Top Ten Tuesday: All-Time Favourite Book Covers

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday post. This is a weekly feature that’s hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is actually ‘All-time favourite books from X genre’ and I was really excited to share my favourites but then I realised that I talk about my favourites all the time and you’re probably sick of hearing about the same books over and over again. I was fully intending to skip this week’s TTT but then inspiration struck when I couldn’t stop raving about how beautifully packaged The Thousandth Floor is. So my topic for today’s list is “all-time favourite book covers”. I also happen to really love all of these books on my list so take this as my list of recommendations!

1. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Since this whole list is inspired by this book, it had to be at the top of my list. I love everything about this cover and how this book is packaged. It has a beautiful smooth texture and a beautiful embossed title. The spine is also amazing and is probably my favourite part of this whole book. The endpapers are also stunning and finally, when you undress the book, the naked hardcover has the title on it in beautiful gold lettering.

2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This is my favourite book of all time and there really isn’t any part of it that I don’t absolutely love. The cover is stunning. I love the colours and that the cover is slightly shimmery. It’s so beautiful!!

3. The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

This novel is one of my favourite reads of 2016 so far. I love the colours on the cover, as well as the feathers and the branches. I just think that it’s very beautifully simplistic.

4. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

This cover is just stunning. The illustration of the bird is so detailed and I could spend hours and hours just staring at it and trying to figure it out. I have the Australian paperback edition but I’ve seen the UK hardcover addition and omg it’s BEAUTIFUL.

5. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

The picture I’ve included doesn’t do this cover justice. It’s absolutely beautiful in real life and the debossed lines on the cover, as well as on the naked hardback is not only beautiful to the eyes but wonderful to touch. This is my favourite YA novel of all time and I’m so happy that it has an insanely pretty cover too.

6. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

I love not only the illustrations on the cover, which are so stunning and detailed, but also the texture of the cover. I have the hardcover edition and it’s got a wonderful matte cover and I love touching it so much!

7. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I love the covers of all three books in this trilogy but I had to mention this one because it’s the first. I think the covers of Hollow City and Library of Souls are really mysterious and unique but this first book just has a really iconic cover. I love that it’s greyscale and that it’s just so peculiar!

8. The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

I mean, just look at this cover. Just look at it! The colours are so pretty and there’s nothing that I can say about it that you can’t already see.

9. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

What I love most about this book is the texture of it. The black hole on the cover is stitched and I love feeling the raised bits of thread. I don’t like that it’s not centred but other than that, it’s perfection. I also really love the debossed black hole on the naked hardcover.

10. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

I love the font and the embossed lettering of the title. When I first got this book, I couldn’t stop feeling it. I also really like the bottle and the ship. I just think that it’s a beautifully designed cover!

Your Future Book Tag

I saw this tag on Josie’s Book Corner and it was such a fun tag to read that I knew I had to do it! Check out her post because she had a blast doing it and I had an amazing time reading about her fictional future! Josie tagged all her readers so I’m considering myself tagged!

So the rules: I have to pick five books from my bookshelf and answer two questions for each book to determine my future. You’ll see how it works!

I chose five books that all have a big cast of characters so we’ll see how this goes… I also put them into alphabetical order by title so there’s no cheating here!

Book 1: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Book 2: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Book 3: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Book 4: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Yes, I chose this instalment because Rowan is in it)
Book 5: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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QUESTIONS

1. Open Book 1 (Clockwork Angel) to a random page. Look at the first word on the page. If it’s less than 5 letters, you will go to college. If it’s more than 5 letters, you won’t go to college.

Page 246 (US hardcover): The first word on this page is “fingers”, which is longer than 5 letters. I guess I’m not going to college? Except I already did and graduated. *hugs my testamur plaque* You will not take this away from me!

2. Open Book 1 (Clockwork Angel) to a random page. The first name you see. Think of that person’s job – that will be your job. (Note: Is that person still in school? You will be a teacher. You don’t know that person’s job? You will be unemployed.)

Page 95 (US hardcover): The first name is Will! Yes, I got my bae! So I guess my occupation is Shadowhunter? I wonder what that translates to in the real world… whatever, I’m happy with demon hunter!

