Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas - MAJOR SPOILERS

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas - MAJOR SPOILERS

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen year old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught. Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin's heart be melted?

Review: Oh. My. Gosh you guys - this book was so good! After reading 'The Assassin's Blade' I wasn't too sure if ToG was going to live up to my expectations but it did. It really, really, really did. If you haven't read The Assassin's Blade, or Throne of Glass, we follow eighteen year old Celaena Sardothien, the most infamous assassin of all time. Or at least, she was, until a job went wrong and she was sent to live out the rest of her life in a slave camp. After a year in the salt mines, she's offered the deal of a lifetime - represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament and become the King's Champion. It's a deal Celaena can't refuse - a chance to fight for her freedom. But, there are dark things occurring in the castle, and Celaena will need to keep her wits about her if she's to survive this test. If you have not read this book yet I would seriously recommend you checking it out - it's fast paced, action filled and I sped through it.

If you don't want to be spoiled for this book, then leave now, read Throne of Glass and then come back and discuss with us!

WARNING. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD...

Okay. So, lets start with Celaena. In my review of The Assassin's Blade, I said that one of the reasons I didn't really like those novellas was because of Celaena. She was very spoilt and very arrogant and I just could not warm to her. I'm pleased to say that, after this book, I have now warmed to Celaena, and actually really like her as a character. Her year in Endovier has removed the spoilt personality that I really disliked in the novella's. Now, she's a strong, determined girl, who will do anything to win her freedom. She's still a little arrogant, but actually, in this book, it almost lightens the tone. She's told not to draw attention to herself, to stay in the middle of everyone else. Which doesn't exactly go down well with Celaena. It was so funny to see the arguments between her and Chaol about keeping her identity a secret. Celaena has become a 'real' person to me after this book and I'm so happy that it happened.

Speaking of Chaol and Dorian - how does Sarah J Maas keep coming up with all of these amazing guys? Seriously. I don't know if anyone can match Rhys but...I'm not complaining. I thought the friendship between Dorian, Chaol and Celeana and the romance between the three of them as well. I really admired Celeana for telling Dorian that being together wasn't going to work between them. I was fully expecting them to continue seeing each other behind everyone else's backs but, she was right. He's the crown prince - it wouldn't be good for him to be seen 'dating' her. Don't get me wrong, I like Dorian but I from the first moment I saw him as more of a friend to Celeana rather than a boyfriend. Of the two of them right now, I'm leaning more towards Chaol but I do know that Rowan comes into the picture in Heir of Fire (though I don't know anything more than that) so I'll have to wait and see if that changes my ship. I learnt my lesson from A Court of Thorns and Roses - do not pick a ship early on! It's highly likely to change!

The little details we found out about Celeana's upbringing with Arobynn were horrific. She wasn't as good at sword fighting with her left hand so, Arobynn gave her a choice: either she broke her right hand herself, or he'd do it for her. So, she slammed her bedroom door on her hand meaning she could only fight with her left hand for months. What? This is just such a cruel thing to do to anybody, but to do it to a child? Okay, great, now she's awesome fighting with both hands but reading that scene just made me feel so sorry for Celeana. Even having read The Assassin's Blade and seeing what Arobynn did to her after the events in the first novella, it still shocked me when I was reading this.

The tests were quite interesting. The whole premise of the contest reminded me of the Hunger Games, so I was expecting the tests to be along the same lines. I was pleasantly surprised actually. I thought the poison test was really interesting because I would be completely useless at it! Scaling the tower as well was such a good chapter to see Celeana's character develop. She could have won that challenge but, instead, she went back to help a friend. I also liked that she picked a less obvious 'tool' to use to help her. Everyone else picked rope or something else quite obvious, whereas Celeana picked tar to help give her grip on the walls but wouldn't weigh her down on the climb. She also took a less obvious path up the side of the tower, staying out of the scuffles that led to people falling off. It's these little details that remind us that Celeana is the best assassin for a reason - these skills aren't something she's forgotten in her year in Endovier.

