megsbookishtwins's reviews
1177 reviews

'The wind shifts, bringing with it the smell of roses, strong and sweet. Across the ravine, I see her in the dry crackle of leaves. A deer. She spies me and bolts through the trees. I run after her, not really giving chase. I'm running because I can, because I must. Because I want to see how far I can go before I have to stop.'

Gemma Doyle is sent back to England from India after her mother died. She in enrolled in Spence Academy by her family in order to make her into a lady fit for marriage. However, not everything at Spence Academy is as refined and classy as it seems. Gemma meets Pippa, Felicity and Ann and they form a group that creates a strong bond between the four girls.

I've read many mixed reviews about A Great and Terrible Beauty, and I was a little bit hesitant to pick it up. But I recently read The Diviners and I loved it. So, I though that I would give this a go, and I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was beautiful and it really did increase my enjoyment of the book. I also really did love the historical setting of the story, but I loved how mischievous the girls were. How they talked openly about sex, as it would surely have been deemed very scandalous in those times. But I would imagine that some girls back then were like that. So it was a very refreshing read. I also really enjoyed the magical element in it, and I liked the idea of the realms.

I personally really liked each of our main girls. They were witty, outspoken, fun and they all wished for a life that wasn't their own. I liked how they were all so different yet they were brought together by a secret, and a place that they all sneaked off to, and got a taste of their dreams. It was a really nice and refreshing read to have a book focus more on the friendship than on the romance (well, there wasn't really any romance, more like just a hinting of one), so that was nice.

There were some other nice elements in the book, such as the gypsies, and Kartik. I liked also liked how the story progressed, even if it was a little slow, and I still felt the need to read on, and very rarely found myself getting bored.

This is a series that I will be carrying on. It is a great magical historical read that I would recommend.

“Every decent con man knows that the simplest truth is more powerful than even the most elaborate lie.”

Very fun and light series that always puts me in a good mood! I would recommend if you like a good contemporary and a fun teenage con story.

“The things that are most precious to us are sometimes the most secret.”

Again, another fun book. I really do enjoy this series. I do enjoy a good fun book about thieves and con men!

I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley.

The Original siblings have arrived in New Orleans and have been trying to fight to take the city. Werewolves and Witches are also fighting for the city for themselves. Vivianne is a witch and a werewolf but she has been raised a witch. She is betrothed to a werewolf to unite the two and she catches the attention of Klaus who plans to make her his own.

For those of you who don't know, The Originals were introduced in the popular tv show The Vampire Diaries and have recently got their own spin-off The Originals. The Originals are vampire, the first of their kind and the most powerful. They have landed in New Orleans in 1722 after having been chased by their father. I was a huge fan of the Originals, mainly because they are evil and they are powerful and they take what they want. They aren't good vampires, and they aren't romanticized. Which is why I have a problem with this book.

The whole story revolved around romance, and falling in love (quite instantly, I might add) and I just didn't like it. I felt like Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah weren't as evil as they could have been. I didn't want them to be likable but I wanted to have them be vampires, and act like vampires but I felt like that was shoved to the side and the romance was shoved in our faces.

I felt like the setting was not really well developed at all. It was taking place in 1722 but I never really got a sense of that. It just wasn't overly developed at all and there was so much more potential for that development. And the plot, what was the plot? I'm not really sure, just falling in love I guess? I was really looking forward to this because I love the past of the Original siblings but it just fell really short of my expectations.

Overall, not one I would recommend personally, unless you like romance and vampires.

I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley

DNF 21%

Again, I don't like rating and reviewing books that I haven't finished. It is not that this was a bad book, it is just that it didn't capture my attention. I found the characters boring, as well as the plot.

If you feel like you want to read it, then do, it is a personal opinion.

I received this free from the publisher via NetGalley
DNF at 27%

I just couldn't get into it. The characters were plain and boring. The 27% that I read just seemed to drag and It just didn't capture my attention. Ok, i'll be honest, I did start this in the middle of a reading slump, so I put it down for a little bit, read a couple of books and I tried a couple more times to pick it back up but it just didn't hold my attention. After the first 15% I just found myself skim reading waiting to get to the next chapter. I thought I'll just end my boredom and just leave it. I hate rating and reviewing a book if I haven't finished it but I'm going to have to do it with this one. Maybe I will pick it back up later and see if I can get into. Maybe not. Who knows?

Anyway, don't let just my review put you off, it's a personal opinion. If you feel like you want to give it a go, then go ahead.