggest hug possible. Poor little baby. 

3 - Magnus Bane.

I love Magnus. Magnus is the most straight talking person in the series, and i love him so much for it. He's so funny, and he doesn't really care what people think, and he loves Alec so much that it makes me really happy. He is one of the most interesting characters in the series and learning more about him is so great. 

2 - Alec Lightwood.

So maybe i just love the Lightwoods? Alec is the fictional character that i would most want to have in my actual life. I love how much he cares about other people. He cares so much about his siblings, about Jace, about Magnus...i just love him so much. His development through the series is one of my favourite character developments of all time, and his relationship in the series is probably the relationship i care most about in pretty much all of YA.

1 - Isabelle Lightwood.

I love Isabelle. She's smart, funny, kick-ass, sarcastic, and so so so so important to the series! To me she's like the best written female characters i have ever read. She's not a one dimensional person, she has flaws and she has strengths and she has feelings, and most importantly she actually thinks about something other than a boy. She develops so much through the series, and i love her so much.

Meghan x

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Kindle Book Haul

Hey internet! I'm here today with a little post about the books that i have bought on my kindle recently.

I have just uploaded a video showing all of the physical books that i have bought over the past few weeks, which you can see here, so i thought that i would write up a post about all of the eBooks that i have bought over the past couple of weeks.

Let's go! :)

1 - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

'Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.'

2 - Talented by Sophie Davis

'Block it out. Impossible for Talia Lyons. When you’re a Mind Manipulator, it’s hard enough to block the thoughts of others, let alone your own.'

3 - Evil: A True Story by Laurence Cole

'A terrifying story of demonic possession and drug abuse that led to a triple homicide. This story is written by one of the mental health staff who dealt with the perpetrator and who became convinced that there was an occult force behind the madness. A true story of a first hand experience.'

4 - UnEnchanted by Chandra Hahn

'Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; that is until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. 

But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is a descendant from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its' next fairy-tale victim.'

5 - Promise You Won't Tell? by John Locke

'“I think something might have happened to me Saturday night. Something bad.”

Private Investigator Dani Ripper’s client list is nuttier than the Looney Tunes conga line, but she diligently solves one crazy case after another, waiting for a game-changer.

Enter Riley Freeman, 17-year-old honor student.

Saturday afternoon Riley quietly placed a little strawberry sticker on her private area and pretended it was a tattoo. She didn’t tell anyone about it. That night she went to a slumber party that featured drinking and boys. Riley fell asleep, woke up the next day with no reason to think anything happened…Until Monday, at school, when a classmate called her Strawberry. Coincidence or crime? Dani agrees to investigate. And the roller coaster ride begins.'

6 - You're The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher

'Maddy, dressed in white, stands at the back of the church. At the end of the aisle is Rob - the man she's about to marry. Next to Rob is Ben - best man and the best friend any two people ever had.

And that's the problem.

Because if it wasn't Rob waiting for her at the altar, there's a strong chance it would be Ben. Loyal and sensitive Ben has always kept his feelings to himself, but if he turned round and told Maddy she was making a mistake, would she listen? And would he be right?

Best friends since childhood, Maddy, Ben and Rob thought their bond was unbreakable. But love changes everything. Maddy has a choice to make but will she choose wisely? Her heart, and the hearts of the two best men she knows, depend on it...'

7 - Teen Fury: Unleashed by Amanda Torrey

'Adopted at birth, fifteen year old Felicia Murphy has no idea she's the offspring of a Fury and a god of Mercy. The discovery will soon shatter her world... 

Felicia's reputation as stable and trustworthy means everything if she's to win the grant for the troubled kids she mentors. Snakes emerging from her head, massive mood swings, and a strong thirst for vengeance do not fit into her plans. She has no time to worry about her adoptive parent's separation and the unwanted discovery that her biological parents are supernatural freaks. She can't confide in her friends; who would believe her?'

8 - Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

- I actually read this last year, but i left my copy on a train coming back from Leeds, so i thought i'd download a new copy so i can re-read before i read the sequel. - 

'Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.'

