Angelfall by Susan Ee

Now, I'm sure everybody has already heard of Angelfall- the internet phenomenon that has taken the book world by storm- but just in case you haven't or have but don't know what the hell it's about, here is a quick run down: Picture this, you're living in a world where everything is in ruins. You don't know what's going on but you do know that the Angels are more vicious than even Supernatural made them out to be. Next thing you know, they've snatched your sister away from you and you're left to help a wounded but sassy angel named Raffe whilst trying to hunt down your baby sister.

As you now have the general jist of the story line I shall proceed to review it and hopefully persuade you to read this book.

I normally avoid stories about Angels at all cost as I find them tedious and quite frankly cheesy, however Angelfall was not that kind of story. The angels are not made out to be fluffy, loving yet slightly avenging types. Oh no. These Angels will rip your throat out without a second thought, they are not nice and they actually follow the bible's lore on them. Susan Ee very clearly did her research and for that I give her all of the awards. Raffe is sassy, he is handsome but he is also quite badass and has a more humane side than the other Angels which is pretty cool as well. I know I just contradicted myself there but he still follows the general Angelic lore of being vicious when need be.

Penryn Young. She is our protagonist and she is a little bit similar to Katniss Everdeen. You know- protective over her little sister, untrusting and when she has her sights set on something she will stop at nothing to get that something. It's quite inspiring. Penryn is also different to Katniss in that she hasn't grown up in this desolate, dystopian world so she has had to be able to adapt to a lifestyle that is completely different from a first world style life. She is one of the female protagonists that I find myself actually liking as she is intelligent and is quick to adapt and survive her surroundings.

Susan Ee also built up the world pretty well. Sometimes that is where dystopian novels falter as they don't spend enough time building up the setting, but Susan has apparently found the perfect ratio between character development and location development which thus allows the reader to connect more to the story.

If you're one to normally avoid Angel novels at all costs, try to push that aside and read this book as the story is fantastically structured. The narrative gives us just enough time to get used to one part of Penryn's journey before we are yanked away by our hair and thrown into a completely new part of the journey and it works so well. What continued to be one of my favourite moments in this book was Penryn's mother turning up all over the place, she is slightly insane and it's absolutely great.

I, like thousands of others, rate this book 5 stars out of 5 just because it is so amazingly, fantastically awesome and you should check it out for the sheer amount of stupid adjectives that I have used to describe this novel. Seriously, check it out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angelfall-Penryn-End-Days-Susan/dp/144477851X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378072910&sr=8-1&keywords=Angelfall

Legend by Marie Lu

Taken from Wikipedia

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

After doing a quick search on Goodreads to see what other readers thought of Legend, it would seem that there are mixed reviews on how people found this. On one hand- I totally get where the people that don't like it are coming from. There are certainly some aspects of Legend that became a bit repetitive and the colloquialisms used by Day and June can become quite dreary (e.g goddy, what the hell does that mean?!) However, Marie Lu's writing style helps build a vivid depiction of the Republic in our minds and the characters are well put together. 

The synopsis paints a picture of the Republic that looks awfully similar to The Hunger Games' Panem. Well, yes it does. They do share similarities- a large nation bounded together by a government that are awfully corrupt but really, that's a relatively common feature of YA dystopia novels. Or at least quite a few of the dystopia novels that I have read. The setting of Legend actually takes place in a city familiar to most people; Los Angeles. It isn't an undisclosed location that the readers have to take a stab at placing or picturing rather a place a hefty majority of the readers will have at least seen pictures of. Granted, it has changed quite a bit from the glamorous city we know it to be. The way Marie Lu has formed the LA of the Republic as both beautiful and so run down that the stark contrasts of how June and Day live helps you understand their characters and how they have been sculpted.

As for the characters themselves, they are everything you would expect from the stereotypical YA characters. An intelligent heroine with an intelligent, sassy hero at her side. But something about these two protagonists seem different. With many heroines, they have a special skill set but with June she is an all round intelligent character. She is quick to assess the situation around her and whilst some readers have criticised this because it is unrealistic, you have to remember that stupidity is being bred out of the humans in this novel. People need to be intelligent and athletic because it's the only way to survive and live a good life. Personally, I found June to be a strong independent character that held herself well in a way that would make her a strong asset to the Republic. And as for Day. He is what many love interests and heroes in YA novels are; sassy, attractive, stealthy, troubled and strong. Although that's not to say his character is a copy of many before him. Day is ridiculously intelligent (ignore the negative adjective, I mean it in a good way) and even though he consciously mentions this, it seems like he underestimates just how intelligent he is. He is the victim and the criminal. I could sit here and tell you that he is a misunderstood victim, which he is, but he is a criminal- albeit he is a criminal with good intentions but there is really no avoiding this. Some ridicule Day, much like they ridicule June and it is difficult to put across how different they are from what you may expect.

