chroniclesofabookmum's reviews
680 reviews

“Once there was a girl who was drawn to wicked things”

There was once a Namsara, a hero spreading love and laughter to all. But there always has to be a villain right? Introducing the Iskari, otherwise known as the death-bringer. Fast forward in time, in a realm called Firgaard, Asha is the daughter of the Dragon King and has grown up with stories of this genre being told in hushed whispers, stories of which are forbidden. Asha, known as a modern day Iskari, is drawn to the forbidden stories and becomes the most feared dragon slayer in the realm. She lures dragons into her company, only to slay them and take the head to the king. Betrothed to the cruel commandant who saved her life years previously, Asha is given an ultimatum to gain freedom by her father. Will she succeed or be forever betrothed to the cruel commandant? The Last Namsara follows Asha’s journey to freedom and all that transpires with that journey.

I am utterly speechless. Kristen Ciccarelli is an actual genius. This book is amazing. I mean there are dragons. DRAGONS! What is there not to like? I finished this book last night and I am only just writing this review as I could not bring myself to admit that the book was over. Kristen’s writing style is just beautiful, it captivated me from the first sentence and I could not put it down from that moment onwards. I am proud to admit that I ugly cried during this story, actually ugly cried. I felt so connected with the characters and the romance, well the romance is something else! You just need to read this book, I could talk about it forever. I don’t think I could say a bad thing about it!

“Your hair is winter fire
January embers
My heart burns there, too”

Derry, Maine your average City with a terrifying secret. Seven teenagers are unfortunate to discover the monster known as, IT, in their home town. Now grown-ups with their own lives the teenagers are drawn by a strong force and an oath made many years ago, back to Derry in order to face IT in what they hope is the final time. Will they all return? Will they all survive? Will we finally say goodbye to IT?

So many people have reviewed IT so the idea of reviewing this myself is daunting, but I wanted to give it a go. IT was the second Stephen King book that I read and I could not put it down. In true King style this book is full of description as you can imagine with it being 1100+ pages. This book definitely could have been condensed and a lot shorter but then it wouldn’t be a classic King’s piece of writing. I don’t feel like I am easily scared, before I read this book I was convinced that it would not frighten me. Wow, I was wrong. I mean who isn’t scared of a shapeshifting, child snatching being who feeds off the imaginations of children shifting into their worst fears. *shivers* I found myself sneakily peering down the plug hole praying for everything to be normal. Overall, this book was utterly fantastic and has made me so excited to read another masterpiece by Stephen King.

“The blinding pain as a knife is pushed into his chest, eyes widening as his blood flowed straight from his heart and onto the ground. His panic as he realised he was dying. His terror”

The second instalment of the Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock saga continues with Into the Night. Following the murder of a high profile celebrity, Woodstock must get to the bottom of it, sooner rather than later. With a heavy media presence and an abnormal amount of suspects, this really is a “whodunnit” kind of book.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of this book through readers first. I had just finished the first book in this series and did not feel very invested within it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and enjoyed it a lot more. Again, there is a realistic conclusion with plenty of detail throughout, which is what I enjoyed about the first book. Whilst I did enjoy this book more than the first it still didn’t hit the 5 star mark for me. The main character Gemma is very cold and not a likeable character at all. I found myself becoming more and more annoyed with her as the book continued. Also, I feel like this book maybe had a bit too much detail, making it feel quite slow at times and could have been condensed to enable it to be more of a fast paced novel. Despite this, I read this book in less than 24 hours, and I would definitely recommend it as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

“What do they study now, our girls? A bit of addition and subtraction, telling time, making change. Counting, of course. They would learn counting first. All the way up to one hundred.”

Dr Jean McClellan, along with every other woman in America, has been silenced. Limited to 100 words a day, women are controlled by Government decrees. Bracelets are to be worn at all times, if a woman goes over her 100 word limit the bracelet will subject them to an electric shock which gets worse with every extra word spoken. This leads to a world where women cannot work and girls are no longer taught how to read and write. With only 100 words to make herself heard, can Jean reclaim her voice and change the lives of millions of women affected.