9 - The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

'Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she's pretty sure they're only good for one thing - spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother's shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he's oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he's one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there is one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can't find out - she wouldn't approve. She'd much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn't been raised by money. But just when Xander's attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she'd ever realized. And that Xander's not the only one she should've been worried about.' 

Meghan x

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City of Heavenly Fire: Book Review

Hello there internet! Today i'm here with my review of City of Heavenly Fire, the final book in The Mortal Instruments series. Then i'll take a break from reviews - promise.

I would love to say that this is going to be spoiler free, however it's the sixth book in the series, and i have a whole lot of feelings about it.

First of all, how pretty is that cover?! I really am a sucker for a pretty cover! Okay, now onto the book itself!

Let's talk about Emma and the Blackthorn's. I had moments when i really, really liked Emma and i was so happy that she came into the story. And then i had moments when i couldn't stand her. A lot of the times when the book was in her perspective it didn't seem to really add anything to the story. I think maybe if her parts were split between her perspective and that of some of the Blackthorn children, it would of added a bit more to the story. 

Now i just want to know more about Julian, and i definitely needed more about Mark! The parts we had with them in were some of my favourite moments. I mean i wish Mark wasn't dragged into the Wild Hunt, the poor, poor baby.

Maia. Maia. Maia. I really didn't like her in this book. I don't know why but with the exception of the pack leader fight i just didn't care about her. She was one of my favourites in the past, and in this book i just kind of wish her perspective wasn't in the book as much as it was. However, the part at the Praetor Lupus with Jordan did break my heart a little bit...at least until she started thinking about how she was going to break up with him before he died...seemed unnecessary. 

Speaking of Jordan...JORDAN :'( I really started to love Jordan. He was kind, he was funny, he cared about all of them, and then he was just taken away! Screw you Sebastian. Stop ruining everything! 

Speaking of Sebastian ruining everything, could he maybe not hit on his sister so much? It was so creepy and uncomfortable. I think it really added to the hatred i feel for Sebastian, added to how much of a bad guy he really is.

Oh now it's time for Clary...Clary, Clary, Clary. She really started to bug me in this book. There were moments when she was the same Clary that i liked from the previous books, and then there were moments when she made me so angry. People were fighting around her, there was a war going on, people were dying, what was Clary thinking about? How hot Jace is. My God girl, get over yourself a bit. Other than her constant thoughts about Jace, i still really loved when the story was focused on what Clary and the gang were up to.

Alec. My poor little baby. I love you so much. You continue to break my little heart, but my god am i glad that you and Jace had your little heart to heart, and i am SO HAPPY that you got the 'i'm proud of you' speech off of your dad. But most of all, i cried when you and Magnus got back together and that he gave you the journal of his life. Go be happy, and stop breaking my heart.

Speaking of Magnus, he was the reason for about 80% of my tears in this book. Poor, poor baby. I wanted to kill Sebastian for the way Magnus was treated and when his father was going to take his immortality which would lead to his death, i could barely read through the tears. Magnus needs to live, he needs to be with Alec, and no one should be able to stop it! Magnus is one of my favourite characters, and him nearly dying nearly killed me. 

Raphael! Well the most unnecessary death of any series ever goes to, Raphael. I actually really liked Raphael, he was one of my top ten favourites. And when he refused to kill Magnus my heart swelled a little bit with happiness, then Sebastian ruined it all. 

Now let's get to Jace. I love Jace. I love Jace so much. The poor little angel, thinking he's just like Sebastian and that he wants the end of the world, let's all just give Jace a big hug to make him feel better. He has to go through so much in every book, and it all seems so unfair. Poor, poor baby. (I have the 'poor, poor baby' feeling about a lot of the characters in this book)

However, Jace and Clary getting it on in the Demon world? Talk about weird timing! It was such a cute, funny, awkward, great little scene to break up all the fighting and sadness. I had to put the book down for a minute due to laughing when Jace just pulled out a condom. What was Jace thinking? "What will i need in hell? Weapons, food, water, condoms..." Such a funny little moment.