3. Open Book 2 (Miss Peregrine’s) to a random page. The first name you see will be the person you will marry.

Page 136 (paperback): Millard! Okay this might be a problem. Millard is the invisible boy in the book so I might have a hard time being married to him. But everyday would be so much fun. He’s also super knowledgeable about everything and loves books so I’m sure we’d get along!

4. Open Book 2 (Miss Peregrine’s) to a random page. The first name you see will be your best friend.

Page 118 (paperback): This is actually a photograph and not a page of text.. but it’s a photo of Hugh! I absolutely love Hugh and I’d love to be besties with him. He has the ability to control bees and store them in his stomach – it’s weird I know. But he has an awesome scene in Hollow City, which was my favourite scene of the whole book.

5. Open Book 3 (My Life Next Door) to a random page. Look at the second word on the page. Count how many letters that word has, remove two letters. That’s how many children you will have.

Page 252 (US hardcover): I got the word “campaign”, which has 7 letters. So I’m having 5 kids in the future. I don’t know about that… I think 2 or 3 is a good number. 5 is probably too many.

6. How many children did you have? Open Book 3 (My Life Next Door) as many times to see who your children will be. If you have no children, open the book once. The first name you see will be something of your choice (e.g. neighbour, father-in-law etc).

Page 32 (US hardcover): Patsy. Omg I love Patsy! I totally want her to be my daughter.
Page 54: George. YES! George is probably my favourite of all of Jase’s siblings so I’d be stoked to have him as a son. He’s pretty much a walking encyclopedia and is totally adorable! ❤
Page 104: Nan. I really didn’t like Nan in this book. She was a terrible friend to Samantha and I couldn’t really stand her. Hopefully she’s a better daughter.
Page 120: Jase. I wanted Jase to be my hubby, not my son T_T. But he’d be the most helpful and caring son in the world!
Page 373: Duff. Another one of the Garrett siblings. He doesn’t really have a big role in the book so I don’t know very much about him, but welcome to the family, Duff!

7. Book 4 (Queen of Shadows). Where does this book take place? This will be the place where you will live.

I don’t know how I feel about living in Rifthold… I’m a city girl so I’m glad that at least I’ll be in a busy, city location, rather than in the middle of the forest.

8. Open Book 4 (Queen of Shadows) to a random page. The first name you see… does this person have a car, bike, etc.? That will be your transportation. (Note: teleporting, broom etc. is allowed. If your character has no means of transportation that you know of, you will be using public transport.)

Page 268 (UK paperback): The first name is Manon! YAY, I get to ride a wyvern! I’m sure Abraxos will be super gentle and won’t try to throw me off. Manon might get angry at me for stealing him away though 😀

9. Does Book 5 (Shadow and Bone) have animals in it? Pick your favourite animal to be your pet. No animals in the book? You will have no pets.

I don’t really recall there being any animals in this book. Oh I know! There are horses. I guess it’ll be nice to have a pet horse. Abraxos might not like that though.

10. Open Book 5 (Shadow and Bone) to a random page. The first name you see will be your enemy.

Page 222 (US hardcover): The first name on this page is Ivan. He was a bit of a dick so I don’t mind him being my enemy. Also, I think I can take him! I have a wyvern after all.

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SUMMARY OF MY FUTURE

I am apparently going to give up my hard-earned degree to become a Shadowhunter and kill demons. I guess that’s a pretty good excuse for a career change. Psychology is way too mundane (see what I did there?) anyway. My best friend will be Hugh and all of his bees. I will marry Millard the Invisible Man and we will have 5 kids: Patsy, George, Nan, Jase and Duff. We will live in Rifthold and our mode of transportation will be wyverns! I have claimed Abraxos, who may or may not fight with/eat my pet horse. My archnemesis will be Ivan, but since Millard is invisible, I’m sure he can just stab him to death with a concealed knife. Or maybe Abraxos can just tear him apart. I’m also a Shadowhunter so I think I have the training to take him on. And as a last resort, Hugh’s bees can sting him to death.

I guess it’s a pretty good life after all!

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I TAG: EVERYONE

This was such a fun tag to do and I hope you all have a great time reading it. I tag all of you because you’re missing out on the fun if you don’t do it!!

Wrap Up: October 2015

Hello everybody. Wow, the month has flown by pretty quickly! Where did all the time go? Before we get into what I read in October, I should share my exciting news that I announced last week. I am now a co-blogger at Happy Indulgence! Head over there to see more from me! My first post (a review of The Next Together) is now up!