The final duel was really good if not a little confusing at times. I felt like everything kind of happened at once, with all the demons surrounding Celeana but, it was incredibly cool none the less. I really like how she took down her first opponent in a matter of minutes - faster than Cain did. It was so easy for her to do and it made the effects of the drugs so much more dramatic. I really liked the fact that Queen Elena came to help Celeana, even if she was insanely cryptic about everything. I liked that we had her there - it can sometimes feel a bit random in books. Here's the Queen to help you, she knows everything but won't tell you anything. But it really worked in this book for me. We needed Elena to help Celeana because she did know what was going on. Celeana needed someone who knew what was going on in the castle to help her because she was guarded.

  I also love that Elena was also a warrior. It gave her and Celeana a common entity between them, something the Caeleana could relate to. I thought this was an interesting twist on the concept of a fairy tale. The Queen or princess is seen as a damsel in distress, and this was how history remembers Elena when, actually, she was as much of a warrior as Gavin. It's a subtle twist that's so well woven in to the story that if you're not paying attention you could miss.

I'm really interested to see what's going to happen to Kaltain. I get the feeling those headaches aren't going to go away anytime soon and they're not down to opium use. I wonder why she was chosen. Was it just because she was trying to use the Duke or is there another reason? I definitely don't think this is the last we'll see of Kaltain. We have some unfinished business with her.

Sarah J Maas is very good at taking a fairy tale and leaving only a few subtle clues as to the origin behind. Throne of Glass is a retelling of Cinderella and the biggest clue to this is obviously the masquerade ball. I loved this scene. I especially love that the mask she wore did nothing to hide her identity. They all knew who she was. I love how Chaol was just so done with Celeana in this moment - he knew he wouldn't be able to get her to leave but he definitely wasn't happy she was there. He was even less happy when she danced with Dorian. This conflict is obviously missing in the original fairy tale, but makes this book so compelling to read. The fact both Chaol and Dorian want to be with Celeana, but only Dorian takes the chance is huge for both of the guys relationships with Celeana. It also added some humour, with Chaol just standing next to Celeana, putting everyone off coming near her.

I love that Dorian gave Celeana Fleetfoot. I'm a dog lover and Fleetfoot just seems like the perfect companion for Celeana - someone to dull out her rough edges and give her someone she can love unconditionally without really worrying about losing them, in the same way that she's worried about losing her human friends.

I think that's everything I wanted to talk about for this book. I think I'm going to do a review for each book of the series because if this series is anything like ACOTAR (and it's shaping up to be!) there's going to be a lot I want to discuss in each book! What do you think about Throne of Glass? Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

What I Read in Summer 2016

So, Autumn is finally here. Which is insane to me because I swear Summer only started five seconds ago. I've been lucky enough to have had an incredibly long summer this year, which means I've had plenty of time to read lots of incredible books! Now, there are reviews for almost all of the books I've read, and I've linked them all so if you've missed one, go and check them out.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas has been a book that I fell in love with when I first read it and have reread it pretty much every week since that first read. I'm pretty sure this is going to be my favourite book of the year. My spoilery discussion is here if you haven't read it yet.

Untold and Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan are the second and third books in the Lynburn Legacy trilogy and I loved them. This whole series was absolutely brilliant. My review for book 1, Unspoken is here.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson is a collection of short stories about the life of our favourite High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. I think my favourite of the whole collection is probably the Midnight Heir. My review of this book is here.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater was probably my most anticipated book release of this year. The Raven Cycle is a spectacular series and this conclusion was no exception. My spoilery discussion of this book is here.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare is the first book of the Dark Artifices series and I loved it. Cassandra Clare has done it again and created a whole new cast of characters that I have fallen in love with. My spoiler filled review of this book is here.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken is the first book in a duology which has had so many people raving about it in the YA community. It took me a little while to get into this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. My review of this book is here.

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is the second book in the Queen of the Tearling series. I loved the first book and this second book did not disappoint. We got so much development of not only Kelsea and her powers and the Red Queen (and who she actually is) but of the time before the Crossing. Though this switch between times was a little jarring at times, it expanded on the history of this world and I enjoyed reading about Lily Mayhew just as much as I enjoyed reading about Kelsea. I can't wait for the next book to come out in December. You can read my review of the first book, The Queen of the Tearling here.

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas is a bind up of all the Throne of Glass prequel novellas. My review for this book is here.