I really wanted to like this book, but I am so sad to say that I didn’t. I wouldn’t say that it was a particularly bad book but I struggled to get through it and wouldn’t want to read it again. I found the writing style quite easy to get along with but I felt like there was too much going on. Instead of focusing on the subject at heart the author appears to go off on a tangent especially in relation to a really farfetched relationship, which to me just didn’t make any sense. I found myself willing this book to end so I could put it down and I could move on. It has been described as a “petrifying re-imagining of the Handmaids Tale”, I wouldn’t say that it was a reimagining more like an exact copy apart from it being slightly more modern. I didn’t enjoy the Handsmaid Tale when I read it so maybe that should have been a warning sign with regards to not liking this book. I would recommend that people give this book a go because the concept is very interesting, I’m just so disappointed that it wasn’t written in a different way. I’ve given this book 3 stars because the Handmaids Tale got 2 stars and I did enjoy it slightly more.

"We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue."

When magic was destroyed in the realm of Orïsha, Zélie’s mother was killed along with every other “maji”, under the order of a ruthless king. Those left behind had no hope and were left in a world of torture, until Zélie is given one chance to bring back magic and seek revenge on the ruthless king; procuring help from the most unexpected of individuals. Will Zélie be able to bring magic back, and what adventures will she endure on her journey?

Wow, this book was absolutely fantastic. I literally could not put it down and devoured it within 24 hours. The writing style was perfect and it was so fast paced that I found myself wanting to read “just one more chapter” throughout. I have to admit I was very apprehensive about this book when I first pick it up because of the hype, but it did not disappoint! I love how Tomi sends you into a false sense of security, convincing me that I knew what would happen next only to be hit with a curve ball which changes my perspective on everything. It was beautiful, heart-breaking and all those emotions within. Honestly, it was such a fantastic read and I cannot recommend this enough. I really cannot wait for the next instalment.

“Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out”

It is inevitable that Evelyn Hardcastle is going to die. Evelyn Hardcastle is going to die at a party hosted by her parents. However, she won’t just die once, she will die everyday until Aiden Bishop can find her killer and break the cycle. Although, it must be noted that Aiden Bishop will live through 8 different bodies, each belonging to a different guest. Guests of which have different motives, some are more helpful than the others. Who killed Evelyn Hardcastle? Will Aiden be able to break the cycle before its too late?

I was apprehensive about reading this book purely for the fact that it is one that has come highly recommended to me. However I really did enjoy it. It was like no other mystery that I have read and it kept me guessing to the very end. The writing style and the chapter structure did take a bit of getting used to and it took approximately 100 pages to really get to grips with it which is why I’ve rated it 4 stars. All in all I would definitely recommend this book to anybody thinking of reading it.

“And that’s when she saw them. Perched on a lower branch and nearly hidden in all the green, were two black crows. They were looking down, heads tilted, bodies still. Unafraid. It was almost like the crows knew him”

Gin is a computer programming genius, if Gin doesn’t know it then it isn’t worth knowing. She designs computer programmes in order to control her life including making daily decisions on what to wear, what to eat and how to spend her time. Introducing, Felix, a new student, who Gin is paired with during a school computer programming project. A project upon which they decide to focus on crows. However, as the project deepens, so does their relationship. Is Felix all that he is made out to be or is he hiding a terrible secret?

I requested a review copy of this through the website Edelweiss and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to read it. I did enjoy this book, I liked the concept and I felt really in touch with the main character Gin. In parts I did struggle through the text as I felt that it was a bit too technical and somewhat unnecessary. It wasn’t a book that I couldn’t put down but it was an enjoyable read. I would recommend that you read this if you are considering it as it is a lovely story which I did find a pleasure to read.

Probably more of a 4.5 stars!