I had a fabulous reading month in October. I read some pretty high quality books and I’m now 30 books away from my 2015 reading goal of 200 books! I think 15 books in November and December sounds doable (I’ve already finished my first book of November, this morning at 2am!)

Let’s get started with what books I read this month. As always, these appear in the order that I read them throughout the month and my reviews are linked.

1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs 

A wonderfully mysterious and creepy book about a cast of peculiar children with peculiar powers living in the 1940s. It contains some amazing black and white photographs and beautiful writing!

2. Hollow City – Ransom Riggs 

The second book in the Miss Peregrine’s trilogy. This was my favourite book in the trilogy and definitely was not a ‘filler’ book in the series. It had me dying to read the next book.

3. Library of Souls – Ransom Riggs 

The final book in the Miss Peregrine’s trilogy. This was action-packed and thrilling, and everything I wanted this last book to be. Has a completely resolved ending and I’m sad that the series is over.

4. Zeroes – Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti 

The first book in a new series about a group of kids with special abilities. It was exciting and filled with action. I fell in love with some of the characters and cannot wait to read more about them in the next book.

5. A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness 

This was a really dark and emotional read for me. It had a wonderful story with beautiful writing.. and it gave me all the feels.

6. Chewy Noh and the Fall of the Mu-Dang – Tim Learn 

The first book in a middle-grade series by an indie author. This book features a Korean main character with a unique superpower and how he deals with his bullies!

7. Chewy Noh and the Phantasm of Winter – Tim Learn 

The second book in the Chewy Noh series. It did a great job of blending in Korean mythology and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Korean culture.

8. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo 

The first non-fiction book I’ve read in a while – this book had lots of great tips and tricks on storage and decluttering.

9. A Little Something Different – Sandy Hall 

This was an extremely disappointing new adult contemporary. It was written from 14 different perspectives and was done quite unsuccessfully. I had many problems with the plot, characters and writing.

10. Outspoken – Lora Richardson 

This is probably the best self-published novel I’ve ever written. It was an incredible YA contemporary debut about finding your own voice.

11. Ice Like Fire – Sara Raasch 

The second book in the Snow Like Ashes trilogy, this book fell a little bit flat for me. There wasn’t very much that happened plotwise, and many of the characters went through some massive changes.

12. The Next Together – Lauren James 

A unique blend of contemporary, sci-fi, mystery and historical fiction. This book follows two characters that are reborn over and over, but end up together each time. It was filled with little notes and email exchanges and I thought it was a great debut novel.

13. Illuminae – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 

The first book in a sci-fi trilogy, Illuminae is written completely as a collection of classified materials. The formatting and graphics in the book were amazing and it was a unique reading experience.

14. The Billionaire’s Forbidden Desire – Nadia Lee 

It’s been a while since I’ve read an adult romance book and this one caught my eye as I was browsing through the iBooks new releases. It was good but had too many sex scenes for my liking.

15. The Lake House – Kate Morton 

This was my favourite book of the month. It’s a fantastic mystery, with the most beautiful writing and very realistic characters. I also loved the historical elements of the book and really enjoyed the 1930s Cornwall setting.

16. Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo 

The first book in the Grisha trilogy, Shadow and Bone didn’t really wow me. It has some interesting characters and a world that I enjoyed reading about, but I found it to be a little bit lacking. A full review will be up soon.

This month I did four Top Ten Tuesday posts:

• 06-10-15: Ten Books That I Should Have Quit
• 13-10-15: Ten Author Duos I’d Love to See Write a Book Together
• 20-10-15: Ten Dinner Dates I Want a Book Genie to Grant Me
• 27-10-15: Ten Halloween Book Recommendations

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Thanks for visiting. Did you read any of these books this month and what did you think of it? What was your favourite book of October?

Pastry Book Tag

I have the biggest sweet tooth, so when Jesse @ Books at Dawn tagged me to do the Pastry Book Tag, I just had to do it. I was so excited that I even modified my usual tag header into a pastry-themed one.

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CROISSANT: NAME A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT EVERYONE (INCLUDING YOU) LOVES

Is there anybody out there who actually doesn’t like The Infernal Devices?! I love this series so, so much. Clockwork Princess is probably my favourite series finale ever!