Now for the plot, if you have read this far then I assume you have a basic grasp of what happens in Legend. Sure, there are resemblances to other novels but this really is a page turner and honestly, it's difficult to put down. The one thing that I would've appreciated was June's time at school being extended so that we could understand her and the way she works more. But this fits in very well with the fast pace of the book, Marie Lu throws us into disequilibrium and almost as soon as the new equilibrium is established another disequilibrium is thrown at us and really, it works well considering the nature of Legend. The use of alternating perspectives is also a strong point for this novel as we get to experience the events through two sets of eyes and two completely different sets of views towards the Republic. 

I think Legend deserves a strong 4.5 stars for a good build up of suspense  and for setting up what looks to be a great series. I will definitely be reading the sequel Prodigy to find out how the pair will survive and evolve as characters. Check out the trailer for Legend below;

Immortal City by Scott Speer

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest Angel in a city obsessed with Immortals. Everyone loves him. Everyone except Maddy Montgomery, that is. She's not interested in shallow celebrities... Until Jackson takes refuge in the diner where Maddy works and an irresistible connection pulls them together. But as Maddy is drawn into Jackson's glamorous world, shes exposed to more than the paparazzi. A serial killer is murdering Angels. Maddy and Jackson could lose each other forever.

Immortal City is the first in a new YA series, they're written by Scott Speer who is both a film director and a music video director. The synopsis of this book makes the book sound quite generic and through the use of the adjective 'hottest' does little to give it a unique selling point. Yet, it still draws you in. Perhaps this has something to with the cover, sometimes it can be quite difficult to resist an tanned, brooding, muscular male and I know it certainly helped me want to buy it.

The plot of this book is everything you'd expect it to be from the synopsis, although that's not a necessarily a bad thing. The plot follows Jacks, the most loved angel in the City of Angels, and Maddy, an ordinary human who seems to be the only person immune to the charm of the Angels. It switches between their point of views so the readers get aspects from both of their lives which helps us connect more with the characters. I'm not going to lie, it is pretty predictable what is going to happen throughout the narrative which makes it a little difficult to be gripped in the claws of the plot. The action scenes in the book were well written, especially the end fight scene which had me shouting angry remarks at one point.

Jacks and Maddy's dynamic was interesting. I really did like the way that Maddy stayed true to herself and didn't immediately fall for Jacks charm from the very beginning and the way Speer gradually built up their relationship. It was hard to not fall for Jacks, even though he has a very stereotypical teenage view on life; I'm misunderstood, nobody understands me. You get the picture. Jackson Godspeed is the most famous Angel and to be fair to him, a lot is demanded of him and he is also having to protect himself from an Angel serial killer so of course he is going to be feeling misunderstood. But don't get me wrong, he does have some redeeming qualities, he is handsome, interesting, charming and has a lot of heart.

The one thing that stood out the most about Immortal City was the social comment. Ignoring the romance and murder, if you were to change the names of the Angels to celebrities in our society then there would be little difference in the way the public in the book acts. Speer delivers a comment that forces us to think about how ignorant and ridiculous it is to act this way to a group of elite strangers, and really it's quite interesting. I have no idea whether he intended for the book to come across in this light, but I congratulate you sir because it was brilliant.

Overall, I would give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. It's a fun, easy read, at times it'll make you laugh and you'll be charmed by Jacks. I'm not sure whether I will read the sequel; Natural Born Angel but this book is worth a read if you have the chance.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Review

Taken from Google images

When Mara Dyer wakes up in hospital with no memory of how she got there, or any explanation as to why the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her boyfriend and two best friends left her mysteriously unharmed, her doctors suggest she start over in a new city, at a new school, and just hope her memories gradually come back.

