Review: The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava lavender by Leslye Walton

Publisher/ year: 2014 Walker Books

Genre: Magical realism, contemporary

What is it about?

Pain in Love appears to be a Roux family birthright, and for Ava Lavender, a girl born with the wings of a bird, it is key to her inheritance. Longing to fit in with her peers, Ava ventures away from home, ill-prepared for what awaits her in a world that does not know whether to view her as girl or angel.

Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo until, on the summer solstice, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air and Ava’s fate is revealed

The Review

‘To many I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale. Some considered me a monster, a mutation. To my great misfortune, I was once mistaken for an angel. To my mother, I was everything. To my father, nothing at all. To my grandmother, I was a daily reminder of loves long lost. But I knew the truth – deep down, I always did.

I was just a girl.’

I have one word for this novel guys and it’s not at all as wonderfully thought out as the magnificent work of art that is The Strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava Lavender,  because well that is simply not possible but it does do the trick I suppose. To this novel I simply have to say WOW! I had difficulty putting this book down and I was amazed at the fact that it was Lesley Walton’s debut novel because of it’s beautiful prose and well thought out plot where we are exposed to not just one character’s life but the lives of almost every character we meet which was refreshing and unexpected. I wanted to pick this book up because of all the buzz that surrounds it but as we all know buzz is not always the best indication of a well written book. In this case however the buzz is well worth it and I am truly grateful that I received it from the folks at Pan Macmillan publishing or I might not have picked it up and that would have been a huge loss on my part.

The Characters: Ahh how bruised and lovely all of these characters were. I honestly felt deeply for each and every heart break!  I laughed and I cried multiple times with each and every one of them and the best was that Walton made it possible for you as a reader to understand how each of them thought and felt which allowed you to understand their actions no matter how blatantly stupid, careless or cruel they seemed. Ava Lavender is the narrator and the Main character of the novel. She is the girl born with a beautiful set of white and brown wings. The reincarnation of an angel, or so some thought. The book starts with her telling her story from beginning to the end or at least to the end of a part of her. The story doesn’t begin with Ava, it begins with her great grandfather and grandmother which at first threw me a little I won’t lie but once I got into it I wanted more and now I wish she could have started even further down the family tree because the family Roux definitely had some interesting tales to tell about life love, family and betrayal. There are way too many characters to go into the whole list but they are all well worth getting to know!

The Setting: What even??? I felt like I was right there with the family through each and every one of their moves. From Beauregard Roux and Maman in their Manhattan apartment to Emilienne Rouw, Viviane, Ava and Henry in the white house at the top of the hill of Pinnacle Lane In the blossoming city of Seattle Washington. I could smell the baked goods from Emilienne Roux’s bakery from which the syrupy sweetness dwindled at each summer Solstice celebration. The descriptions made me want to delve head first into this novel and steel Ava Lavender’s life even with all the heartache that comes along with it.

The prose: Leslye Walton has a way with words that grabs you and never lets you go until it’s over and you’re having sickening withdrawal symptoms. Haha It’s intense guys but I  can say without a doubt that if this story was written without Walton’s prose the magic would have been lost. I fell in love with her writing just like I fell in love with the characters that fill the tale that is Ava Lavender’s life.

Romance: No comment. My heart was broken and mended more than the humane amount of times tsk tsk I’m pretty sure I need a band aid after this one.

                

Final Thoughts: Yes I basically spent this whole review raving about the beauty that is this novel and I stand behind each gushing moment. I want to criticise this novel a little but I came up short guys there is nothing bad to say really I just want everyone to read it and love it as much as I did! This was not a YA book and it wasn’t an adult book this is a book for everyone! Mostly YA and up haha it can be a little adult but not at all explicit. This book was tasteful and relied on suggestion more than anything else so if you were afraid of steamy scenes don’t be! There are none. There are a lot of bakery scenes though that will leave you craving baked goods like it’s no one’s business! I had more than one cookie when I reached the end of the novel and even though they were drenched in tears of joy and sadness they were delicious! YUM!

Who should Read this book?

Okay I know I do this a lot but guys if you can breathe, read and you know love and loss than you should pick this up! Even if you don’t know love or loss pick it up! Even if you can’t breathe or read PICK IT UP! Haha okay no don’t. I’d rather not run into any zombies in my local book store so maybe buy it online? Okay thanks hehe. Okay so seriously now. This book would be loved by those who loved The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Death and Ava Lavender make great narrators! Claps for them! Both of these books have the ability to pull you in and like a masochist leave you breaking your own heart unable to put it down! It’s not just sad though don’t get me wrong. This book has a little of everything I even found myself creeped out a hell of a lot while reading it. Another word should be inserted here... GHOSTS! Lots of them!

