Recent book haul

Whilst I was home over half term I spent a couple of hours scouring local charity shops to find cheap books. I ended up spending £10 and bought the books below:

That's £2 a book! And they were all pretty good quality

'Bess of Hardwick was one of the most remarkable women of the Tudor era. Gently-born in reduced circumstances, she was married at 15, wedded at 16 and still a virgin. At 19 she married a man more than twice her age, Sir William Cavendish, a senior auditor in King Henry VIII's Court of Augmentations. Responsible for seizing church properties for the crown during the Dissolution, Cavendish enriched himself in the process. During the reign of King Edward VI, Cavendish was the Treasurer to the boy king and sisters and he and Bess moved in the highest levels of society. They had a London home and built Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. After Cavendish's death her third husband was poisoned by his brother. Bess' 4th marriage to the patrician George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Earl Marshall of England, made Bess one of the most important women at court. Her shrewd business acumen was a byword and she was said to have 'a masculine understanding', in that age when women had little education and few legal rights. The Earl's death made her arguably the wealthiest and therefore - next to the Queen - the most powerful woman in the country.' - Amazon.

'Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies . . .

Six interlocking lives - one amazing adventure. In a narrative that circles the globe and reaches from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, Cloud Atlas erases the boundaries of time, genre and language to offer an enthralling vision of humanity's will to power, and where it will lead us.' - Amazon

This is the cover of the book I found, and no I do not like it. I want one of the prettier covers! But this one was £2 so I'm not complaining too much.

'THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES - soon to be a major new TV series.

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful daughter as Claire's spellbinding journey continues in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Edward Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.' - Amazon

I like this cover, but I used to have the prettier original cover. Then my sister lost it. She still owes me the book, but I bought this anyway.

'HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:

a girl

an accordionist

some fanatical Germans

a Jewish fist fighter

and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES' - Amazon

'The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.' - Amazon.

I've read two of these already (once before I even bought the book, and the other the day I bought them). 

Have you read any of these? Thoughts?

+ What I have read!

Following from the post I just added about why I have been absent, here is a post actually about books.

Somehow, amongst all of this, I have actually managed to read.

The Grisha Trilogy

As you can see, these are extremely attractive books. Written by Leigh Bardugo, the story is set in a fantasy land where people are either 'normal' or 'Grisha'. The Grisha possess a variation of (often elemental) magical powers, such as control of the wind or appearance, and most are employed by the King as part of an army. This army is led by a mysterious character known as the Darkling. The story follows Alina Starkov, a teenager who is part of the Kingdoms regular army (although, as in most fantasy worlds, the idea of being a teenager doesn't seem to really exist and people seem to be either children or adults). It follows her sudden immersion in the Grisha world, and the dangers that this new world brings.

This book was purchased from amazon.co.uk after I saw it recommended by booktubers who enjoyed it, and I must admit it stuck in my head because the name of the first book (Shadow and Bone) reminded me of 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' by Laini Taylor (which I loved!).
Looking at the covers, and the main characters name, I imagined the setting to be very similar to Russia or North Eastern Europe. In my mind the buildings and fashions took on those seen historically in Russia, and this definitely helped me to picture the setting more clearly. Overall, I enjoyed this series more than I predicted I would, especially whilst waiting for book three to be delivered. I spent a couple of nights trying to predict what was going to happen. In fact, I made a prediction about a particular part of the story only halfway through the second book, which was revealed to be true at the end of book three. I felt very proud of myself.

I would award this series 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it more than expected and was keen to know the end result. I am not giving it 5 out of 5 as I did not feel fully immersed, and didn't get the sense of addiction I often get from favourite series. I would however recommend it to others as it at was exciting to read.

Exquisite Captive

This book, I think was spoken about on another booktube channel. Set on our earth, with flashbacks to 'alternate world', this book is one of the only ones I've encountered that takes on the theme of genies, or 'jinni'. The 'exquisite captive' is a girl who was once part of her worlds Royal family, but following a rebellion was sold to earth as a slave jinni. She is forced to work for her 'master', who has bought her from the 'Dark Caravan' and makes her work by granting his clients wishes. She meets a rebel jinni who needs her help in order to save their home world.

I will be honest, I will not be continuing this series (I assume there are more to come) as I did not really enjoy my read. There were some good ideas, and a lot of potential, however I felt the plot focused too heavily on a love triangle that really did not need to exist, and that the writing was not strong enough to hold my attention. That being said, I wouldn't avoid the author entirely as I do believe she has a brilliant idea in her retelling of the genie theme. Because of all of this, I'm going to give the book 2.5 out of 5 stars. It isn't good enough to be ok, but it wasn't bad enough to deserve a 2.

Gone Girl

Wow, so I finally got hold of Gone Girl. This book was intense. It was also completely different to books I have read for the last few years. It is a definite thriller/ crime ish genre book, and I am definitely a fantasy/ science fiction lover, even though I love TV shows like NCIS. 

I think we all know the vague plot? I can't give too much away, obviously. Man, who may or may not be happily married, discovers his wife has gone missing, and she may or may not be presumed dead. He is a suspect. Did he kill her? Dun dun dun!

As mentioned, an intense read. I couldn't read it fast enough. And I say this literally because...I actually gave up reading the entire thing. I'm such a failure! The first half I read so precisely, just so I could try to spot any clues and to make sure I missed nothing. In the second half, I needed to know what was going to happen. So I skim read. I skipped some pages, and it didn't really hurt the story. I read huge chunks, then skipped random parts in between so I could have it finished. It was a very good plot, very intense, with so many twists and turns...but it just wasn't my style of book. I like books where you can feel passionately about the characters, even if they confuse you and make you feel conflicted. I like to feel a part of the story. In Gone Girl I felt like I was just trying to get to the conclusion. 

Overall, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Half of these stars is purely because of the texts and phone calls I got from my mom after I gave it to her. She felt very strongly about many things, and read it in 3 days. She even had to cancel plans with her boyfriend, because like me she just had to know by the end of that evening. I almost wish I hadn't read the book, and had just seen the film (which I still haven't managed) because it is the type of story I love to watch but can't read.

Finnikin of the Rock

I am very angry as I type this because I haven't actually finished it. I lost it on the tube! I was about 3/4 of the way through! So I am not going to leave a review (yet...I am going to have to buy another copy or find an epub). I just want to express my annoyance. I was enjoying it so far though!

I forgot to mention - comment if you have any recommendations or thoughts based on the books I've read. I'd love to hear about what you thought of them, or if you disagreed completely. Also let me know if there is anything in particular you think would help my blog or my reading :)

Clair x