So those are all the books I read this summer. All of these were good, if not fantastic books, so it was definitely a productive summer of reading for me! Lets hope the end of the year follows suit!

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis: Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas, Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

Review: Yes, you've read the title right. I've finally started reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas! I wasn't originally going to read this bind up, but, a lot of people said that they wished they'd read them before starting the series so, I decided to pick it up. Now, if you've seen my review of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, you will know that I absolutely adore that book, and is probably going to be my favourite book release of 2016. So, I have high hopes for the Throne of Glass series. Based on this bind up, I'm slightly disappointed. But, it seems I'm the only one who feels that way.

Now, let me explain. I have (somehow) managed to come into this series with very few spoilers. I know a few minor things but, actually, I don't know much about what is to come. So, I'm judging this book as any new book that I read. As far as first impressions go, I was left slightly disappointed by these stories.

The five stories recount the events that lead up to Throne of Glass. They obviously give more details on the characters and the world which was really nice. Once again, Sarah has created an incredibly intricate world for these characters to live in and I'm excited to read more about it. My issue, I think, was actually Celaena. In these stories she is incredibly self-centred and spoilt, which means that I had a really hard time liking her as a character. Like I said, these are prequel stories to the main series, so she is bound to be different here than in those books, but these characteristics made it really difficult for me to finish the book; especially through the first four stories. I thought that the Assassin and the Desert would persuade me to like Celaena, but the next story kind of destroyed that for me. It wasn't until the final story where I finally saw Sarah's finesse and style really come out.

I had the same problem with this book as I did when I read 'Dorothy Must Die' by Danielle Paige. While I was reading it, I was intrigued and invested but, I could put it down and step away for days at a time and not be bothered by it. This happened up until the last story and that had me hooked from the first page and, again, I think it's because I finally saw Sarah J Maas in the writing. Which, doesn't make much sense but, her writing style generally is just so effortless and, usually means I fly through her books.

If you haven't read the Throne of Glass series yet (I feel like I'm talking to the minority here!) then I would recommend picking up at least the last novella 'The Assassin and the Empire.' This was my favourite of all five and sets everything up for Throne of Glass and gives you some context to the events leading up to that book. This story actually really excited me and made me look forward to reading Throne of Glass (which I'm currently reading right now!) so I would definitely recommend this one. The other four obviously give some more context to the final story but you don't need to have read them to understand the Assassin and the Empire.

Overall this collection was okay but, without that last story, I wouldn't have been nearly as excited to pick up Throne of Glass as I was. I'm hoping that the further in to the series I get will change my opinion on the other four stories, but, I guess we'll see.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:               New York City, Present day.
In one night, Etta Spencer is wrenched from everything she knows and loves. Thrown into an unfamiliar world, she can be certain of only one thing: she has travelled not just miles, but years from home.

                                     The Atlantic, 1776

Captain Nicholas Carter is tasked with delivering Etta to the dangerous Ironwood family. They are searching for something - a stolen object they believe only she can reclaim. But Nicholas is drawn to his mysterious passenger, and the closer he gets to her, the further he is from freedom.

                               The Edges of the World.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left by a desperate thief. But as Etta plays deeper into the Ironwood's game, treacherous forces threaten to separate her not only from Nicholas, but from her path home - forever. 

Review: I'm the first one to admit, time travel in books is not something that usually appeals to me. It's why I put off reading this book for so long, despite all the hype it's received. I find it usually isn't very well thought out and is done for the sake of being done, it doesn't really play a part in the plot other than to cause problems for the characters. However, in Passenger, which is the first book in a duology, this isn't the case. In fact, the time travel in this book is probably one of the best examples I've seen in YA. The world and the process was so well thought out. The idea that you can travel through time but not day was really interesting and made a lot of sense. This worked really well within the plot because it meant that, as a reader, you weren't left reeling as Sunday became Wednesday and Wednesday then went back to Saturday for example. It was linear and therefore helped to keep you in the story.

I loved that music played a part within the story. A lot of stories give the protagonist an interest in something like music but the plot then doesn't lend itself to them using that hobby to help them. Alexandra kept Etta's knowledge of music useful throughout the book by incorporating music into finding the portals themselves, which I thought was a really unusual twist. Again, making the time travel a little more 'real' by having to find the portals and not having them lying around for anyone to find.

