May Book Box Club!

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This is a monthly book subscription box that includes a new release and lots of bookish goodies. May is my first box and I'm excited to unbox it.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Inside the box:

My welcome card

Stargazers is May's theme

A bookmark

I always love receiving wrapped gifts within subscription boxes! This one had the book of the month inside.
This month's book is The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

I love this cat pin - adorable!

A Shakespeare quote is always fun! This is actually a mirror

A little pouch to use as a pencil case or maybe a make up case

Harry Potter inspired bookmark

Cute socks that I'll definitely be wearing on cosy reading days

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green - promotional bookmark

A postcard promoting Skylarks by Karen Gregory - this is already on my TBR shelf

I really enjoyed all the goodies in this box and it's well worth the money. Although I am not the biggest Fantasy book fan, I do have this big chunk of a book on my TBR shelf and will give it a try soon.

Look out for next month's unboxing! The theme is... Bad Girls!

G I V E A W A Y #3: Down Among The Sticks and Bones!

I listened to this series on Audible earlier this year and it is one of my favourites! I don't normally read fantasy but this series captured my heart.

Again, I ordered two copies and cannot cancel my order because it's already been dispatched!

RULES:

UK only
You pay postage costs
Email me (kazia.terry@happylittleblogger.co.uk)

I'll choose a winner on 1st June 2018

Book Review: The Girl in the Broken Mirror

4/5 stars!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Sexual assault and suicide

A gripping, contemporary story with strong female characters that explores the trauma of familial violence which teenage girls may face every day, whether as victims or bystanders. (From the publisher)

I loved the diversity in this book because I don't have much knowledge about Indian culture. There are many more books coming out that are about different cultures and backgrounds which I am excited about, especially in most recent years.

This book will break your heart over and over again. But there is a sprinkle of happiness and hope too.

I like the relationship between Jay and her Mother Neela. Neela has not kept strictly to Indian traditions but when they have to move in with distant relatives, she has no choice but to follow their rules. Jay finds it difficult to be without her Mother's constant attention like she had before the move. Aunty Vimala is the opposite of Neela, she believes in tradition. She has two sons who have quite different personalities and this makes the family dynamic unbalanced in a way that seems familiar and relatable.

This book has a constant tension running through it because the reader is unsure who committed this horrendous crime. There are many possibilities and each male character becomes a suspect. It is written in third person which allows us some scenes from Neela's point of view but mainly it is told through Jay's eyes.

Sita is a family friend and she is just a pure angel! I loved her since her first introduction and she helps Jay through the toughest time as she hits rock bottom. I couldn't control the tears then.

The story ties up nicely although it has left me with some unanswered questions. 

Book Review: Leah on the Offbeat

2/5 stars!

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Leah had an attitude problem throughout this whole book and her personality didn't relate to how we saw her in Simon vs which was a disappointment.

The storyline of Leah's Mum and boyfriend fizzled out really quickly and I thought it would be much more at the forefront of the story. Also Leah's sexuality (bisexual) is a main part of the story but we don't need to be reminded of it literally every other chapter.

I felt like there wasn't much focus on Leah's love for art or drumming. We don't see any pictures of her artwork or her blog posts. I also wanted more of Leah and her love interest. It felt like the ending was rushed because there was so much romance in those last chapters. How did Leah just get over herself that quickly and feel comfortable with her love interest?

There was a racist comment that upset Leah a lot even though it wasn't towards her. It felt like she kept repeating this and overreacted. The person that it was aimed at hadn't really been bothered because they get comments like that ALL the time. This wasn't really fleshed out and I feel like it was brushed under the carpet.

Did Leah save enough money for her drum kit? Did she sell any of her artwork? Who made the comment "Two girls kissing at prom" on Leah's blog?

It seemed too convenient that Abby happened to have a friend with an apartment on/near campus... I felt like their road trip to the college was unrealistic. However, I want to know if Leah does join their band or not. She felt much more like her character when Becky Albertali described the feeling when Leah is drumming. This is her passion but it wasn't explored very much at all.

Thank you to my friend Sophie who let me share all my feelings about this book and helped to make them cohesive enough for this blog post!

G I V E A W A Y #2: My Box Shaped Heart!

MY BOX SHAPED HEART BY RACHEL LUCAS (17 MAY 2018)

RULES:

UK only
You pay postage costs
Email me (kazia.terry@happylittleblogger.co.uk)

I am giving away this book as I ordered two copies by mistake.

I will choose a winner on 1st June 2018

Book Review: The Poet X

5/5 stars!

I was sent this as an ebook for honest review but didn't get to it before its publication date which is so unfortunate because I LOVED this book! I am glad that I read a physical copy though because the formatting is really fun and unusual.

This book follows Xiomara 'X' as she struggles to fit in with her Mother's strict rules about faith and wanting to have a voice of her own. X is from the Dominican Republic and some of the book is written in her native language.

