megsbookishtwins's reviews
1177 reviews

I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley

I'm writing this on my kindle so bear that in mind if there's any errors, I'm rubbish at typing on this thing.

Mare Barrow is a red, the colour of her blood. This means she is weak, a labourer and another possible soldier in the Silvers war. The Silvers believe that they are superior to the Reds, the Silvers have powers and the Reds don't. So when Mare Barrow, a servant in the palace, puts on an electricity show, she is forced to pretend to be a Silver, because Reds are supposed to be powerless. Mare Barrow is forced into a world completely unlike her own, she has to play the Queens game in order to save her own skin, and her family's.

So Lauren read this book a little while ago and said it was one of the best high fantasy books she had ever read, then continued to bug me and so I requested it on NetGalley. So to say I went in with really high expectations is a huge understatment. I have to be honest, the beginning was fantastic, but the middle lost me a little bit which was sad because I really wanted to love this book because I had heard a million great things about it, and it really was verging on three star territory in the middle. However that ending pushed it up to four stars instantly (I'm pretty positive I would have gave it five star had the middle held my interest longer). So if you lose interest I would recommend to keep at it. The ending really made me feel betrayed, emotional and angry. I didn't realise how emotionally invested I was in the characters, until that last 20%, especially Mare.

I heard many people compare it to Red Rising by Pierce Brown and basically say it is a carbon copy. While there were similarities, such as the colours being the system of oppression and that Mare is forced to go from a low born Red to a high born Silver, I personally think the similarities stop there. The circumstances in which they increase their social standing is different, and the plot itself has many differences. I believe that Red Queen should be judged on its own merits and many readers will enjoy this more if they don't go into this constantly looking for the similarities between the two books.

I believe that Red Queen's world building is brilliant and vivid and you really get a sense of how both sides live. I like how there were some technologies incorporated into the world, but there were still a high fantasy feel to it. It was done fantastically well. A big positive of Red Queen is the world building.

The characters were also great. I realy admired Mare Barrow and her strength and determination. There was also some great character development with Mare Barrow but also all the secondary characters. There is a love triangle, but there isn't much focus on it, but there is also a huge twist. I can handle a love triangle when it is done right, which it definitely was done in this.

Overall a fantastic high fantasy, which should be on your to read list. It would have got five stars from me had it not lost me in the middle. But it is a action packed novel which you should check out.

(Whew, that took me forever to write on this kindle, I want my working laptop back:( )

I received this free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Alexa is new to school, and all she has ever dreamed of is to play Cosette in Les Misérables. So when the Drama Club starts to hold auditions for the play, she jumps at the chance to audition. However, she soon realises that the auditions are fixed and she will never be able to play Cosette. Drama Unsung is the story of jealousy, ambition and passion.

I had issues with the book, but overall, I did enjoy it. I'll start with the problems I had with this.

'They haven't gotten far enough into being gay to worry about their appearances, though.'
'Not a gay scent either. Too clean and not-designer smelling.'
'Straight faces'

I don't know about you, but I didn't know that their was such a thing as 'gay scent' or 'straight faces'. That was the only big issue I really had with Drama Unsung.

It was very stereotypical, such as the characters. There was the good girl, the mean girl, the boyfriend of the mean girl who is a sweetheart, and the gay best friend. The characters were not really people I could relate to, but I liked their passion for the music and show.

The plot was one thing that I did enjoy. It was a light read, and it kept me entertained enough. There were some good twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. I've never read or even watches Les Mis, but I got the idea of it from reading this, as Jamelli did a good job explaining it.

I liked the romance, despite the insta-love. There was some good chemistry between the two, but it mostly felt like she didn't even talk or look at him and he was falling madly for her, and vice versa.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but perhaps I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have because it was maybe a little young for me. It would probably appeal more to lovers of Les Mis, and younger readers.

I received this free from the publishers via Netgalley

Grace has spent her summers at Embassy Row. After her mother's death, Grace has now come to stay. For years Grace has been told that she is crazy, that her mother's death was an accident, that she wasn't shot and she never saw a man with a scarred face. However, Grace is absolutely certain she isn't crazy, and she will do anything to prove it.

My first Ally Carter book was Heist Society and I absolutely adored it. I couldn't get into her Gallagher Girls but at least I gave it a go. Both of those books are fun and exciting. All Fall Down, however, was not. It has a completely different tone. It is more serious and dark, and while it was unexpected, I was not disappointed. That being said, I do still prefer her Heist Society series, but this book is still pretty darn good. So fair warning to those going in expecting something like her previous series, it is completely different. Ok, so now on to my proper review.

The characters were pretty good. I loved reading from Grace's perspective because she was so interesting and she was a really complex character. She was brave and stubborn and determined to find the truth and to prove to everyone that she didn't make it all up due to the trauma. I really liked the secondary characters as well, especially Rosie. She was so sneaky and funny and I liked her. Meg was another character I liked, as was Noah - I really liked Noah. I wish we had seen more of these secondary characters though because they were so good and I just wish we got more of them.

I wasn't too interested in Alexei or the romance, but I think that is because I was interested more in the other characters and the mystery as well. But one positive is that their wasn't really much romance at all. There was a hint, but it was little compared to the whole book.