Talking of funny little moments. Alec walking in on Isabelle and Simon both times were possibly the funniest moments i have ever read in any book ever. Especially when he almost walked in on them role-playing in his bedroom...So funny. And his little 'OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN' moment in the Demon world. I love Alec, Simon, and Isabelle so much, and those moments were some of my favourite moments in the book.

Talking about people getting it on, can we talk about the Seelie Queen and Sebastian for a second? How creepy was that?! It just came out of nowhere and made me feel so uncomfortable, it actually made me shudder thinking about the two of them together. 

Now Isabelle! I think everyone knows by now that Isabelle is possibly my favourite character in the series. She was responsible for another of the 10% of my tears. Her nearly dying was literally the worst moment of the book. I was so scared that she wasn't going to live, and while crying about her nearly dying, i realised that Alec would have lost his little brother and sister and then i had to put the book down and walk away for a minute before i completely broke down.

Simon! Oh man here's the final 10% of my tears...Cassandra Clare has so much to answer for after that! Him forgetting everything, especially him forgetting Isabelle, broke my heart so much. It just hurt so bad. I'm glad that he started to remember little things after Isabelle and Magnus went to him after school, and the idea of him becoming a Shadowhunter made me so happy. Oh man i love Simon so much.

Honestly i think that this was the most perfect ending to the series, and i couldn't have wanted more from it. It was so great, and i loved it all so much. I'm so sad that the series is finally over, but i am so excited The Dark Artifices!!

Meghan x

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The Mission: Cover Reveal

Hey there internet! Today i'm here with a different kind of post, but one that i am super excited about! I'm involved with the cover reveal for Allen Zadoff's THE MISSION.

Let's go!

So, have you heard of BOY NOBODY, the amazing Jason Bourne meets James Bond YA thriller that came out last year?

Well it was one of my favourites of last year, and so many people agree!

The sequel, THE MISSION, is being published this September! And BOY NOBODY is being re-released at the same time, and is being re-titled as THE HIT, and both have brand new, sexy covers! 

I for one am super excited for this, as BOY NOBODY kept me gripped from beginning to end, and i'm sure THE MISSION will deliver in the same way!

Check out both of the new covers below, along with the sneak-peak at the third book, THE TRAITOR!

What do you think?

You can read the first few chapters of THE HIT here.

You can see the trailer (which i think is great) here.

Find Allen Zadoff here.

Meghan x

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This post is made possible by the wonderful BooksWithBiteUK.

City of Lost Souls: Book Review

Well hello there internet, today i am here with a book review of the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. And oh boy am i excited.

As always i try not to spoil anything, but this is my honest review and i cannot promise it is spoiler free.

City of Lost souls is amazing. I can't really think of another word that encompasses how i feel towards this book. 

I thought that nothing would come close to how much i love City of Glass from this series, but City of Lost Souls definitely gave it a run for its money! I laughed, i cried, i felt happy, i felt uncomfortable. It was brilliant.

I adored this addition to the story, even the parts that creeped me out and made me feel anxious. Everything about the story made me feel excited and i loved every second of it.

Jace...Jace broke my little heart. When he came back momentarily as himself he made me want to reach into the book and take him somewhere safe. Poor baby. Seeing him act so like himself and so un-like himself at the same time was horrible, yet captivating, and it was truly brilliant writing.

Sebastian made me want to hurt something. Mainly his stupid, smug little face, but as a bad guy, he was kind of great. I love a bad guy in a story, especially when you can't find a single redeeming feature, i think it makes you feel more. I hated him, but i loved how much Cassandra Clare made me hate him.

Alec and Magnus were the people who re-built my broken heart...and then smashed it all over again. I think everyone knows by now that Alec and Magnus are probably my two favourite characters in this series, and in this book they made me smile, laugh, and really, really cry. They make me so happy and so sad, and i love them both so much.

I think this is honestly one of the best books in the series, and the plot was just fantastic. So many twists and turns and truly wonderful moments. I loved every second of it. I was so skeptical going into this one for some reason, but i think it may have just topped the list as my favourite in the series.

