Heart Full of Books

Review: Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Published on June 22, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige
Genre: Retelling
Published by: HarperCollins
Pages: 452 | 293
Format: Paperbacks
Rating: ★★★.5 | ★★.5

I don’t think I really need to explain why I wanted to read these books. The clue is all in the genre. The Wizard of Oz is one of my grandparents’ favourite films, Wicked is my favourite musical, and I’ve actually read the original for once, so I was really looking forward to see what was done to Oz to make it so terrible. At this point in the series, I think Wicked is a better retelling, and let me tell you why. Continue reading “Review: Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige” →

Review: Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Published on June 21, 2016June 13, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Genre: Contemporary, Middle-Grade
Published by: Puffin Books
Pages: 380
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★

I’ve seen this book in quite a few libraries recently, and I never bothered to pick it up until now because the cover seemed a little odd, and I thought because it was middle-grade that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I should know better than to judge a book by its cover, because Counting By 7s is a story I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

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Review: The Next Together by Lauren James

Published on June 20, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of Books2 Comments

The Next Together by Lauren James
Genre: Time Travel, Romance
Published by: Walker Books
Pages: 356
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★.5

We read The Next Together in preparation for a signing and panel Lauren James was doing alongside Alice Oseman, author of Radio Silence, and absolutely loved it! Described as a ‘reincarnation romance’, this book is sweet, action packed and always has a hint of mystery surrounding it that encourages you to keep turning the pages at the speed of light. So, without further ado, here are all the things we loved about The Next Together and why it should be the next book on your TBR list! Continue reading “Review: The Next Together by Lauren James” →

Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Published on June 19, 2016June 14, 2016 by Heart Full Of Books3 Comments

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Published by: Titan Books
Pages: 386
Format: e-book
Rating: ★★★★
Series: A Gathering of Shadows (#2)

Oh goodness. This book was AMAZING. *round of applause* THIS is what fantasy is SUPPOSE TO READ LIKE. No flimsy faux-badass girls, but an actual bad-ass girl. Lila and Kell will steal your heart and once you read A Darker Shade Of Magic you will never want to go on adventures with any one else. I read a chapter sample thing ages ago, but couldn’t really get into it. Now I’ve read the full book I realise that’s because there’s so much world building and gradual character introductions that it does take some dedication before you can really get into it, but if you stick with it you will get out what you put in!

This is not the kind of book you can read quickly, it’s the kind that needs to be savoured and loved till the final page and beyond.

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Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

Published on June 18, 2016May 4, 2017 by Heart Full Of Books2 Comments

Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Genre: Contemporary, Snobby
Published by: Little, Brown and Co.
Pages: 224
Format: e-book
Rating: ★.5

In the vain of me trying to read the novel versions of the TV shows I’m watching, (see my Pretty Little Liars review for the first instalment) I picked up Gossip Girl. We should also bare in mind that I’ve only watched five episodes, so know very little about the characters’ TV counterparts but what I can say about the book versions is this: Privileged, ungrateful and superficial. Continue reading “Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar” →

Review: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Published on June 17, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Contemporary
Published by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★

I’ve heard a lot about this author in the past, and I thought it was about time I read something by her. Everyone was hauling her latest book at BEA/BookCon this year, so it seemed like the perfect time. Now, everybody loves Speak and Wintergirls best, but this was one of the only LHA books my library had, so why not go for one that nobody talks about! I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. I enjoyed the writing style, but the story wasn’t was I was expecting int he slightest. From the blurb it sounded like a mystery/ thriller but instead I got something completely different.

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Review: The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Published on June 16, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of Books1 Comment

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
Genre: Realistic Dystopian
Published by: Indigo
Pages: 424
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5

I was super excited to get my hands on The Walled City considering Wolf by Wolf was one of my absolute favourites of the year. However, this book has showed me that just because you gelled with an author on one of their books, doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to like them all. I put my distaste of this book mostly down to the subject matters – it’s not exactly what I would describe as enjoyable.

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Review: Rite of Redemption by Sarah Negovetich

Published on June 15, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

Rite of Redemption by Sarah Negovetich
Genre: Dystopian
Published by: Self-published
Pages: 242
Format: ARC e-book
Rating: ★★★
Note: We received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been such a lovely experience getting to finally finish the Acceptance series. Sarah contacted us to read the first book, Rite of Rejection back when our YouTube channel had under 1,000 subcribers and it meant so much that a self-published author thought that our audience was big enough to share her work with. Since then, Sarah’s finished the series and we’ve got over 5,000 subcribers, so we’ve all come a long way since the debut, especially the characters of the series. So, without further ado, let’s discuss. Continue reading “Review: Rite of Redemption by Sarah Negovetich” →

Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Published on June 14, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

Far From You by Tess Sharpe
Genre: Mystery, Romance, LGBTQ
Published by: Indigo
Pages: 343
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★

Upon first picking up Far From You, I thought I was about to read another YA thriller mystery similar to all of the ones I’ve read in the past year. (I don’t know how I’ve read so many, it’s just happened!) When I mentioned this book in a library check out haul, someone told me it was so much more than my mystery/thriller assumptions, and I’m really glad I gave it a chance. Because what I was not expecting was the LGBTQ aspect, and without it this would’ve been a very cliche story.

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Series Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Published on June 13, 2016June 11, 2016 by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

https://heartfullofbooks.com/2016/06/13/series-review-across-the-universe-by-beth-revis/

Across the Universe, A Million Suns, Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance. Published by: Razorbill
Pages: 398, 404, 369 respectively. Format: e-book
Rating: ★★.5

The Across the Universe series seemed to be one of the staples of everyone’s shelves on the booktube community when we first joined almost three years ago. And I’m sure the majority of you will have heard of this series, if not for it’s content, then for the widely contested cover change. DUN DUN DUN. Not many people are talking about this series anymore, but we decided to give it ago anyway, because if it was popular once, then maybe it could be again. Unfortunately, I don’t think this will be the case. The whole series is very typical of what the YA market was like a a few years ago. Full of adventure, insta-love, and poorly explained enemies. Had we read it when it was first popular maybe we would’ve enjoyed the series, but instead we found ourselves slogging through for the sake of this review.

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