War Horse review

When I read it: 25th October - 15th December 2014

Rating: 5/5

It is now midnight and I have finished the book with a heavy heart and tears threatening to come pouring out alongside my emotions. 
I have watched the movie a few times prior to reading the actual novel but if I am being honest, I feel like there was some better moving moments in the movie than the book. 

What I do love about this book is a few things; one would be the perspective the narrative takes, an unusual one at that, the narrative of Joey the horse. It makes the whole story a lot more intense and we see the whole thing from a sort of unbiased view. 

It really takes a lot out of you as you try to keep your emotions in order and keep up with the story. 
As a fan of war shows, movies and books this has certainly quenched my thirst of one of my favourite genres. 

Although, a children's book, in my opinion, this is certainly a good read for any age!

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S. review

When I read it: 10th August - 23rd September 2014

Rating: 5/5

“What begins at the water shall end there, and what ends there shall once more begin.” 

I find it indescribably hard to start writing this review with no idea why it is that way.
I'm ashamed to say, that the reason the book first grabbed my attention was the images I found of it really appealed to me, especially the extra material provided as part of the story. That kind of child-like story feature I remember oh too well, now matured as a partner of such brilliance of literature.
When the story began, I was perplexed with the format the two stories were told. It had so seemed too much to take in, but as time went by reading, I got a grasp of it and I certainly could not put the book down. 
Jen and Eric are certainly two protagonists I can really relate to, which makes the novel all that more enticing. If you're similar a reader to me, you would start to get interested into their story a lot faster than the story of Ship of Theseus. Later, as the book unfolds you'll grow to love S. and Sola and their undeniable passion of love. Although, their romance is untraditionally sung, their love shows the reader that it's more than having your SO right there, physically, to love them. It's the idea of them, it's the way they talk to you between the lines and margins of a book, how you imagine it's them walking past you on the street, how you relate them to a song or a character. Certainly, their story is the best inspiration for anyone that is in love.
Soon after reading much of the book, you dwell on the fact that Ship of Theseus is not real, it's such a great piece of literature, full of motivational, philosophical quotes that it feels like there was an author out there with the pseudonym of 'V.M. Straka' and I still, after finishing the novel hours earlier believe it has to be based on something and their written materials, whether published or unpublished.

I honestly do not know why some people don't like this book, maybe it's the format, the way they don't like the 'margin characters' or the actual story of Ship of Theseus. As always, there is never a book without it's critics.
Even so, I would recommend this book, its extra glorious wonders and the world it creates and morphs around you. 
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Rites of Passage review

When I read it: 11th September - 17th September 2014

Rating: 5/5

Honestly?
I had made too many assumptions before attempting to read this book. I feared that it would be another love story, using a military themed mask to cover just another romance novel. I was wrong and oh, I am so glad I was. 
Sam McKenna joined a -previously- all boys military academy because of a dare her late brother assigned her with. If a military school wasn't hard enough, she was one of the first females to undergo it's exercises and the treatment of the other cadets. 
As a girl obsessed with war movies and all things related, I had a lot of expectations. 
Not only that but as my brother is currently a cadet, my mum was also a cadet when she was younger and me planning to apply for the army... Not only was I expecting the information described in the novel to be on-point but I wanted to see what I was getting myself into. 
Like I said before I was worrisome about the love story but there was a good balance of romance and the actual works of the academy going through the pages that I was not disappointed. As any girl would, I fell in love with Stamm, and as a sister, I wanted Jonathan to understand what his poor sister was going through. 
If you want to read more of a romance novel I would recommend Nicholas Sparks' books, they have only a thin trace about war and the military despite some of the books basing it around those themes.

I am hoping that other authors would come and look at this book and make something inspired from it, because it certainly is an emotional roller-coaster that I would love to go through again.

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Safe Haven review

When I read it: 30th June - 28th August 2014

Rating: 4/5

** spoiler alert ** Like the Nicholas Sparks book I read prior to this, 'Message in a bottle', it has also been a slow start. I think I can safely assume I will be a slow reader from the beginning and pick up the pace as the story unfolds for all of Sparks' books.