One of the biggest issues I have with time travel is the ability to go back to a time you've already lived through. Lets be honest, we've all wished we could go back and retake a test or live through a conversation again now we've had time to come up with some decent ideas. But, everyone also knows that going back in time and changing something, even something as small as a having a conversation with someone, causes major problems. What I loved about Passenger was that this issue was resolved, again lending itself to the time and effort that Alexandra put in when creating this world. I can handle characters doing stupid things most of the time, but with something like this where everyone knows the problems of changing the past (have these characters never watched Back to the Future??), characters trying to do this is one of my biggest peeves and I was so happy that Alexandra set a rule up to prevent this from happening.

The history in this book was really good. Not just the physical history of the time periods we visited, but also, the history of the family feuds. Having specific families who can time travel added a whole new layer to this plot because the fights have quite literally lasted centuries!

I thought Etta was a really strong protagonist. I wasn't sure she was going to be at the start but, once we got going she really came in to her own and stood up for herself, especially with Sophia. I think some of my favourite scenes were the early ones on the ship, where she starts to learn for herself what to do. I also liked that Nicholas and Etta were honest with each other. And any secrets they did keep from each other, didn't tear them apart when they came out. Most YA books do have that scene where a secret is revealed and it pushes the romantic relationship apart and it was really refreshing to have two characters do the opposite of that.

In all, I did really enjoy this book. It took me a while to get in to the story but once I did I really enjoyed it. I am glad it's only going to be a duology - I think the second book is going to be really exciting but I don't think it would work as well if it was a trilogy. Either way, a decent and well developed start to a duology series that is worth the hype it received.

Image from Amazon.co.uk - no Copyright Intended

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - MAJOR SPOILERS

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - MAJOR SPOILERS

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabati is a sacred word. A parabati is your partner in battle. A parabati is your best friend. Parabati can be everything to each other - but they can never fall in love. Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter. She lives for battle. Alongside her parabati, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries - the most powerful of supernatural creatures - teeter on the edge of war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries are found murdered in the same way Emma's parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma's chance for revenge and Julian's chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held by the faerie Courts. All they have to do is solve the murders within two weeks...and before the murderer targets them.
 Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabati to fall in love? Who really killed her parents - and can she bear to know the truth?

Review: I absolutely loved this book. This is the first book in a new series by Cassandra Clare that follows Emma Carstairs as a teenage Shadowhunter. We last saw Emma and the Blackthorn family at the end of City of Heavenly Fire and this book picks up years later when the children are older and are training to be fully fledged Shadowhunters themselves. I think this is Cassandra Clare's strongest first book for a new series - possibly because we already know these characters and the world so well, so we can jump right in to the action. All of the characters that we meet in this book are so well developed and the plot kept me gripped from beginning to end, and considering this is over 600 pages, that's a real feat. In short, I would definitely recommend reading this book. Or any of the Shadowhunter books that Cassandra Clare has written.
 That's all I really want to say in this non-spoilery section so, if you have not read Cassandra Clare's books then you should definitely go and check them out.  

WARNING. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD...

I want to start with the characters. Emma is essentially a female version of Jace and Will. I'm pretty sure that her levels of sarcasm and snark are worthy of the Herondale name. She really could have been a descendant of the Herondales, although Jem definitely had his moments!
 The whole Blackthorn family in general was so well written. Every character was well developed and had their own distinctive voice and personalities and it was so nice to see them work together, whether it was by solving the mystery of the serial killer or just them having breakfast in the morning. They all have their part to play in the family and, after the events of Heavenly Fire, it was nice to see them having grown up a little bit and to see how they've changed. I loved how Ty challenged Julian, who's suffering from what every parent goes through at some point. He's starting to see that the kids that he's raised essentially by himself, are starting to grow up themselves. They don't need him to do things for them anymore, and he's not ready for that reality yet. I thought those moments where Ty challenged his brother, calling him out on his fears were really sweet. Julian knows that he needs to let his siblings grow, and Ty calling him out on his behaviour showed him that even is he's not ready for his brother to fight alongside him, his brother is ready, and it's not fair for Julian to hold him back.