“I was reminded that humans have to read books. They actually need to sit down and look at each word consecutively. And that takes time. Lots of time. A human can’t just swallow every book going, can’t chew different tomes simultaneously, or gulp down near-infinite knowledge in a matter of seconds. They can’t just pop a word capsule in their mouth like we can. Imagine!”

Professor Andrew Martins body have been taken over by an alien imposter, an imposter who is determined to destroy evidence of a major mathematical problem that Martin has recently solved. Including uncovering and killing the people that are aware. However, as life as a human takes over, will the mysterious alien imposter complete his mission? Or will he realise that Earth is now his home?

I read this book in one sitting and I well and truly loved it. It was full of emotions, one minute I was laughing the next I was holding back the tears. I can honestly say that I haven’t read a book like it but this was perfect. I absolutely love the writing style and how we are told the story through the aliens perspective. Whilst I found that the book was quite intentionally silly, it did have some thought provoking moments that had me on edge. I would recommend this book to everybody, it is such an easy, entertaining and refreshing read. A book that I believe everybody should read at some point in their lives. I borrowed this book from the library but I will be purchasing my own copy at some point in the near future, this book deserves a place on my bookshelf.

** 4.5 stars **

“Her sister said it would take a year to raise an army, bring down a tyrant, and marry a king. Roa had done it in just three months”

The Caged Queen is the second instalment of the Iskari series, the first being The Last Namsara. This book follows Roa and Dax, the King and Queen of Firgaard. I don’t want to say much about this book in fear of ruining it for those planning on reading the series, so I am going to leave it there in relation to the synopsis.

I was such a huge fan of The Last Namsara that the idea of reading The Caged Queen had me so excited. It did not disappoint. When i found out the book focused on the life of Roa I wasn’t sure whether this was a good decision however I ate my words. I absolutely loved reading about Roa’s background and the story behind her new found status along with the troubles that she is experiencing. I feel like Kristen really developed her as a character and I now feel more invested in her for the next book. I also love how Kristen can lead you down the wrong track completely leading to the ending being even more of a surprise. With both of her books I was convinced that I knew what was going to happen. Both times I was wrong. I was pleasantly surprised, I hate when I can guess the ending of a book. I can’t really criticise this book much, in my opinion it was excellent however I did however miss Asha a lot, and I know it wasn’t the point of the book but I did find myself wanted that little bit more from her. I said it in my review of The Last Namsara but I really enjoy Kristen’s writing style, I find her books draw me in instantly and are an easy enjoyable read. I also like the small stories she includes in between chapters which helps you to connect to the story further. I don’t think this book was as good as The Last Namsara but it was definitely close! There is no doubt that I would recommend this book to people, I’m already forcing the series on my family and friends. It is definitely a must read! I am beyond excited for The Sky Weaver.

~~ Review ~~⁣
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Author: Jodi Picoult⁣
Genre: Contemporary Adult Fiction⁣
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“Laws are black and white. The lives of women are a thousand shades of gray”⁣
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The Centre for Women’s Reproductive Health offers a wide range of treatments, one of those being the ever controversial procedure of abortion. The life/death situation individuals face whilst considering abortion is taken out of their hands, when a lone male in possession of a gun takes staff, patients and visitors hostage. What is his vendetta? What will be the fate of his hostages be? ⁣
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I have been waiting to read this book for SO long. I bought it last night and I’ve already finished it. I could not put it down. The book is written in reverse, starting with the height of the hostage situation and slowly moving back in time where we get acquainted with the characters and their background stories which led them to be in the Centre at the time the situation arose. I have never read a book that has done this, I was apprehensive, but I have concluded that it is a genius way to write! Stephen King describes Jodi Picoult as “writes with unassuming brilliance” and I could not agree more. I would 100% recommend this book to anybody considering reading it. I knocked .5 off because I would have liked a bit of clarification on a few things but I’m being petty. It was brilliant! ⁣