The entire book is written in verse as X gets involved in her school's poetry club and her enjoyment of slam poetry evolves. X also struggles with the distance that is becoming more obvious between herself and her Twin brother. She feels guilty that she gave her Mother trouble ever since her birth. X's character development is so prominent throughout the book and I love how she changes but she is still herself at the heart.

Pages that stand out for me include 106/7, 109 and 198. Ms Galiano reminds me of my own English teacher through high school, she encourages X and realises that she is a good writer, she has some kind of talent.

Book Review: Simon VS the homosapiens agenda

5/5 stars!

We follow Simon as he emails an anonymous guy from his school only known as Blue. He has a tight friendship group of Nick, Leah and Abby. He is part of the school's drama performance of Oliver! and we see his personality shining through those scenes.

There is a lot of diversity in this book as Simon and Blue have a M/M romance. There are also characters of different cultures and backgrounds.

I love Becky's writing style and a rememberable quote is "White shouldn't be a default anymore than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a default."

#BUZZWORDATHON

Created by Kayla from BooksandLala, the theme of this read-a-thon is books with "Girl" in the title. This is my TBR for the read-a-thon which takes place between May 7 - May 13.

1. Girl in Pieces
2. The Girl In The Broken Mirror

I started reading Love, Hate and Other Filters yesterday, before I saw the announcement for the read-a-thon so I will be finishing that before starting these two books. I only have a small TBR because my primary focus is submitting my final assignment on May 24th.

Book Review: Girlhood by Cat Clarke

5/5 stars!

This is another Zoella Book Club 2017 pick and it is amazing!

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

This book follows a close group of girls at a boarding school while they struggle with the last year before (hopefully) leaving for university. This book focuses on how an outsider can upset the balance in your friendship group and whether this will bring you closer together and pull you apart.

The girls were all fleshed out really well and it was very clear from their personalities who was who. I love that their friendship is at the heart of this book rather than romance.

Harper had a twin sister, Jenna, who is at the forefront of her mind on a daily basis, however her death means Harper is left with a huge part of her life and identity missing. She now has to deal with the guilt she feels because she blames herself. She identifies as bisexual and even though this isn't a huge part of the storyline, it is good to see diversity between these characters.

Rowan is Harper's room mate in their remote boarding school in Scotland. She is a lesbian and everyone knows it. She is very loyal to her friends, however, this can also make her stubborn. I also loved Ama and Lily.

The new girl is Kirsty and she is hiding plenty of secrets. She becomes closest to Harper because they have a lot in common - both girls are grieving. However, Kirsty doesn't fit in because of her secrets and how she treats the other girls.

I loved how all the loose ends were tied up, it was emotional and heartwarming. I can't wait to read more from Cat Clarke!

Kazia

Book Review: A Quiet Kind of Thunder

5/5 stars!

I rated this book 5 stars and Sara Barnard continues to be my favourite author right now! This is basically an entire post of me gushing about my love for this book and Sara! I can't wait for her to write more books, I still have to read Goodbye, Perfect.

CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!

I made so many notes while reading this one because I loved it so much! I felt like I could relate to the main character Steffi more than I ever have before because she is a selective mute. She also suffers with anxiety.

The deaf representation in this book is amazing! I don't think I've ever read a book about deafness or that included British Sign Language. I have recommended this to my Step Mum as she is deaf and I would like to know if it is a good representation of how she lives her life in a silent world. (I am nervous about that though as there is a sex scene in this book - more on that later)

I love this quote "Little victories are everything in a world where worst case scenarios are on an endless loop in your head." p.78

The sibling relationships felt genuine and I love that Tem's little brother Davey wanted to be a fairy like Steffi's little sister Bell. I love that no one said he couldn't just because he's a boy. Not much was said about Clark's death although Steffi's parents are overprotective and don't want her to go to university even though (in my opinion) they should be building her up and encouraging her dreams. Having anxiety is bad enough and I know that going to university was extremely overwhelming for me but I had to go to get to where I am now.

At one point Steffi and Tem take selfies and I don't think enough YA books mention the use of mobile phones even though we all know that nearly everyone is attached to their phones in the real world.

I loved the one tiny scene that mentioned a girl in Steffi's class called Kasia! My name is so uncommon and to read about "me" is amazing! It's one of those things I really love...now to get personalised gifts with my name on... (That will be the day!)

The halloween party was so good! Rhys as a mime is genius! I didn't understand at first and then the realisation hit me and omg yesss!! It also meant that Steffi and Rhys could use sign language at the party and no one would think anything of it which is brilliant because drunk teens might not accept it so easily.

I love love love the sex scene when Rhys and Steffi go on their adventure to Edinburgh! It is not very common in YA books. It is also not like any sex scenes I have read about - it is truthful. The awkwardness, the exploration, the feelings that are shared. 

Kazia