Meghan x

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City of Fallen Angels - Book Review

Hello again lovely people of the internet, i'm here today with another review of a Cassandra Clare book! Today is time for the wonderful fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series: City of Fallen Angels.

As always, i'm going to try and keep the spoilers down but there may be spoilers ahead!

First of all, the first time i read the mortal instruments i finished at City of Glass, so this was the first tmi book that i hadn't read before in a LONG time, so i was nervous and so excited!

There's one thing i need to say before the proper review starts...JACE :'( :'( poor little baby.

Okay, now for actual thoughts on the book.

Lilith! Oh man Lilith! I think Lilith is easily one of the best evil characters i have ever read. I thought i loved Valentine as the bad guy as the series, but Lilith is a whole new level. I absolutely loved how she was entwined with everything in the story, from Jace acting weird, Sebastian, Simon and Camille, everything about her character made me really love this book.

Well it wouldn't be a review about tmi without expressing my love of Alec and Magnus. I love them so much. Their relationship makes me so happy, and getting to see more of them just made me the happiest girl in the world. Alec is my favourite character in the whole series, and him and Alec being together makes me so happy.

Now Jace...Jace, Jace, Jace...my poor, poor little baby. I just wanted to reach into the story and hug him constantly. I feel like Jace is the person in this series that has the most to deal with, i mean i know everyone in it goes through stuff, but Jace is on a whole new level. The poor, poor baby.

Okay new character time!! Jordan was such a nice little addition to the series. I really like him. From the moment he turned up at band practice i thought he was going to be great and he really was. I have a whole lot of love for Jordan man.

Sebastian...ugh. I spent pretty much the whole book waiting for him to come back, and when we find out that him and Jace have been linked up by Lilith it hurt, it hurt bad. I really like that there is a character in the series that i can hate this much, i feel like it really adds to the story and makes me care about everyone that much more.

THE ENDING. OH MY GOD THE ENDING HURT SO BAD. Jace :'( I thought i hated Sebastian back in City of Glass, but that doesn't compare to the hatred i felt for him at the end of Fallen Angels. Screw you Sebastian. Screw you.

Meghan x

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City of Glass - Book Review

Hey there internet! It's book review time, and i'm super excited about this one because City of Glass is one of my favourites in the Mortal Instruments series. Let's go!

As always, i try my best not to, but there may be possible spoilers ahead.

I love all of the Mortal Instruments and City of Glass is pretty much my favourite out of all of them. Oh. My. God. Where to even start. I adore this part of the series, with all of its terrific twists and turns, all the secrets slowly coming out, all the happy endings, all the Alec!

You may have gathered by now that Alec is pretty much my favourite character in the whole series and this book has so much Alec that my little heart nearly exploded from happiness. I love that we get to see more of him, and more of his relationship with Magnus, especially all the cute moments *cough* Why didn't you call me back? *cough* I think we should just have a whole new book dedicated to Alec...a girl can hope.

Jace. Jace. Jace. Poor, poor little Jace. Can someone just give the poor kid a break once in a while?! Michael, Valentine, Stephen...let the kid decide who he is on his own! And then Sebastian on top of it all...i just feel so bad for the kid! My poor, poor little Jace.

Speaking of Valentine and Sebastian...Screw you both! As far as bad guys go, i really love Valentine, i think he's great but you can also kind of see that he thinks he's doing the right thing, even though he definitely isn't! Sebastian though...why? Everyone trusted you! 

City of Glass was such a good story, and one of the best additions to a story i think i have ever read, and i even loved the parts i hated *cough* MAX *cough* 

I absolutely adore the world that Cassandra Clare has created with these books, and i am so glad that she turned the fantastic trilogy into an even more fantastic 6 book series!!

Meghan x

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Zombie Apocalypse Tag

Hello there internet!! This week my little blog turned one and i can't quite believe it! I started this blog because i was bored and now it's turned into something i love and do three times a week, and people actually read it! My mind is officially blown!

Anyway! Today i thought i'd do a tag i've seen floating around on BookTube for quite a while now, and it looks like a super fun tag - the zombie apocalypse tag by Nathan Hale - Let's go!!

