Saturday 31 January 2015

Book Review - Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #3
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd September 2014
Publishers: Bloomsbury
No. Pages: 562
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can't bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back...

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king - for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her?

Friday 30 January 2015

Book Review - The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #2
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th October 2011
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 513
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, has woken from a very deep sleep and come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But they're the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods, which doesn't ring any bells for him. There's just one name he remembers from his past. Annabeth.

Only one thing is certain - Percy's questing days aren't over. He and fellow demigods Frank and Hazel must face the most important quest of all: The Prophecy of Seven.

If they fail, it's not just their camp at risk.
Percy's old life, the gods and the entire world might be destroyed..

Five Friday Favourites - Loved Series I'm Not Sure I Want To Read

Five Friday Favourites is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that involves compiling a list of five answers relating to specific topic or prompt given by either Amanda or Stacie via Twitter and/or during the last featured post. Today, Amanda is hosting, and has decided to ask - What Loved Series Are You Not Sure You Want To Read? Personally, she has a lot of series she's been considering, some she's had for a while, some she's been tempted by recently, but can she make that jump with your help?

Thursday 29 January 2015

Book Review - Captive

Captive
Author: A.J. Grainger
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller | Young Adult
Release Date: 29th January 2015
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
No. Pages: 228
Source: Review Copy - Simon & Schuster
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
I open my eyes. The cell is flooded with sunlight; the window is a slice of pale blue. Dust particles dance in the sparkling light, pirouetting in a golden line from the window to the opposite wall of the cell, where they seem to converge into shapes. It is like looking into a kaleidoscope.

Dad isn't here. No one is, but me.
Robyn Knollys-Green is an A-list celebrity, famous for being the daughter of one of the world's most powerful men. But not even the paparazzi can find her now.

Robyn begins to realise that she is trapped in a complicated web of global corruption and deceit - and that the strange, melancholy boy who has been tasked with guarding her might not be an enemy after all...

A thrilling, well-crafted, ever-relevant story from a talented new voice in YA fiction.

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Habits Amanda Doesn't Understand


Everybody has habits that they endorse and feel proud of. I myself quite enjoy marathoning series on a high level, as well as searching for spoilers and reading books in one night, but there are habits that other people have that I really, really, really don't understand. Now, for the sake of not having numerous short and punchy discussions, I've decided to fling them all together into one collective post which makes things both much easier to construct, much easier to digest and much easier to publish, so without further ado, let me talk to you about habits I fail to understand.

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Book Review - I Was Here

I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 29th January 2015
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
No. Pages: 270
Source: Review Copy - Simon & Schuster
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning?

But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open - until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

Monday 26 January 2015

Book Review - Angelfall

Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 23rd May 2013
Publishers: Hodder and Stroughton
No. Pages: 326
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Sunday 25 January 2015

Weekly Recap | 18-24 Jan. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews' Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday 24 January 2015

Book Review - Zom-B Baby

Zom-B Baby
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #5
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th September 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 215
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
B has spent the last few months bunking with the Angels, a group of teens dedicated to eradicating the evil dead from the face of the earth, beginning with the undead roaming the abandoned wreckage that was once London. But the Angels' mission is a bit more complicated than that, and B takes to the streets of a very changed London to decide: is it a mission really to be believed? But instead of answers, B finds a horror beyond imagining

Friday 23 January 2015

Bookish Musings - Amanda's Winter Book Haul/Goodies

Bookish Musing is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk or discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related conversation. Today, Amanda will be showing off all her new bookish and film related goodies that she received over her Birthday/Christmas and New Year, because New Year is her own personal Christmas, and why she's so insanely giddy over two presents in particular.. Take a seat, it's a long one people.

Thursday 22 January 2015

Who Wore It Better - Beautiful Darkness

Who Wore It Better is a meme created and hosted by Nitzan at The Book Babes Read and co-hosted here on Beautiful Bookish Butterflies by Amanda and Stacie. We don't talk about clothing or fashion and we definitely don't talk frills and spills, we talk books and their covers and who we think has the best. This week, Amanda is talking about the covers from Beautiful Darkness, book #2 of the Caster Chronicles series. She's previously read Beautiful Creatures, watched the film adaptation, and gave her copy of Beautiful Darkness to the library only a week or two ago. Will she ever continue the series? Only time will tell..

Book Review - Zom-B Angels

Zom-B Angels
Author: Darren Shan
Series: Zom-B #4
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 20th June 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 240
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
After spending the last few months wandering around London - a city filled with the dead - B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city - a 'Z' plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels - a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Series Review - White Rabbit Chronicles

  

The following is a full series review of White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showwalter.
Each installment is reviewed individually and given a rating reflecting my thoughts on only that installment.
The collection may later contain spoilers concerning events in previous installments. Proceed with caution.

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Top Ten Tuesday - Books We'd Like To Finally Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted at the Broke and the Bookish, and involves lists - perfect for people who enjoy making, planning and reading bookish lists. Every week there's a new prompt, and once in a while, Stacie and Amanda particpate and give their own input on the subject at question. Todays topic is the first free topic of the year, meaning Stacie and Amanda get to choose their own, and they've chosen 'Books We'd Like To Finally Read'. They both slacked a little - well - a lot on the books they acquired last year and didn't read, so hopefully this will give them a good old kick in order to rectify that. Lets takes a look at the books we didn't get around to reading..