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MACARON: NAME A BOOK THAT WAS HARD TO GET THROUGH BUT WORTH IT AT THE END

Man… this book.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara was amazing but my heart suffered such a beating. This novel gave me so many feels and I just felt emotionally drained after each chapter. It was also a 720 page book so it took me forever to get through it.

But it was completely worth it because A Little Life has become one of my favourite books of all time. It’s truly beautiful.

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VOL-AU-VENT: NAME A BOOK THAT YOU THOUGHT WOULD BE AMAZING BUT FELL FLAT

I was expecting a lot of great things from I Was Here by Gayle Forman but unfortunately, it fell a little bit short. Just One Day is one of my favourite YA books, and I also loved her If I Stay duology, so I thought I Was Here would blow my mind. It wasn’t a terrible book by any means – I still gave it 3 stars – but I was just expecting a lot more from it.

I just found the plot to be a little bit lacking and I don’t think the issue of teen suicide was dealt with well enough. I also wasn’t a fan of the romance.

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PAIN AU CHOCOLAT: NAME A BOOK THAT YOU THOUGHT WOULD BE ONE THING BUT TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING ELSE

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella was one that I was pleasantly surprised by. Going into the book, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to connect with the main character, who’s only 14 years old. But I ended up loving Audrey’s voice and really connected with her.

I was kind of worried that the anxiety aspects of the book wouldn’t be handled well but I was so wrong about that. I was also a bit wary of the book because I thought it would be a ‘love cures all’ kind of story but I didn’t find that to be the case at all.

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PROFITEROLE: NAME A BOOK OR SERIES THAT DOESN’T GET ENOUGH ATTENTION

I read the Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children series recently and my mind was blown by how great it was! I also have reviews for Hollow City and Library of Souls.

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CROQUEMBOUCHE: NAME A BOOK OR SERIES THAT’S EXTREMELY COMPLEX

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch has such a grand and complex world. There are 8 kingdoms in this world – 4 are Season kingdoms that only experience one season all year round; the other 4 are Rhythm kingdoms that experience all four seasons. The magic system is also really complex and will be explored further in Ice Like Fire, I’m sure. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

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NAPOLEON: NAME A MOVIE OR TV SHOW BASED OFF A BOOK THAT YOU LIKED BETTER THAN THE BOOK ITSELF

This is an interesting one. I can’t think of a movie adaptation that I thought was better than the book. And I don’t really watch a lot of TV (I mainly watch Japanese dramas and variety shows). But one that sticks out in my mind is Gossip Girl.

I read the Gossip Girl books by Cecily von Zeigesar about a year or two before the TV show came out and my 14 year old self thought they were really good. But the TV show is sooo much better than the book series. I’m glad it deviated from the books.

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EMPANADA: NAME A BOOK THAT WAS BITTERSWEET

I don’t have an image of empanadas being bittersweet. To me, they’re just awesome, but we’ll roll with it.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera was a book that I gave 4.5 stars to. But I thought the first third of the book was just boring. I didn’t like the characters and didn’t connect with any of them and I was really close to quitting the book. But it got exponentially better after the 100 page mark, and the end of the book gave me so many feels. I ugly cried for a really long time.

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KOLOMPEH: NAME A BOOK OR SERIES THAT TAKES PLACE SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN YOUR HOME COUNTRY

Pretty much every book is set in a country other than Australia so I had a lot of options for this one. I decided to go for something a little different and not choose something set in the US or the UK.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is set in 17th century Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This is the only book that I’ve read that’s set in 17th century Amsterdam and I found the setting and the whole time period to be fascinating! I learnt so much about Dutch history from this book and I thought it was a wonderful read.

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PATE A CHOUX: NAME A FOOD FROM A BOOK OR SERIES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY

I was not creative with this at all but I couldn’t think of anything.

Because this is a pastry/sweets challenge, I decided to go with all of the cookies and cakes that Lara-Jean from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and PS. I Still Love You. All the baked goods that were mentioned in this duology made me so hungry!