First things first; whatever you expect of this book, I can guarantee you wont expect this. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer will draw you in, make you fall in love with Mara and then blow your mind. Sure, on some level it is a stereotypical YA novel; romance, angst and some mysterious occurrences. Yet, the relationship is not the main focus of the novel, it's more a sub plot that helps shape Mara's reality and actually moves the main plot move forward. The main plot is filled with twists and turns, and the switches between past and present help understand Mara on a more personal level.

Mara Dyer is beautiful and most definitely not as broken as she thinks, she has been through a traumatic event and due to this is dealing with the terrifying repercussions. She handles these repercussions quite well, and the way Michelle Hodkin has shaped her as a character forces the reader to be part of the journey she goes through. Mara is intelligent, witty and can stand her ground which makes her such a wonderful and heartbreaking character to follow.

I mean sure, she spends some of her time commenting on Noah Shaw's character and beauty, but who wouldn't? He is not the first fictional character that I have fallen in love with because of his cockiness, and he will not be the last but for reasons that I cannot express he is different. Some reviews have likened Noah to Edward Cullen in such a manner that they say they're one and the same. However, this is wrong, he combines traits from various fictional characters; Edward Cullen's mystery, Jace Lightwood's arrogance and Dean Winchesters' protective nature, but is still an original character that has his own issues and his own burdens to bear.

Although, there is no beating around the bush here, there are some issues with this book but they're nothing to do with the plot, more to do with the writing and even then I am just ardently searching for issues. There are a few spelling mistakes dotted here and there, some punctuation errors and once or twice the paragraphing seems to be wrong but this is nothing that couldn't be easily sorted out. There are no plot holes, or at least no major plot holes and Michelle Hodkin left this book open for a sequel through such a jaw dropping ending.

Additionally, the sub characters were not as well developed as Noah or Mara but they were well on their way to becoming more realistic than fictional, they don't brush aside Mara's issues as easily as they could have done and there is diversity in character profiles. As I said, they could have been refined more but I'm sure Michelle will further these characters in the sequel, and will no doubt throw in a few plot twists.

If you want to be kept guessing for the entirety of a novel then this is certainly the book for you.  I cannot stress enough how brilliant this book is, although I began reading with a lot of doubts in my mind these were soon erased. This book deserves a lot of praise, a lot more than the reviews I have seen give it, so please go and read this book as it will draw you into it's clutches and you'll never want it to let you go.

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Okay, so I know it was released quite a while ago but I thought in dedication to my love of Cassandra Clare's writing I would review the final book from one of my favourite series. On the 19th March, the world was graced with the long awaited conclusion of the series The Infernal Devices; Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. To say the hype for this book was high would be an understatement, it was through the roof and nobody could wait to get their hands on a copy. This will not be completely spoiler free, but it is expected that you will have read Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince. If you have read neither of those books then STOP HERE.

Taken from Goodreads.com

Clockwork Princess picks up soon after Clockwork Prince finished. Tessa is engaged to Jem, Will is dealing with his sister now attempting to follow in her brothers footsteps, Gideon Lightwood is living in the Institute and Charlotte is expecting her first child. With Mortmain still operative, albeit less prominently, Tessa has to figure out how to bring an end to his reign of terror whilst attempting to discover her true origins, all the while dealing with her heart, metaphorically, being split in two by her love for two equally wonderful men.

From being told that historical fantasy fiction would never work, and that the fans of Cassie's other series The Mortal Instruments would never cross over, she has certainly proved everybody wrong. This series has captured the hearts of thousands, and it's all down to Cassie's stunning writing style. She has the ability to get the reader so emotionally invested in her characters and their back story that it is way too difficult to simply remove yourself from the universe in which these stories occur. With Clockwork Princess this has only gotten more intense. You will find yourself crying with joy and sadness over the trials these superbly moulded characters have to go through, you will find yourself laughing at the little remarks the characters make (Specifically Will, this boy has the ability to make me cry laughing and then cry at his pain within seconds) and you will find yourself wishing the series will never end.

Endings are hard, even more so I imagine in a best selling series where you've got to attempt to keep all of your readers happy. But you know what? Cassie does this. She caters to the feelings of every reader that has become attached to the series, especially the fans that are stuck deciding whether they are Team Will or Team Jem. Every single character is given the ending they deserve and none of the characters final scenes are graceless or unbecoming, they honestly reflect the personalities of each one. I say congratulations Cassandra Clare, you managed to conclude a series that could have gone so very wrong if some people weren't happy but I don't think anybody was left unsatisfied with what happened.