That ending. Wow. I didn't even think about it until a couple of pages before it was revealed, so that is definitely a bonus that it shocked me. I really love a good mystery with an unexpected twist, it really does make me enjoy a book that much more.

I also really liked the originality of the setting of the book in Embassy Row. It gave me a chance to read about something new with a different setting than many other YA books which was a breath of fresh air. I liked the emphasis which was put on the political tensions between the embassies, rather than letting Grace get away with everything, it really highlighted the fragile and vulnerable state of the embassies with each other.

Overall, a great read with great characters and a shocking ending. I would thoroughly recommend, especially to fans of Ally Carter.

I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley

Elizabeth Grey is a witch hunter and is devoted to rooting out evil and witchcraft and looks for justice. One day, those she worked side by side with turned against her and she was accused of witchcraft and thrown in prison and sentenced to death by burning. Close to death, Elizabeth gets a visit from the famous and hunted wizard called Nicholas Perevil who saves her life in return for her service to save his life from a curse placed on him.

I was fairly happy when I got accepted for this because I had my eye on it for a while but I was majorly disappointed in Witch Hunter. I was expecting action and magic with some fantastic world building. However, what I got was the complete opposite. It was slow, lacking action and magic and just overall lacklustre with poor world building.

Elizabeth was just dull with little personality and to say she was supposed to be the best witch hunter in Anglia, we never really saw it, and when I did see an action scene, it felt out of place and out of character? It was weird because it just did not feel right. No one else was memorable either, like I've literally just forgot everyone's names?

Also, where were all the women? There were dozen of male characters with numerous scenes, and only 2 women that had more than one scene (only 4 in total).

Overall, disappointing.

I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley

Actual Rating - 3.5 stars.

Release Date - November 4th

There are three rules in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run.

There are three teenagers - Jin, Mei Yee, and Dai. All live in The Walled City and all are fighting for something different. Jin is fighting to find her sister who was taken away from her. Mei Yee is fighting to survive, keep her head down and she is safe. Dai is fighting for his freedom from The Walled City. All three have something in common though, they all want to go home. The Walled City is a city run by criminals, no law and no justice. Just violence and crime. Dai offers Jin a chance to find her sister, while also offering a chance of escape to Mei Yee. They are no in a race against the clock to find what they need.

The premise of The Walled City filled me with excitement and I was so thrilled to get my hands on it. With high expectations, I really dove into this book, but unfortunately I was sadly disappointed. There was an element of originality to the story, and the world building was absolutely fantastic. There were street gangs who ran the place, there were teenagers doing drug runs, and teenagers working in brothels. Living in The Walled City was hard. The first couple of chapters really did capture my attention. There was violence and gore and so much crime. There was an feel of realism to it, (The author mentions that it was based on a real place). Also, it is a standalone! How many dystopia's can you say that about? Also, not everything is hunky dory at the end of it. People who lived in The Walled City, they are broken, they feel like they don't belong anywhere else, and they slowly slink back into the dark alleyways.

I felt like the pacing could have been better, so that the story didn't drag as much as it did. The middle really failed to keep my attention. It quickly got it back near the end, but the pacing in the middle really was a let down. I have read that a lot of people don't really like the purple prose, but I personally enjoyed it. While some sentences were a bit much for me, the majority was OK.

Lets talk about the characters. I liked them enough, but I didn't really connect with them. They were OK but that is all they were. I didn't really care much what happened to them. But they were enjoyable and they were likeable. The bad guys of the story were good, which was a bonus. The romance, I felt, was a little bit insta-love. But you can also see it as the fact that they were each others way out and they clung to that hope.

Overall, an OK read which I would probably recommend.

I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley

Eva Tiller gets hit by a car and ends up in hospital. It turns out it wasn't an accident, but someone targeted her. One thing changed when Eva got hit by that car - she can foresee people's death. Now Eva's friends are turning up dead with messages for Eva from 'The Judge'.

As a fan of Melissa Marr and her Wicked Lovely series, I was excited for this, and the synopsis sounded really good and thrilling, but I felt like that was not really what I got. I felt like there was a heavy presence of romance which really took away from my enjoyment of Made For You. For me, Made For You was highly predictable, I had already guessed who was 'The Judge' at about the halfway mark, which is not something I really want in a thriller. Sometimes I like guessing, but this one felt too easy, and I don't believe the suspense was held.

For me, the foreseeing death aspect just did not work. I'm not really sure, it just didn't feel right. I felt like it did not really need to be there either, it just felt wrong.

In terms of characters - little depth and development. The main characters were a little bit more fleshed out, but Nate and Eva felt sort of flat with little personalities. I liked Grace, but again little development and personality and the switching POVs definitely did not help with this as there weren't much difference between them, in my opinion. The same can be said for the relationship, I felt like they weren't really there? I didn't get a sense of how much they cared for each other. Perhaps it was just me, it just all felt flat to me.

Overall, I have read better contemporary thrillers. I would not personally recommend.

I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley

“Funny how quickly the mind moves, but how slowly time does when you’re in pain.”