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I TAG:

• Aentee @ Read at Midnight
• Alyssa @ Alyssa is Reading
• Caroline @ Beuler Book Review
• CW @ Read Think Ponder (because I want to see your tea cup art! – no pressure)
• JM @ Book Freak Revelations
• Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts
• Josie @ Josie’s Book Corner
• Kelly @ Dancing Through The Pages
• Summer @ Xingsings
• Trisha-Ann @ The Bookgasm Blog

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Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Author Duos I’ve Love To See Write A Book Together

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is author collaborations I’d love to see. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the team at The Broke and The Bookish. I feel like I chose a lot of authors who have similar writing styles to pair together, instead of being creative and choosing vastly different authors. But oh well. Why change things up when they work?

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1. Jandy Nelson & Gayle Forman

Coincidentally this was the example that Jamie from The Broke and The Bookish gave for this week’s prompt. I agreed so much with it! I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson is my favourite YA book, and the Just One Day/Year duology by Gayle Forman is also one of my firm favourites. I would love to see a collaboration between them. It would have the most beautiful writing!

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2. Tahereh Mafi & Ransom Riggs

This is kind of cheating because I still haven’t read the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi… (I did recently read the Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children trilogy by Ransom Riggs though). I just had to put this down as a collaboration though because they’re a married couple. I think they’d work so well together and it would just be an awesome time!

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3. Cassandra Clare & Rick Riordan

Cheating again because I haven’t read anything by Uncle Rick yet. Sorry! I will get onto that mission soon. One day I will be caught up. One day.

A while ago when I was at a Cassie Clare event, she mentioned that she absolutely loves Rick Riordan. So for Cassie’s sake, I’d love to see them get together and write a fantasy series!

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4. Jenny Han & Becky Albertalli

Jenny Han and Becky Albertalli both write the sweetest books! I mean there are cookies and baked goods on almost every page of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and there are Oreos in Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Yup, I want this collaboration solely because of food. I have a sweet tooth okay?! Who can resist cookies?

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5. Patrick Ness & Maggie Stiefvater

I’ve only read one Patrick Ness book (as I’m writing this up I am reading my second, A Monster Calls), but I’ve been told by many that he’s a bit of a literary genius. Maggie Stiefvater is a jack of all trades and a genius herself.

What happens when two geniuses come together to write a book? Best. Book. Ever. Undoubtedly.

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6. Sarah J. Maas & Sara Raasch

The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch are two of my favourites. They’ve both got AMAZING worlds and some fierce female protagonists. I’d love to see them come together and create another epic world and charming characters. Plus they’re both young and they could be besties (coz I’m totally in a position to decide this).

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7. David Levithan & Patrick Ness

So remember what I said about Patrick Ness being a literary genius? To me, David Levithan is a literary genius. I’ve loved every single one of his books that I’ve read. They’re both incredible writers and I think they could come together and write a fantastic diverse book. It would have great writing and can you imagine the feels you would get? (coz feels are totally additive like that)

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8. Maggie Stiefvater & Holly Black

Maggie Stiefvater is a really quirky writer and her books have a really great paranormal/creepy vibe (speaking from my experience with the Shiver trilogy and what I know about The Raven Cycle). When I read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, I kind of felt the same vibe. They both write paranormal books set in creepy small towns.

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9. Ransom Riggs & Marissa Meyer

I think this would be a really cool collaboration! I LOVE Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles and I also love Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. I would love to see a sci-fi series (maybe another fairytale retelling?) featuring peculiar children with special abilities. Or maybe the peculiar children from Miss Peregrine’s can time travel to the future?! I want this!

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10. Sarah J. Maas & Susan Dennard

I think this collaboration is already happening actually. If you weren’t aware Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard are besties. It would be awesome to write with your best friend. I think they’d bring out the best in each other and they probably know each other so well that their book would be super seamless and cohesive. Plus the writing process would be so much fun!

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Do you agree with any of these collaborations? Which authors would you like to see write a book together? And which released collaborations do you love and recommend?

Review: Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: September 22, 2015
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 1594748403
Pages: 461
Goodreads || Book Depository

MY THOUGHTS

This review doesn’t contain spoilers for the first two books in this trilogy, so feel free to stay if you want to hear my thoughts on what I think of this finale to the trilogy! I also have reviews on Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children and Hollow City. I’ve put the synopsis for Library of Souls at the end of this review so you won’t be spoiled accidentally 🙂

I thought Library of Souls was an amazing finale to the Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children series. There was action on every page and I just found it to be very fast-paced and engaging. I finished this 460 page book in just two sittings. There were so many great things about this final instalment and it was definitely just as enjoyable as the first two books. It wasn’t as creepy and eerie as the first two books – it’s more dangerous and action-packed – but just as good!