Memorable quotes

‘Love makes us such fools’

‘Children betrayed their parents by becoming their own people’

‘Just because love don’t look the way you think it should, don’t mean you don’t have it’

‘I found it ironic that I should be blessed with wings and yet feel so constrained, so trapped. It was because of my condition, I believe, that I noticed life’s ironies a bit more often than the average person. I collected them: how love arrived when you least expected it, how someone who said he didn’t want to hurt you eventually would.’

‘I loved you before, Ava. Let me love you still.’

About The Author



Leslye Walton was born in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps because of this, Leslye has developed a strange kinship with the daffodil--she too can only achieve beauty after a long, cold sulk in the rain. Her debut novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, was inspired by a particularly long sulk in a particularly cold rainstorm spent pondering the logic, or rather, lack thereof, in love.  

Leslye has an MA in writing and lives in Seattle, Washington. When she's not writing, she teaches middle school students how to read and write, and most importantly, how to be kind to each other, even on days when they really don't feel like it. She is currently working on her next novel.

Tell me have you read this yet? What did you think? Amalzing right??? If you haven’t picked this up let me know if you might want to and let me convince you! Sharing is caring guys

Review: Trial by Fire Josephine by Angelini

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Publisher/year: 2014 PanMacmillian

Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-fi

What’s it about?

Lily Proctor is allergic to virtually everything, and growing up in Salem she’s never been able to do the things her friends take for granted... which is why she’s determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily’s life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class when she wishes she could just disappear – she does.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem- a terrifying new world where she is overwhelmed by new desires and new experiences, and her weakness is replaced with extraordinary power. She soon discovers that this world is ruled by dark and powerful witches, and that the strongest and cruellest of all is LIlian... Lily’s identical other self in this alternate universe. Trown into war she doesn’t understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

The Review

There comes a day when every girl loses the stars in her eyes. And then she can see clearly.

This is Lily’s day.

Unlike the quote above I can not exactly pin point when the stars in my eyes were lost while reading this book but I can confidently guess that it had been somewhere in the beginning. I’m strangely disappointed that I didn’t like this book and it’s not because it was badly written or just plain horrible because it was none of the above it just wasn’t for me I guess.

The story was weird but interesting! I’ve always found witchy books to be AMALZING! (Yes I know it’s spelled wrong, but doesn’t that just sound better?NO?OK) Witches are bad ass and if they existed I think feminism would never even have played a role in our society but alas they’re not real and feminism does exist. I digress. Witches! Yes they are awesome but even though this book is set in two different Salem’s and instead of witches being wrongly persecuted scientists and doctors were I didn’t really get the whole witchy vibe.

This might be because Trial by Fire was both a fantasy and a science fiction book and although I admire the fact that Josephine tried something different the two just didn’t match.

The Setting: The novel was set up in two different Salems but most of the story took place in the second Salem after Lily, the main character, stupidly agreed to leave her world for another because of a boy. Leaving behind her sister, Juliet, to manage on her own with their sick mother. Sigh, I’ll get to them later! Anyway, the first Salem was basically just a normal town in the 21^st century but the second... I have no idea where that was supposed to be and neither did our protagonist. People were wearing gowns like kings and queens in the olden days while there were genetically engineered monsters running about? Ok so the monsters, also known as the Woven, weren’t created through science but still it didn’t mesh well. The setting and the costumes almost made it seem like the author wasn’t really sure what to do so she basically just did everything that popped into her head. Uhm confused much? Because I am!

The characters: Ahh Lilly. I don’t know where to start with this one. Our protagonist does have some redeeming qualities but all through out the novel her childishness and fragility worked on my nerves. Even when she lost the right to be called fragile she still managed to hang on to the title of number one damsel in distress which is not something I appreciated. I absolutely loathed her double Lillian but at least she had some back bone. Lilly was described as stubborn but she was almost stupidly stubborn and I honestly couldn’t deal! Over all I found it hard to really connect with the characters. Most of the characters were very one dimensional. If a character was bad you rarely saw any other side of them which bothered me because as we all know people are rarely born bad and neither are characters! It’s good to show both sides or just the origin of the assy-ness. Am I wrong?