Lily Proctor has grown up allergic to most of the things around her. It leaver her at a disadvantage. She can't enjoy life, or do the things that most people take for granted. She seems to be getting worse and she knows soon that she will be unable to do anything she wants and is determined to go to her first high school party. However, she is humiliated and hurt in front of her whole class and she tells the voice in her head to take her away. Then she is in a different Salem, and there is another Lily. This Salem is one that is run by magic and powerful women called Crucibles. Lily is weak in one world, but strong in another.

I had no idea what to expect when I went into this. But I saw so many good ratings and reviews and I saw it on netgalley and I was so happy when I got accepted. I've only read one of Angelini's books, which is Starcrossed, which I loved, but I have been meaning to get around to reading the rest of the series, but I think after reading this, I most likely will. Josephine Angelini is such a good writer. She has a simple style of writing, but she creates such good characters, and the world building is excellent.

The concept of the magic and the witches is very unique and original, and I think it is one of the main reasons I loved this book so much. So much thought has been put into the world, and and the magic element of the book. It makes it seem, to a sense, realistic, as Angelini bases it on science. She doesn't make the world unrecognisable, but suggests that it just took a different path.

For a moment I thought Lily was going to fall for the other Salems Tristan despite what happened in her Salem, but thankfully it wasn't like that. She called him out on his bullshit and she told him to his face, and I loved that about her. The romance was so addictive. It was one of those romances that makes your heart ache at thinking they may be separated or something bad may happen. He was so thoughful and protective of her, yet he trusted her and let her make her own decisions, even if he believed it would kill her. I liked that he respected her that way.

Overall, Trial by Fire is a must for fantasy fans!

I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley

'Sometimes life is like that, you know. It smacks us when we're down. The brave get back up. At least, they do in the books.'

Charlie Hanson know what he wants to do with his life. He knows he will graduate, go to MIT and change the future. However, he meets a girl with a infinite tattoo on her neck with the word hope and his future suddenly is not so clear.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I started to read Love and Other Unknown Variables. I honestly didn't think it would be such an emotional read towards the end of the book. I have to be honest, it took me so long to get into this and I think it was because of Charlie. He loves maths and science and he hates English and literature. So I found it really difficult to actually connect with Charlie considering I hate maths but love literature. Everything he said, he tried to relate to mathematics. I also found the 'get rid of the English teacher' a bit ridiculous. I mean teachers have it hard enough when they don't have a bunch of ass-hole students doing pranks and basically making their job all that harder. So yeah, I was not at all fond of Charlie and the start. But he had some pretty great character development.

Lets talk about the rest of the characters. I liked Greta but she wasn't really in the book much. Becca was a favourite, and in the end it was her that pulled on my heart strings. She was different than anyone else. She had trouble connecting with people, and had a really hard time making friends. She spent most of her time with her books, so Becca was someone who captured my attention instantly. Yet Charlotte came along and she finally found someone she connected with so the ending just literally ripped my heart out when it came to Becca. Ms. Finch was a good character, and she was so individual that she really stood out and was very memorable. Charlotte was a very interesting character. She had this sort of carefree attitude, like the attitude that is sort of infectious, you know? She was a very inspiring character.

The plot was good, and when you get 50% you already know what is going to happen at the end but it doesn't make it any less painful when you finally get there.

I am a bit conflicted about Trust Me, I'm Lying because sometimes I did enjoy it, but most of the time I really wanted to finish it as fast as I could. Perhaps two stars is a bit harsh but I was expecting so much more with it being compared to both Heist Society and Ocean's Eleven, to which I am huge fans of. I have devoured the Heist Society books, as well as the Ocean's Eleven movies, and shows such as White Collar, Hustle and Leverage. I love con related stories but this one fell extremely short of my expectations.

Trust Me, I'm Lying was cliche and cheesy with romance that made me roll my eyes at because it was so bad with zero development or chemistry. Tyler comes out of no where, and suddenly Julep is bringing him into her dangerous life with a large amount of criminal activity, and his dad is also a senator?? Also, where was the emotion? Something tragic happens and it is brushed over, like it barely affects Julep. For a grifter she isn't very smart and trusts everyone, seriously, everyone (which comes to bite her in the ass later). I just... really wanted to enjoy this, but really didn't. It had so much potential.

Actual Rating - 2.5

“Walking the stacks in a library, dragging your fingers across the spines -- it's hard not to feel the presence of sleeping spirits.”

Recession has had an impact on Clay. He is a college graduate with no job. He saunters into Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, and asks for a job. After a couple of days on the job, Clay realises that the bookstore is not all it seems. There are very few customers, and strange people come in and only ever borrow books. Clay is determined to find out the secrets of Mr Penumbra and his bookstore.

I tried so hard to like this, I really did. I had reads loads of great reviews, with people recommending it to those who love books about books. While some of the story interested me, I felt myself getting bored fairly easily. I think maybe the computer and coding talk put me off a lot. It just confused me, and bored me most time. I'm not really that interested in that sort of stuff, so It just didn't appeal to me at all, and one of the main reasons I lost interest so early on in this book.

The characters were ok, but I didn't come to care for them much.

Overall, not really a book that I would personally recommend.