If you've gotten this far and did not heed my earlier warnings of not reading this if you haven't read the first two, then I suggest you go and read them. If you have not read Cassandra Clare's other series The Mortal Instruments, then I suggest you go and read them. You can find Cassandra Clare here; http://www.cassandraclare.com/

Tom Hiddleston and his work with UNICEF

If you've ever doubted how extraordinarily kind hearted Tom Hiddleston is, then hopefully this article will change your mind.

If you don’t know who Tom Hiddleston is, then I expect you spent 2011 and 2012 locked away but I will tell you anyway. Tom Hiddleston is a British actor known best for his role as Loki in Marvel’s ‘Thor’ and ‘Avengers Assemble’ but was also in the BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Hollow Crown’ and ‘War Horse’.

Recently this wonderful man flew out to Guinea, West Africa on behalf of the charity UNICEF to find out more about their work with children, education and sanitation. UNICEF works with families, communities and governments to protect the rights of all children.

Taken from UNICEF

Taken from UNICEF

On his UNICEF blog he talks of his experiences over in Guinea in great detail. He travelled from Heathrow to Nouakchott, Mauritania and finally descended into Conakry, Guinea where he was greeted by UNICEF team members and was taught about the way the country works. At the end of his first blog he writes; “It's become immediately clear that the problems in a developing country such as Guinea are enormous, but they can be simply defined as water, nutrition, sanitation, vaccination and education.”

Tom visited the National Institute of Child Health and Nutrition where he was rendered speechless by the environment he found himself in. He discovered chronic malnutrition amongst the children, many of which were disease riddled. But it wasn't all doom and gloom as he visited another of the projects; Tinafan which is a project designed to develop the social/economic inclusion of children who may have dropped out of school, and depend on their livelihood on tiny income from labour. Tom described how the children were all smiles and full of happiness.

Over the course of his trip he visited Focus Groups for women where they discussed vaccination, washing and breastfeeding and was the guest speaker on a French speaking Guinean radio show. He learnt about a project set to help children recruited into the army reintegrate into the community, rather than turning to crime. These people are taught practical skills such as; masonry, welding and plumbing. Not long after this, he visited a town that is deprived of the very basic human needs like water due to the country’s military that control the nearest well.

Soon it was Tom’s final day in Guinea, which he spent visiting a monument dedicated to the reduction of Female Genital Mutilation. He visited a school with 130 children and the children he met were so attentive and excited to learn - not only did they care about their education, they enjoyed playing a sport that Tom described to be frantic, breathless, playful and so much fun: football.

You can read all of Tom's blogs here; http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/Our-supporters/Celebrities/Tom-Hiddleston/  I will end with Mr Hiddleston’s final words on the trip; “All I can do now is help make people aware of what is happening, of what they are doing. That is all that I can do. For now.”

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Unless you've been hidden from the internet for a while, you should hopefully be aware of the phenomenon that is set to hit cinemas in August. The movie adaptation of the first book in Cassandra Clare's highly acclaimed series; The Mortal Instruments.

The story revolves around Clary Fray (Lily Collins) who has to join up with a group of strangers that call themselves 'Shadowhunters' when her mother is kidnapped from their home. She soon learns that not only has her mother been keeping some pretty big secrets from her, she is not at all who she thought she was. Some may say it is a Twilight rip off or just another YA romance novel. Those people are so incredibly wrong.

As with any book to movie adaptation there are people who have issues with the casting, although with CoB this is only a small percentage of the fandom that still remain unhappy. They were unhappy with the casting of Jamie Campbell Bower as the wonderful Jace Wayland, with claims he wasn't who they wanted and he just wouldn't be able to achieve the Jace look and attitude. However, after the release of the first trailer most of those doubts were erased, it's safe to say that JCB is better than anyone could have imagined, not only does he appreciate the character to his full extent he also portrays him in such a monumental way. And though only a handful of stills and 3 trailers have been released to the public, the amount of support and appreciation towards the cast and crew is absolutely remarkable.

This wasn't so much a review, so much as a comment on how this is a film you should definitely be looking out for. It's released in USA on August 23rd 2013. Check out the book series if you haven't already read them, I suggest you go ahead and read them now. If you haven't already seen the trailer, here it is below.

All credit goes to movieclipsTRAILERS for uploading this and Sony for producing it.