I have seen the movie before starting this book but my original plan was to do it the other way round, the reason this didn't occur was because I found the beginning simply boring and hard to get into. All the introductory chapters in books bore me and usually put me off entirely, but as I have previously seen the movie I knew there were excitable scenes to be revealed so I kept going, hopes high.

The story tells about a woman named Erin her alias Katie, because of the past she's running away from. She was in an abusive relationship and finally found the perfect moment to escape. Obviously she finds her safe haven, this including what she really never had before, friends, a loving family and a gentle partner. As expected, the drunk abusive husband of her past drops everything in his wretched life to go find her and he succeeds.

Once you really get to grips with the story and characters you start to feel warm to Katie and feel the abuse from her shoes. The literature is really something powerful to make even you as an outside being feel terrified of Kevin and his inability to see any sense.

What I got from Kevin, if anyone has read American Psycho, is the same personality type as Patrick Bateman. The way he repeats himself, the obsession with cleanliness, his obsession to beat and finally kill his once loved wife. We get to see an inside peak of his distorted mind and it's really something rare to do perfectly for a third-person POV which would naturally makes the reader feel objective but this story on the contrary still makes you feel like you're in the characters' heads.

If you're a Sparks fan, this is definitely one of his finest works.
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Murder On The Orient Express (Book 10, Hercule Poirot series) review

When I read it: 15th August - 18th August 2014
Rating: 5/5

Another book I have skimmed through before for studies but was not quite interested enough to actually 'read' it. This time round I read out of leisure and oh my, it was superb, I wish I appreciated it more few years back when I had to study it for an essay in A Level. The famous Agatha Christie lives up to her name and reputation, the novel was certainly an amazing mystery that I would not expect any other author to do any better. She keeps on reeling you in, when you just about tied up the knot of who you think did the murder, she throws you off course and gives you yet another handful of evidence to prove you wrong and that in fact, it was someone else. All in all, you don't pick up whom it is until right at the finish line, and let me say, that's the best way to write a murder mystery.
Naturally, I came to the assumption of whom did it just before the end as I have seen many remakes and parodies of the Orient Express that I couldn't really forget it. 
If you love mystery and a novel where it gives you a chance to ponder on the evidence and accusations, and who done. This is the no. 1 book for you!

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The Maze Runner (Book 1, The Maze Runner series) review

When I read it: 2nd August - 10th August 2014
Rating: 4/5

Firstly, when I heard about this book and heard people's interest in said book, they always seemed to mention the first of the series is a slow read, so I had that assumption in mind while reading. On the contrary, personally I didn't find it slow or at least, as slow as I found many previous books I read in the past. It was in fact interesting from page one to page 371 (especially page 371). 
I did pick up on a lot of the slang they used quite fast and despite myself found I have said them a couple of times in the real world. I love how the protagonist, Thomas goes through the same disorientation as we do as we go through the book with all the new words, the setting it's taking place in, what's happening and so forth that we don't find in most dystopian novels these days. 
What put me down a little was the little bit of repetition and the over-use of catchphrases but that was a small disappointment in comparison to all the praises I give to this book. 

I agree that for some this book maybe tiresome to read from the beginning but I promise it picks up speed near the end where the chapters get shorter and you'll end up loving the whole "shuckin" thing.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3, Harry Potter series) review

When I read it: 10th July - 17th July 2014

Rating: 5/5

First time I read the series, it was around the time the premiere of Half-Blood prince, and yes sadly I am a late-comer to the amazing series. When I first read this book I didn't enjoy it as much as I did now. I'm not sure what it is but I fell in love with Prisoner of Azkaban. The previous books paled in comparison as is enjoyed reading deeper into the story with the background tale of the Marauders, and it was a fascinating story to begin with. There is a lot of context and characters within the novel that I wished they could of added in the movie. (I have no idea how I felt the first few times reading the book but over the years I have grown to love Harry Potter more and more to also care more.) 