Romance: This was not an ista-love kinda book which I appreciated but you pretty much knew off the bat who Lilly would be falling for and as most YA love stories begin for some reason it started out of a mutual fiery hate. Rowan, also known as Mr. Love is the typical brooding but handsome love interest. This didn’t surprise me at all and once the obvious chemistry, which was a tad bit forced, reached its maximum peek their love was down right irritating. Edward and Bella anyone? Sigh, and it started out so promising. (Bows head in defeat)

And if the love between those two wasn’t forced enough they had to throw in a second Mr. Love who is the double of Lilly’s best friend back in her own world. I suppose this was made with the intent to have us thinking will they won’t they but it did nothing of the sort. He could have just been a friend Josephine!

Final thoughts: As I mentioned earlier guys I really did want to like this book but getting through it was more like a chore than anything else I went back to reading the first chapter of Fangirl simply for enjoyments sake. Trial by Fire had a very interesting concept, I’m just bummed that it wasn’t carried out better. Because this was the first book of the World Walker Trilogy there was way too much explaining going on and the worst part is even after all the explaining I was still scratching my head like what? The book wasn’t written badly though and I do think that others might enjoy it a lot more than I did. I looked up a few other reviews and some people were really into it so I guess this one is more of a personal preference read. Sadly I will not be continuing with this trilogy.

Who Should Read this Book?

 This book is for people who like very complicated worlds that don’t really care whether they make sense or not (the characters are what they are after) and enjoy reading books where there is a strong over arching love interest where you are teased until you basically want to smash their faces together out of frustration.  If you liked reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner you will find the familiarity of the Woven quite comforting and you will enjoy this book

5 Reasons why Non YA's Should Read YA

I’ve been thinking about this question for a while now. Whenever I go to book stores and march toward the ‘Kids’ or ‘teens’ section it has bothered me that I feel self conscious about simply being there. Mostly because I usually find children and their parents browsing around that section with me and I can almost feel the parents question as she or he continues to steal looks in my direction ’Aren’t you a little old for that?’. I have to say I have had to restrain myself more than a few times from giving them some viciously dirty looks back because when I think about it most of these non YA readers and haters probably haven’t even picked up a YA book in their lives! They base their judgement on the fact that ‘Oh if my 10 year old son can enjoy this than its probably too young for me’ or  ‘I read an article the other day and apparently the writing for YA books is horrible’ rolls eyes. Throw in a love triangle and a superpower and you have a publishing contract.’ I honestly can’t tell you how much I want to just hit these people in the face with my ever growing YA collection and scream YOU DONT KNOW JACK S*T. It’s ridiculous! Instead however I have chosen to sustain from any physical blows and to instead inform these people on this genre that I have come to love and cherish above anything else! Also this is for the YA lovers who have forgotten why they started reading YA in the first place and need a little reminder.

1. YA is an adventure

Readers read to escape right? To be able to find themselves in a different town, different era or even on a different planet without even having to move their feat. Well YA books give you the opportunity to do just that. YA allows you to immense your selves in different worlds and to get to know different people with challenges that exceed the norm. With each and every book you pick up you become Alice in Wonderland and you get to experience things that you never thought possible! Yes you can watch a movie instead if you want but is it just me or is ones imagination so much more capable of creating new and elaborate places. Anyone remember how disappointing the Divergent movie was?No? Okay, maybe it’s just me then (hides)

2. YA makes you humble

YA is not just about love and angsty teenagers throwing tantrums and breaking curfew, although there is a lot of that I won’t lie. YA is about people, people who have to cope with extraordinary suckish things that we can usually only dream of. It allows us to look at our lives and to realise that what we have and the troubles we face aren’t that bad at all... If a girl can survive an alien invasion at only 15 years old and as an orphan I might add then maybe, just maybe I can go to work and deal with my evil boss.

3. YA challenges traditional stories

The thing is YA has always been known to push boundaries when it comes to the stories YA writers produce. Whether you liked Twilight or not you have to admit that Stephanie Meyer was the instigator to a whole new range of novels. Suddenly authors were challenging themselves and their imaginations looking for new ways to leave readers coming back for more. Because if there is one thing YA has done it has shown that readers want their worlds to be broadened by everything and anything supernatural and alien. What better way to open your mind to a whole spectrum of possibilities than to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.