Monday 19 January 2015

Book Review - Dare Me

Dare Me
Author: Megan Abbott
Standalone
Genres: Mystery, Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 27th August 2013
Publishers: Back Bay
No. Pages: 320
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as 'top girl' - both with the team and with Addy herself.

Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death - and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain..

Sunday 18 January 2015

Weekly Recap | 12-17 Jan. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews's Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday 17 January 2015

Personal Pickings - Get To Know Stacie in 20 'Things'

Personal Pickings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to approach subject personal to us that has no link or connection to our bookish endeavors. Today, Stacie is killing two birds with one stone by helping you get to know her that extra bit, and satisfying her obsession with quizzes/surveys. Are you ready to get to know Stacie more?

Friday 16 January 2015

Book Review - The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus #1
Genres: Mythology, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 10th October 2010
Publishers: Puffin
No. Pages: 551
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Jason has a problem. He doesn't remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper. His best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for 'bad kids', as Leo puts it. What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea - except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father, a famous actor, has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he's in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn't recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to some-place called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What's troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper's gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all - including Leo - related to a god.

Thursday 15 January 2015

Book Review - Vendetta

Vendetta
Author: Catherine Doyle
Series: Vendetta #1
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller | Young Adult
Release Date: 1st January 2015
Publishers: Chicken House Ltd
No. Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy - Chicken House Ltd
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.

Wednesday 14 January 2015

All Blogs Change Over Time


A while ago, and I do mean a while ago - last year in fact - a favourite blogger of mine was in a bit of a personal rut. She co-blogged on a blog focusing primarily on books, but she no longer felt she wanted to blog books all of the time, and she felt a little lost.. It got me thinking, how many of us started our blogs with books in mind, talking about books, loving books, ranting books and showcasing books who now run blogs that aren't solely focused on that anymore? How many of us just blog whatever comes to us, whatever we want to share or talk about? How many of us have changed, and in turn, changed our blogs?

Tuesday 13 January 2015

No Books Allowed - Stacie's Christmas (AND BOOKS!)

No Books Allowed is a monthly feature hosted by Readaraptor and particpated in by Stacie here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies. Stacie uses the feature to discuss things things in life which aren't related to books (and/or blogging), anything from days out with friends and family or music she's listening to, to TV and films she's watching or games she's playing, and so much more. It's the perfect feature for book bloggers who occasionally do things other than read and go to book events, so if you're interested, take a look at Readaraptor and check out the feature.

Monday 12 January 2015

Book Review - All The Bright Places

All The Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th January 2015
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 400
Source: Review Copy - Penguin
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death. He constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

Sunday 11 January 2015

Weekly Recap | 4-10 Jan. 2015

Welcome to Beautiful Bookish Butterflies Weekly Recap. Once a week, Stacie and Amanda take the time to talk about the weeks goings on, both on the blog and in our lives elsewhere, any new books we may have received and want to mention and what's interested is within the blogging community. Stacie and Amanda link up this recap with Caffeinated Book Reviewers Sunday Post and occasionally Tynga Reviews's Stacking the Shelves.

Saturday 10 January 2015

Bookish Musing - I'm Just Being Honest

Bookish Musing is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk or discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related conversation. Today, Stacie is going to tackle an issue that has be bothering her for sometime, the fine line between being honest and harsh in review..

Friday 9 January 2015

Bookish Musings - Amanda's Reading Challenges (2015)

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is starting her own personal annual challenge to start and finish a specific number of series within the year, thanks to her local libraries. Last year she completed five out of seven, but can she do better this year.. She's also starting a few other challenges too!

Thursday 8 January 2015

Who Wore It Better - City of Ashes

Who Wore It Better is a meme created and hosted by Nitzan at The Book Babes Read and co-hosted here on Beautiful Bookish Butterflies by Amanda and Stacie. We don't talk about clothing or fashion and we definitely don't talk frills and spills, we talk books and their covers and who we think has the best. This week, Stacie is talking about the covers for City of Ashes, book #2 in the Mortal Instruments series. It is also Stacie's first time taking part in WWIB, she always has an opinion on covers and hopes to bring something to the already great and established meme..

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Bookish Musings - End of Year Book Survey 2014

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Stacie and Amanda are completing the End of Year Survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner/Broke and the Bookish. Amanda was pretty desperate to recap 2014 with Jamies End of Year Book Survey and convinced Stacie to do it with her, so lets see what their year was like.

BBB Grand Opening: Stacie's Decision

Bookish Musing is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk or discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related conversation. Today, Stacie is talking about why it was time to say goodbye to Book's Galore and though she was scared like Amanda, she not only feels it was the right thing for her but that she can accomplish much more with Amanda by her side..

Monday 5 January 2015

BBB Grand Opening: Amanda's Decision

Bookish Musing is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk or discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related conversation. Today, Amanda is talking about why she decided it was time to let go of Book Badger and join forces elsewhere with Stacie, and why for her, leaving Book Badger was a difficult decision..

Saturday 3 January 2015

Grand Opening!


Hello and Welcome All!


Beautiful Bookish Butterflies is the brainchild of two different bloggers, each with their own perspective and take on all things bookish in the blogging community. It's a place where you can find everything you love about books and blogging from reviews and discussions, to things with a much more personal touch and a look into our lives outside of blogging. Your bloggers are Stacie from Books Galore, Amanda from Book Badger and if you love(d) those blogs, you're going to love Beautiful Bookish Butterflies. With a sleek new design symbolising a new chapter in our blogging lives, join us in discussing all things bookish. We promise, you won't regret it.