First, let’s talk about the plot. Just like the first two books, Library of Souls starts off with a bang. We have an epic action scene from the very first chapter and it was one of my favourite parts of the book. It was extremely exciting to see our main character, Jacob, learn about and embrace his abilities, and it was even more exciting to see him put them to use. As with Hollow City, this third instalment keeps up a consistent level of action and excitement that had my heart racing for most of this book. The climax had me on the edge of my seat and the last 150 pages were so incredibly intense and amazing that I just devoured it. The only thing that I didn’t enjoy about the plot was that the twist was a little bit predictable. The little hints that we received weren’t as subtle as they were in Miss Peregrine’s and Hollow City so I had kind of expected it. It just didn’t have the same shock factor that the first two books had.

Another thing that I missed in this book were our cast of regular characters. I had enjoyed them so much in the first two books and I really missed their presence and their idiosyncrasies in Library of Souls. The novel definitely got better for me when they finally appeared in the second half of this book. I did enjoy the addition of some new characters though and they filled the void I had in my heart 😀

I really loved the intricate world that Ransom Riggs has created. We get to learn a lot more about time loops and time travel in this book and I think some of the lingering questions I had were answered in Library of Souls. I also loved the idea of the Panloopticon and thought it was extremely interesting. The nerd in me was loving the Panopticon reference and I also love that Ransom Riggs incorporated the inventor of the Panopticon, Jeremy Bentham, into his story (as a pretty major character as well)!

As with the first two books, I loved the setting and world. In Library of Souls, we’re taken to the dirty slums of Victorian England, which is one of my favourite, favourite, FAVOURITE time periods. The photographs acted as wonderful visual aids that enhanced the image of the setting in my head. I thought the photographs were so wonderfully used in this book. None of them were unnecessary and I think I enjoyed this set of photographs the most out of the three books (though I really love the photos in Miss Peregrine’s too because that was the start of the whole journey).

I thought Library of Souls was a fantastic ending to the trilogy and Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is a fantastic series overall. What I loved about this final book was that everything was resolved. We get a proper ending and we get to see what happens to Jacob when all the dust has settled. There were a few things that I thought were too conveniently resolved but I’d rather have a happy and completely resolved ending than an open-ended one. And the ending scene was such a satisfying one.

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LIBRARY OF SOULS SYNOPSIS

The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children and continued with Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

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Have you read Library of Souls? I’d love to discuss your thoughts and feels with you! But try to keep it spoiler-free!!

Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: February 24, 2014
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 1594747350
Pages: 396
Goodreads || Book Depository

MY THOUGHTS

Hollow City is the second book in the Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children trilogy. This review doesn’t contain any spoilers for the first book so feel free to stay if you want to know if the trilogy is worth pursuing (it is!). But check out my review of the first book too! I’ve put the synopsis for Hollow City at the end of my review so that you won’t get accidentally spoiled if you haven’t read Book 1.

So, Hollow City. Man, I loved this book! I was trying to decide what rating to give this instalment and was shifting back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars. Ultimately, I think it deserves at least a 4.75, if not a 5. It had about the same amount, or maybe less, creepiness and eeriness than the first book. Those of you who thought the first instalment wasn’t scary enough, probably won’t enjoy the lack of spookiness in this book either. But I thought the story, plot and characters were so enjoyable that it doesn’t really need to be more scary.

Hollow City was just as action-packed and exciting as the first book. Unlike Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, there weren’t any bits that were slow or draggy. This book kept up a consistent level of action and excitement and it had me engaged the whole time. There was so much badassery in this novel and so many instances where I was bouncing up and down in my seat from the exhilaration.

Ransom Riggs has done it again – another twist that I didn’t see coming. I didn’t expect the twist in Miss Peregrine’s, and I totally did not see this twist coming. There were absolutely no signs of it at all. What I think this book lacked that the first book had was a really epic climax and ending. The end of Hollow City was still epic but the epicness all occurred in a span of about 30 pages, and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. So I was left feeling not as satisfied as I was when I finished Miss Peregrine’s. But it did leave me really excited about Library of Souls, which I’ll be picking up from the bookstore first thing tomorrow morning!