I was so happy that we got Mark back! The last time we saw him was in City of Heavenly Fire when Jace gave him his witchlight and it was so interesting to see how he had changed in his time with the Wild Hunt, and how he reacted to being back with his family. My heart broke for Mark and the kids when he didn't want to see them, when he thought they were an illusion. It was heart breaking to read. The choice that he had to make, between the Hunt and his family was so conflicting, especially when we realised that Mark and Kieran were together. I hoped that Mark would choose his family but, up until the whipping scene I wasn't sure he would. Speaking of Mark and Kieran, I did actually like them together. They were two lonely boys who were bullied for who they were. Kieran was the prince of the Unseelie and Mark was half Shadowhunter, both were outcasts in the Hunt, though Kieran was definitely taken care of because of his status. While I liked them together, I do agree with Cristina - I think their relationship was based more on debt and loneliness rather than actual love, so I don't think they'll be endgame. Mark and Cristina however - I think they'll end up together.

So much happened in this book! I think my favourite scene was the whipping scene. It showed the family together as a whole for the first time since they got Mark back, and it changed the dynamic of Mark's loyalty to the Hunt when he realised that Kieran had turned him in. I liked how Julian took the whips for his brother, and how Emma took the rest to save Julian. I thought it showed a lot about the dynamics of the family. I also liked Emma's solo mission, when she got swept out to sea and Julian went out to save her, although the scene on the beach afterwards was a little bit weird for me. It seemed strange that two Shadowhunters slept the whole night on the beach and didn't wake up when someone came past. Though what do I know?

I loved the cameo's from all the other characters. We got to see Magnus and Alec (and they're adopted son!), Clary and Jace now run the New York Institute and we got to see Jem and Tessa - I think they were my favourite cameo of them all. I haven't read 'Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy' (although I'm dying to!) but if you have read that then there is a story in that collection called 'The Lost Herondale' and this is continued in Lady Midnight, with Jem and Tessa trying to find the lost child which I loved. I also loved that Jem took Emma in almost by saying he would be Emma's uncle and giving her Church to look after, it was so cute. Church shows up in pretty much every Shadowhunter book - it wouldn't be complete without Church showing up and annoying everyone.
 Speaking of The Lost Herondale, I can't wait to see how Kit reacts to being brought to the Los Angeles Institute. The Herondale Line is growing again and it's going to be interesting to see how many traits he's inherited from his ancestors!

Something is definitely going on with Diana. Her behaviour just screams suspicious BUT I don't think she's going to be like Hodge. I don't know what she's doing or why, but something's going on with her and it's either going to help or hinder the family in the end.

I did not see Malcom being the killer! It came as a total surprise to me. Cassandra set him up to be similar to Magnus - laid back and calm in a crisis and it lulled me into a false sense of security. We trusted Magnus and, since Malcom is Magnus' friend, we can trust him too. Boy was I wrong! I enjoyed the inclusion of the Edgar Allan Poe poem though, and that it all centred around that - it was an interesting idea to use and it really worked and fit in with the book.

As for what is going to happen with Julian and Emma's relationship and Emma's plan to keep Julian away by dating Mark? I honestly don't know how that's going to work out. Badly, probably. I think Julian will fight back against it; he's not stupid, he knew Emma was lying at the end. I think it will be Mark who will be the decider. He likes Cristina and I think that could upset Emma's plan, if his relationship with her continues to evolve. The idea of the bond creating madness in the parabati is really interesting. We don't know much about the bond itself, just that it's rare and sacred. Being a parabati means having your best friend with you in battle, using each others skill in battle. Apart from that, we don't know much else so this is an interesting development. I think Emma and Julian will end up together and that the madness with end up helping them defeat Anabel, who just from those few pages already seems a little creepy.

I think that's all I wanted to discuss about this book. What was your favourite part of Lady Midnight and do you have any predictions about what's going to happen next?

Image from Goodreads - no Copyright Intended

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Review: Okay, I'm going to admit, when I picked this book up, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I've heard so many amazing things about this book that I was kind of expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't. I loved this book so much. It's kind of a continuation of Fangirl, in that it follows the characters in the book series that Cath writes her fanfiction about in that book.