4. YA makes you feel like a kid again

YA taps into that place that we all experienced at some point of our lives. The place where you believed in Santa Clause and when you placed your newly freed tooth under your pillow at night waiting for the Tooth Fairy to make an appearance. Don’t you remember how disappointing it was when you found your parents sneaking into your room?Yes? Well with YA you can cling onto that feeling and even though you know that what you are reading isn’t real the characters you encounter don’t! It is ultimately through them that you become a kid again

5. YA tackles real life issues

You might not think that this applies to you but I’m telling you now that it does! It was only after I read Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin that I became informed on the subject of intersexuality and how people who are born this way can feel  isolated by society, friends and even their family. YA novels that touch subject that seem taboo or rarely talked about in public provides a platform for people to either educate themselves while enjoying a really amazing thought out story or it makes people who find themselves relating to the subject matter at hand feel less alone and less confused. Characters can give people courage simply by allowing their stories and their bravery to be told. Whether it is disability, race, class, age, gender or sexual orientation, YA is not afraid to tackle those subjects head on and to say hey being different and feeling different is not a bad thing. The ways in which you feel marginalised is not what defines you as a person. You need to own it despite what other people think and also you need to remember that you are more than what makes you different. You are human and guess what? I am just like you.

I’ve only listed 5 reasons why YA is amazing but I promise you once you delve into the ‘kiddie’ pool you might see what all of us YA lovers have come to find. The reasons are infinite and splendid. So, What other reasons do you have for reading YA? Are you embarrassed about loving this genre or do you simply not give a damn and shove your latest YA buy in the faces of all who doubt its magic? Let me know in the comments down below and we can discuss:)

Kira Adams New-New Adult Book Release Teaser!

Guess what guys? Kira Adams will be releasing her new novel Into The Darkness on the 15th of November! That is around the corner! I must admit I am not a big New Adult fan but after reading the blurb on the back of this gorgeous novel I was sold! I mean come on: Post-apocalyptic madness with a tinge of red head fierceness??

How can I resist! Basically, I can't and I'm sure neither can you!

Into The Darkness will be available on Amazon for wait for it..... the humble price of 99 cents! and if you want to spoil yourself even more you can get it for free under Kindle Unlimited:)

 Not only do you get to read what seems like a hell of a story but you get to help the author out! Isn't that what readers do? Show support by devouring the words of others?Jip!

On the 15th be sure to add this baby to your TBR list and let me know down below what you thought about the book! I can't wait to hear from you guys and I most definitely can not wait to sink my teeth into this book! Good thing I'm on vacation right?? Right!

About The Author

Krista Pakseresht has always been a dreamer. From the first time she opened her eyes. Creating worlds through words is one thing she is truly talented at. She specializes in Young adult/New adult romance, horror, action, fantasy, and non-fiction under the pen name Kira Adams.

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

publisher/year:September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press

genre: Fantasy

Whats’s it about?

‘There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve. Either you’re his true love... or you killed him.’

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon to be dead walk past. Blue never sees them-until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gancey, and he’s a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

The Review

I went into this book very cavalier in some ways because I’ve read one book by Maggie Stiefvater in the past, Shiver,  and I walked away less than enthused about the rest of that specific series which lead to me not wanting to pick up the rest of the books and avoiding Maggie’s work all together. After starting The Raven Boys on my 12 hour bus ride home from university I soon found that it definitely will not be the case this time around!

The Raven Boys is fast paced with plot twists almost around every corner. I simply couldn't get enough of it. Just when I thought that I knew what was going to happen Maggie turns around and has me fail miserably but that is what I really appreciated about this book. The blurb on the back of the novel should be rewritten in my opinion because it sells the whole story short. What I expected to be an insta-love Edward and Bella rendition turned out to be a lot more with characters that I found myself investing in, rooting for and at times confused by.

Maggie did a terrific job with each and every one of these characters, I felt like I knew them all. I also loved the fact that the book was written in third person which meant that we were given an inside whirl inside most of the characters thoughts at random moments throughout the book. It kept everything very exciting and it made the reader, character bond so much easier to form or the reader hate character bond (some characters had major issues that I simply could not deal with).

The protagonist Blue is a sixteen year old girl with major boy problems and a house filled to the brim with psychics, her mother included. Blue however was not graced with the gift the rest of the women had but she some how magnified their gifts which made her as they put it the Starbucks table everyone had to have, near the plug. Obviously this was not what Blue wanted, she wanted to see more than we mere mortals which is what made her reconsider her policy towards boys, specifically the Raven Boys and I must say I’m so glad she does think twice.