The photographs in this book were just as beautiful and magical as those in the first book. There were a handful that were so creepy and scary that I could only glance at them for a couple of seconds before covering them up. I loved what they added to the story and I thought they were used really effectively. There were a couple at the beginning of the book that I thought were a bit unnecessary and just having the text would have been enough. But I appreciated how skilfully Ransom Riggs was able to shape his story and his world around the photos that he had.

The reason why I liked Hollow City just a little bit more than Miss Peregrine’s was the world and the setting. It was definitely my favourite aspect of this sequel. All of the places that the characters travelled to were really interesting. I love reading historical fiction and London during WWII is one location that I’ve always loved but haven’t read a lot about. I’m glad that we get to experience quite a lot of what 1940s London was like. In addition to London and September 1940, the book takes us to the countryside and to different decades and centuries. The characters enter several different time loops and I thought it was great that time travel was explored so much in Hollow City.

We meet some crazy new characters in this novel, and they were all so unique and interesting. I’m excited to see what kind of a role these new characters play in the final book, Library of Souls. And as you can probably tell, the next review to go up on this blog will be of Library of Souls 😀

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For those of you who have already read Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, the synopsis for Hollow City is below.

HOLLOW CITY SYNOPSIS

September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them – but she’s trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom. Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

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Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: June 7, 2011
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 1594746036
Pages: 352
Goodreads || Book Depository

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

MY THOUGHTS

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is a fantastic novel, filled with mystery and excitement. I was so intrigued by what was happening that I did not take notes at all while reading, which is why this review might be kinda all over the place. And things will probably pop into my head after I’ve posted this review…

This novel follows our main character, Jacob, as he sets off on a journey to Wales to find out about his grandfather’s past. When he was younger, his grandfather would tell him stories about his time spent at an orphanage for peculiar children. As he grew older, Jacob started to believe his stories less and less, and eventually decided that they were just made-up stories. However, when his grandfather is brutally killed and Jacob is left with some strange clues and photographs, he sets off on a journey to find the orphanage and the truth.

I really, really loved this book! It was mysterious and eerie, and I thought the creepy pictures really added to the tone and atmosphere of the book. I’m not really a fan of scary books (I’m a big wuss), and I think this was just the right amount of creepy without actually being scary. This book has so many things that I love to read about. There are time loops and time travelling aspects involved and I loved these elements! Because of the time travelling, a lot of the book is actually set in the 1940s and I really enjoyed this. I absolutely love historical fiction, especially WWII historical fiction, so this book was right up my alley.

What I also loved about this book was that the tone was set from pretty much the very first page. We get the feeling that something is not quite right, and I was so immersed in the book from the very beginning. The book starts off with a bang – the tragic family incident occurs and we’re left bewildered and wondering exactly what happened. But while this book started off really strongly, the next 100 or so pages was kind of slow and draggy and it took me a little while to get through it. (But having said that, I think the slow pace really helped create this eerie and creepy atmosphere). It isn’t until we meet the peculiar children that the book started to pick up in pace for me, eventually reaching an extraordinary climax and twist that BLEW my mind. I have to say, I did not see any of it coming at all. The last 70 pages were so action-packed and exhilarating and I flew through those pages. The ending also had me very excited for the next book, Hollow City.

The characters in this book were definitely the standout for me! They were all so peculiar and had strange abilities, such as levitation, invisibility and the ability to make dead or inanimate objects alive. While these weren’t new and original abilities that we’ve never seen before, I loved the way the characters used these powers and how creative and clever Ransom Riggs was at incorporating them into the plot. I also really appreciated that there were so many photographs and visual aids in the book. Even though the descriptions made it really easy for me to picture what the characters looked like, I really liked being able to see pictures of them! And, even though I know some of them were doctored, they really reinforced the idea for me that these characters actually exist. There were times when I thought that the pictures broke up the flow of the text but that was a very minor issue.

This was such a magical read for me. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It incorporates a lot of things that I love to read about, including strange family dynamics and historical elements. The characters were all really strong and fearless (I could never do any of the things they had to do!) and I loved them all so, so much. I flew through this book in just two sittings and I highly recommend it. The movie is going to be EPIC!