So for this tag you take 5 books, and put their names into a hat (or anything really) and draw them out one at a time. After drawing the name of a book you answer two of the questions by opening the book to a random page - the answer is the first name you see...I'm sure Nathan explained it so much better than i just did!

My first book is...The Fault in Our Stars!

1) First person to die.

Okay i opened the book to a random page, it's page 180, and the first name i see is....Augustus! Oh man, all the feels!

2) The person you trip to get away from the Zombies.

Okay new page, it is page...17. And the first character i see is...Hazel! Well now i feel terrible!

My second book is...City of Glass

3) The first person to turn into a Zombie.

Flicking through the pages...stopped at 299...first name i see is...Isabelle! Nooooo! Isabelle is one of my favourites, kind of gutted she's going to be a Zombie!

4) The person that trips you to get away from the Zombies.

Flicking through again...landed on 173...first name is...Clary. I knew there was a reason i never liked her!

My third book is...The Perks of Being a Wallflower

5) Idiot of the team.

Oh god i'm scared....stopped on page 123...first name i see is...Patrick! Well i guess i can kind of see that!

6) The weapons expert.

Don't be Sam or Charlie...okay i'm flicking through...stopped at page 53....first name is...Charlie! Damn it! I don't really see that, but hey he might surprise us all.

My fourth book is.... Twilight

7) The team's medic.

Please be Carlisle...i'm flicking through...landed on page 333 (creepy)....EMMETT! Well i don't see that, but hey i guess it's better than Bella or Jasper!

8) The weapons expert.

I have no idea who i'd choose for this one, i think they'd all be pretty terrible...okay i'm flicking through...page 53 and the first name is....Charlie! Oh hey i forgot about Charlie! I could totally see him as a weapons expert!

My fifth book is....Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

9) The brawler.

Anyone but the Trio....page 83.....Harry. Damn it Harry! I think that would bring us entertainment more than anything...

10) The team captain.

Fingers crossed for Hermione....okay i'm flicking through...landed on page 149....George!! Oh yay George would be great! I'm happy with that one!

So there's my team for the Zombie Apocalypse, some questionable ones, but i think we'd survive...apart from Gus and Isabelle....oh dear..

Meghan x

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The Phantom - Book Review

Hey there internet, i'm here today with another overdue review! This time i'm going back to the start of May to review The Phantom by Barbara Steiner.

The Phantom is one of the many books in the Point Horror collection, and it was the first one i'd ever read. My sister-in-law loved Point Horror growing up, and she recently bought a few, after she read this one she told me it was very 'are you afraid of the dark?' which was my favourite show growing up, so i was really excited to read it!

Let me tell you now, this book was super fun! It took me about an hour/an hour and a half to read and it was just a really good, quick read.

It's all about this group of friends who lost a friend/boyfriend and on the day of one of the biggest football games of the year, his ghost comes to haunt them! It was all very Goosebumps/Are you afraid of the dark? and i loved it.

You really start to care about the characters and you want to keep reading so you can find out who's behind all of the suffering these poor kids are being put through, and it doesn't disappoint!

It might be a little easy to work out who did it if you read/watch a lot of crime/horror stories but it's still packed full of mystery and fun!

Overall i gave The Phantom 4/5 over on GoodReads, because i did really, really enjoy it, but it's not quite that amazing to get a full 5. I do recommend it to anyone who loved/loves Goosebumps and Are you afraid of the dark? as it's a nice little flashback to that!

Meghan x

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Friday Reads #1

Hey there internet! 

I thought i might start doing little posts on Friday's just saying what i'm planning to read over the weekend and following week. I don't know how it'll go, but let's try it! :)

So the most important thing i'm doing is finishing off City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare! I'm about 150 pages into it so far (thanks uni work) and i cannot wait to finish it this weekend! 

I'm then going to move on to Shut Out by Kody Keplinger* which i am super excited for!

I also plan on finishing You're The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher and Death Note Black Edition Vol. 3, which i am very excited about!!

Meghan x