The 5th Wave - Coming Soon, COMING SOON!

It's coming. It's almost here, PREPARE YOURSELF. BRACE YOURSELF. THE END OF THE WORLD IS AMONGST US!

Okay, so not exactly the end of the world (though is that were the case, you'd hear it from me first) but the new upcoming book from Penguin, "The 5th Wave" is on it's way over to us and this is a cause for celebration!

Here's some spicy bits of information you need to know. 

"After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.".

Book Details: 

Paperback: 480 pages

Publisher:  Penguin Books Ltd

Language: English

ISBN 13: 9780141345833

•                                                   ISBN 10: 0141345837
Release Date: May 7th 2013

GoodReads link.

Links:

Pre-Order On The Book Depositary.

Pre Order On Amazon.

Pre Order On Waterstones.

Sounds epic, I KNOW. 

So, what I have for you, is the new trailer and and AND an extract from the book itself to get your gears running! So check out the trailer, links and all that good stuff - and await further detail on this totally epic sounding book! :D

Trailer:

Pre-Order now and watch this space for a review :)

Out Of The Easy - Ruta Sepety; Review.

Book Details:

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Puffin (7 Mar 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0141347333

ISBN-13: 978-0141347332

Summary:

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. 

She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

Links To Buy:

Buy It On Amazon.

Buy It On The Book Depositary.

Buy It On Waterstones.

Rating:

Review:

Okay picture this. 1:02am. I’ve just been shooed out the room by my sister, who doesn’t want me to have the reading lamp on since she’s trying to sleep. In a fake fit of anger, (‘cause really, who can stay mad at someone who’s shouting you while eating noodles) I’ve grabbed the nearest book on my desk, a blanket and headed to the living room. I opened the book.

“My mother’s a prostitute. Not the filthy, streetwalking kind. She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.”

Fast forward 3 hours later, it’s 4:23am and I’m frantically writing this review silently from my bunk bed, in an effort to encapsulate all the energy and soft smiles falling from my lips. Out of the Easy took me by surprise. If you had told me that I’d end up loving a book set in New Orleans, 1950, historical fiction, I’d probably politely smile at you and roll my eyes.

But here I am. After having read Between Shades Of Gray, I knew already that Sepety's had magic on her hands - and I wasn't wrong. When I was sent this for review, of course I squealed delightedly but I was somewhat sceptical on how I'm going to like this book. Because I wanted to. But why was I even worried?

Sepety's had me from the first line - I'm an absolute sucker for catchy and unique opening lines and this is probably one of my favourites. Aside from her fluid writing that makes it so easy for too to immerse in the detail of the places and scenarios she's describing, she brings to you her best asset - her characters and there was no shortage of them in Out Of the Easy.

Set against the nitty gritty French Quarters of New Orlenas, she brings to us Josie - smart, witty, grounded. Daughter of a prostitute, spending her time with an array of colourful scantily clad ladies - and determined not to follow in their footsteps. Add in Willie - the hard marshmallow who runs the house like a whip and a tongue like a knife - but a heart to melt better. I loved Willie and knew I'd be rooting for the whole way through. There was no shortage of romance either, throw in Jesse - the strong, striking mysterious blue gazed boy who silently watches and waits on Josie. *le sigh*

I couldn't put this book down. Sepety's had me wrapped around her finger with the amazing characters, atmospheric setting and hint of mystery that follows us through the book - begging the almost Cludeo -esqueue question - "who did it?"

But more than all that, what captured me was the bookstore Josie worked in and the cute guessing game she played with her friend Patrick. I've always dreamed of one day owning my own bookstore or at least working in one, and the way Sepety's portrayed Marlowe's store had me giddy with happiness.

I really didn't think I'd love this book as much as I do. Do I wish there was more? Of course. I'd love to have gotten more in to detail about Jesse's life, seen some more sparks fly between them – but I’ll take what I can get, and hope to see more from Sepety’s soon.

Thank you Penguin for this absolute gem.

I Am The Messenger - Markus Zusak; Review.

Book Details: 

Paperback: 357 pages

Publisher: Random House USA Children's Books

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0375836675

ISBN-13: 978-0375836671

Summary:

Protect the diamonds.
Survive the clubs.
Dig deep through the spades.
Feel the hearts.

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
 That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Links To Buy:

Buy It On Amazon

Buy It On The Book Depositary.

Rating:

Review:

This is what it feels like to be in love. It’s not your run of the mill butterflies, breathlessness. No. But rather the tingling of hairs across the back of your hand as you trace the words across the page and consume them silently. It’s the fluttering of your heart as you turn the page and your eyes quickly scan the events on that page, eager to see what happens but not eager enough to spoil the ending for you.

Okay so I sound crazy but I’m just teasing you guys haha *silently hides all the innermost feelings never to be revealed again* But in all honesty, love for me is a book that I’m already head over heels for before having even read it. Very few authors have that effect on me. J.K Rowling, Carlos Ruiz Zafon,  John Green, Jodi Picoult and now Markus Zusak.

After having read The Book Thief and being insanely blown away a few years ago, I was on the hunt for all his books. My powers of research were evidently stunted since I didn’t find anything *slaps self* but a while back I heard about I Am The Messenger. Finally, after endless Uni work and faffing about, I found a quite, rare workless weekend in which I started the book – and finished it within a day. Sorry for the long windedness of this, on to the review we go!

Markus Zusak has a way of spellbinding you with his words. Regardless of what his book is on, what era it’s set in, it’s his words that literally reach out from the book, grab you by the collar and drag you in. An added bonus? The plot itself is ingenious. There was a slight fear in me, about how will Zusak manage to pull out another corker after something as amazing as The Book Thief, but I needn’t have worried. Zusak’s work is such that it comes out in groves, he’s not short of talent, you just have to be patient with it and he will deliver.

I Am The Messenger caught me right from the get go. Imagine this. A bank robbery, a group of 4 friends spread out in the hostage, and 1 of them is complaining this is car is in the 15 minute only parking zone and he’s got a fine to pay. Probable death vs car issues. You can see the priorities clearly here. From there on, the book only gets better. Depth, mystery (always a must) and the truth about human nature. I couldn’t put it down.

Zusak’s writing is his best asset. He writes with his heart and captures your soul.

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.”

Come on people, aren’t you sold already?! .. Okay I need to keep this review coherent. *breathes* So yes, amazing writing. You’ll identify with the main character, Ed. Average Joe, but with potential for greatness. Isn’t Ed a character hidden in all of us? He may be the one delivering the messages in this book, but like Zusak himself rightly says, Ed is the message. About heart, truth, honesty, everything that comes with being a good person. You just have to let it out and be who you are. The touch of humanity and realism in the characters, not just Ed, but everyone from the first message to the very last, are all real, they all exist somewhere out there. And Zusak reveals how you can touch their lives, sometimes with just a kind word, sometimes with nothing.

An amazing book, amazing characters by an amazing author. I’m sorry this review is so gushy and not at all following the usual format, but that should say something about the effect this has on me. 5 stars falls short for the love I have for this book, but it’s close as I can get. 

As with other books that I've been blown away by, I'm going to leave some quotes  I adore!

____

“I think she ate a salad and some soup.

And loneliness.

She ate that, too. ” 

“My arms are killing me. 

I didn't know words could be so heavy.” 

 “My voice is like a rumour. I'm not sure if it came out or not, or if it is true.”

“It's impeccable how brutal the truth can be at times. You can only admire it. Usually, we walk around constantly believing ourselves. "I'm okay," we say. "I'm alright." But sometimes the truth arrives on you, and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it even an answer - it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.”