Because this book is based on a book series that doesn't exist, I was a little sceptical about the world building in this book, as I always am in standalone books. There was so much that needed to be set up in this book, the characters, the plot and, most importantly, the world itself, that I was expecting there to be a massive information dump at the beginning and then for the plot to race along. It didn't. The whole thing was so well crafted and built, that you could almost imagine what the other books in this series would be like if they did exist. It takes a very talented author to pull off an idea like this, and Rainbow Rowell did it spectacularly.

The premise of this book was so interesting. It's like the synopsis says - Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. It's so refreshing to have a protagonist like this. Who has absolutely no idea what he's doing and has no control over his magic. It adds humour and a twist to trope that is all over YA fiction. Every chosen one is chosen because their skills mean that they will defeat the villain in the end and even though they face problems along the way, they generally manage to accomplish the goal. This was refreshing in that we actually didn't know if Simon could defeat his villain in the end because he was so bad at doing magic.

I'm the first to admit that the books I pick up generally aren't LGBT books. I don't know why, it's just a very rare thing for me to pick one up and love it to pieces. Perhaps it's because, to me, a lot of those relationships are the central focus of the book and can seem a little stilted and uncomfortable? I don't know. Either way, the relationship in this book is secondary to the plot and just fits so well and seems so real that I fell in love with it immediately.

I think my favourite character in the whole book has to be Baz. The sass and sarcasm coming from him at every given moment was amazing. The bickering between Baz and Simon just added so much humour to the book and lightened the book considerably.

I can't wait to pick up more of Rainbow Rowell's books. Her characters are so real and her writing style is absolutely amazing. I'd definitely recommend checking her books out if you want a quick and easy read that will keep you hooked till the very end.

Top Ten Tuesday

So, in honour of Autumn arriving - and therefore the arrival of all the new TV shows that are airing now, this week is my Top Ten Favourite TV Shows of all time.

1. The Originals - I adore this show. I can't wait for Season 4, it cannot come soon enough. A spin off of the show The Vampire Diaries, The Originals focuses on the Original Family - the first vampires. Family drama, witches causing chaos and centuries old enemies coming back, this show is probably my all time favourite.
2. The 100 - another favourite, and one I know is incredibly popular with a lot of people, The 100 is set in the future where humans were forced to live in space once earth became uninhabitable. But, with air running out on the space station, 100 teens are sent back to earth to see whether it's safe for humans to return. Action packed and definitely gory, I look forward to this show every year.
3. Chicago Fire - following the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 in Chicago, this is another action filled TV show - with a multitude of good looking actors and actresses. What's not to like?
4. The Great British Bake Off - this show is something I look forward to every year. It's recently started again here in the UK and I love spending an hour watching people navigate the pitfalls of cakes, breads and biscuits.
5. Marvel's Agent Carter - I loved this show. It follows Peggy Carter, who debuted in the film Captain America: The First Avenger and her life after that movie. I love watching the Marvel movies and this show has the perfect balance of action and humour that made watching the show so entertaining.
6. Criminal Minds - I discovered this show five years ago on a holiday to America and now I look forward to each new season that comes out. While the cases have definitely been a lot darker the past few seasons, it's interesting to see how profiling works.
7. Bones - I don't even know how long I've been watching this show and I love it so much. I definitely prefer the TV show to the books. I think the humour makes this show, at least for me.
8. Unforgettable - this show follows cop Carrie Wells who has the unique ability to remember everything she sees and hears - which makes her the perfect person to work in the Major Crimes Unit. I've loved this series since season 1 and I'm so upset that it's ending. It's a unique spin on a crime show.
9. Gogglebox - for those who haven't seen this show, it's essentially different families, in their homes, watching various TV programmes. Sounds dull? Think again. Their hilarious commentary of programmes we love and hate makes a show that shouldn't work, absolutely addicting.
10. I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! - with autumn taking over from summer, you can't help but start to think about Christmas, at least a little bit. The one thing I start to look forward to? I'm a Celebrity. A group of celebrities go into the Australian jungle for two weeks and compete in strange and horrible trials to win food for camp. Seeing celebrities making fools of themselves on TV - now who wouldn't want to watch that?