Why you may ask? Because A; Adam and B; they are a crazy bunch of boys but weirdly troubled which is something I really appreciated. The friendship between Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah is one that can be admired. Even though I found it a little weirdly intimate at times I could see that it was raw and real which is what fuelled my Maggie appreciation. Let’s just say I’m a fan.

There is one thing however that I didn’t appreciate. Seeing that this is such a crucial element and that I’m willing or more than willing actually to continue with this series I advise you to not read too much into my last impression but I feel it must be said. The ending left me seriously dumbfounded and not in a good way. Compared to the rest of the novel the ending and the climax was rushed and confusing!  My feelings toward one of the characters were seriously called into question but before I knew it, everything was over and I seemed to be the only one confused as to why things were being swept under the rug and everything was back to normal again? Seriously? That’s it? I understand that this is a series and that some things have to remain unsaid but with two chapters remaining you can’t tell me that you couldn’t spare a few sentences to clear up the mess?  

 Ahhh anyway...I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil any of the major plot twists that left me reeling and very much devouring the story word for word! I will say that this book takes psychics, magic, death and (weirdly enough) energy lines to a whole new level that the possibility of each of those things seem a lot more plausible (Thanks for the nightmares btw).

Who do I recommend this to?

If you like food or air than I definitely recommend this to you! Haha if that’s too broad than I’ll recommend this to people who love paranormal books in general and books where love and romance plays a role but it doesn’t completely dominate the story. I for one had a blast and I’m sure you will too.:)

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Also if you have read the rest of the series let me know if they get bad or if they stay this awesome? I don't want to be dissapointed :(

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

find maggie: 

website: http://www.maggiestiefvater.com

twitter name: mstiefvater

November TBR & Book Haul

Sooooooo... It's November and I am almost done with exams which is awesome on the one hand but on the other..Not so much. Looking back now at October and what I had accomplished all I can do is bow my head in shame and ask that you don't judge me.I knew that I wasn't going to have much time for reading in October but I didn't think that I'd only be able to read one measly book out of my four book TBR pile but yeah that happened..

This is so annoying because not only have I only read one book in October (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas) but I haven't written a single word for Nanowrimo except for my very vague plot outline and I have no idea how I'm going to reach the 50 000 word mark now. Needless to say October was a huge fail but I plan on making up for it in November to some extent with at least 4 book reviews :) (I'm still planning on doing Nano so it can't be more than that) so yeah!

For this Month I am planning on reading the following 4 books however, this might change since I'll be receiving a few bookish surprises from Pan Macmillan this month and I might just replace some of those with one of these. YAY! someone just cross your fingers and pray that I'll get to everything pretty please!

 Haha anywhoooo, on to the November TBR list / Bookhaul:

1. It's Patrick Ness, yeah!!!

. 

What's it about?

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.

Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.

How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

Uhm yes please! If you don't already know this I am a huge Patrick Ness fan! I literally can not find one bad thing to say about this man's writing, he tells the best stories and does it in a way that makes it seem effortless. Sigh, this is a November purchase, I saw this and I honestly just had to.

2. It's Erin Morgenstern!!

What's it about?

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance

I'm not going to lie, This was as much of a cover buy as it was based on the hype surrounding this book. I mean come on where there's fan art there's almost always magic!

                                          

                                                   

3. It's Samantha Shannon

What's It about?

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

Okay, so I've been getting really mixed reviews on this one which is strange since Samantha Shannon has been unofficially dubbed the new J.K Rowling. Those are some huge shoes to fill and I do not envy anyone in that position! And yes I know the title is only due to the fact that she booked a 7 book series deal with Bloomsburry Publishing who offered this deal to Rowling back in the day for her Harry Potter series. I just have to read this one for myself. Good thing I got it at a bargain price:) Score!

4. Yes, It's Maggie again or should I say still?(hides)

What's It About?

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

I know this has been in my side bar as 'currently reading' for most of the month. It's awful but, I haven't made a dent in this one. I won't let it happen this month though! So expect a review up ASAP:)

Those are my book picks for this TBR month and my delicious book haul! I am so excited to be getting to them as soon as my exams finish on the 7th of November! At least you can't say I don't have my priorities in order right, right?Ha! Here's to hoping that November is as productive as I plan on making it:D. Let me know in the comments down below if you have read any of these and which one was your favorite? What's on your TBR pile for November and will you be getting to them?haha let's discuss .. 

P.S. : As an apology for my negligence last month here's an adorable corgi puppy swimming