Overall, I also would recommend someone to read the series as it's a true enjoyment and reminds you of so many good childhood memories, especially if you started reading or watching the movies when they first appeared.

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Paper Towns review

When I read it: 4th July - 9th July 2014
Rating: 4/5

I read The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska prior to this book so needless to say I expected it to feel like I was reading the other two books but I didn't. The beginning of the book is hard to get into, I was almost getting into a reading slump and breaking my chain of finished books by giving up on this one but..BUT! Unlike my younger self who would of given up, I didn't, and I am so glad I didn't. The novel starts off slow and if you also have trouble in getting into it I recommend that you just keep reading as when you get to the second part of the book things start to get interesting! The ending or mostly the whole chunk of the third part of the book was my favourite, as the second had a lot of repetition and it frustrated me but I loved that in some crazy way. 

This book taught me a lot of things, and as I finished in the literal middle of the night, overly exhausted but with all my might I could not put the book down until I finished to it's 100% completion. I felt the meaning of the book it's was spectacular and it made me think through the night and through the morning about how we look at people and how we assume what their life is like in a certain way that they become no longer human and I can't stop thinking in that manner, and let me tell you, that's exactly what a book should do to you.

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Only Time Will Tell (Book 1, The Clifton Chronicles) review

When I read it: 24th June - 4th July 2014
Rating: 4/5

** spoiler alert **

I began this book thinking it would be mainly about a young boy attempting to answer the mystery of his lost father much like a detective, and amidst of this search having to decide whether to go to university or join up with the military to support his country. This was all in my head as I read the blurb on the back, turns out, the story that is insisted in the blurb doesn't really happen until 3/4 of the book has been read. In the beginning of the story it felt slow to me and if it continued in that pace I would of given the book less stars, but as I gotten to the part where Harry discovers what happened to his dad it started to pick up speed and let me tell you, it didn't slow down from there.

As we read the novel, we grow up with the characters, especially Harry, Giles and one of his sisters, Emma. This of course made it harder for me to let go as the story kills off a few memorable characters. 

When I got to the part where there were about a few pages left and the story was still unfolding as if there were another chapter, I feared it would end with a harsh cliffhanger with no sequel, but as I read right to the last word, gripping onto it waiting for an answer I find out that this author is a complete genius leaving all the nasty bits we have been waiting for right to the very last minute giving meaning to have another book to continue the tale, unlike most novels these days where the sequels being published just for a little bit more cash. 

This story is amazing and I hope the next will do as much justice! I'm just really proud to say that my mum had a chance to meet the author and get two signed copies, and without that I wouldn't of come across this masterpiece.

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Allegiant (Book 3, Divergent series) review

When I read it: 24th June - 2nd July 2014
Rating: 5/5

** spoiler alert **

  I just finished the book a moment ago, and I am too eager to write my review! 

I either really love or really hate the last book of any series but Allegiant is definitely one that I really love. It mixes good humour and the painstaking feeling of loss and war. Only to this year have I started reading books where the main protagonist or one of the main, die and it makes the story much more realistic and appealing for me, not the 'Hollywood' type books I am so use to reading. I also adore the switch of perspective from Tobias and Tris every chapter or so, it was challenging to get use to but I really like how it made it harder for me to believe about Tris' passing. 

All in all it was an amazing conclusion, and of course there were flaws but with a good book there has to be aspects we hate so that we can love.See my other reviews and what I'm reading on my Goodreads account by clicking here.

New books, new blog.

Hello blogging world, I'm Maria and as you can tell  by the theme of this newly-born blog, I am in fact, a huge bibliophile. 

I just wanted to introduce what I have got in stock for future posts. I am hopeful that there will be a lot of reviewing, ratings, essays if I really am passionate or have a lot to say for a certain novel. 

There isn't really much else to say, but I do hope you enjoy your stay!