Okay so I’m sorry for this freak out all over my blog but you have no idea how long I’ve waited for this! Markus Zusak, author of my favourite book in the world ever, is FINALLY RELEASING HIS NEW BOOK BRIDGE OF CLAY!!! All of my dreams just came true. I’m so happy!! I’ve started the countdown to October…and honestly it can’t come quickly enough.
Apologies for the freak out. In fact no, I’m not sorry, y’all will just have to deal this once xD
Happy International Women’s Day friends!! Hope it inspires and helps you to be strong and know that you are worth it! To celebrate, I have gathered together some of my favourite and awesome lady authors, all of whom I love dearly, and you can check them out in the photo below!
Hope you all have a lovely day xx
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
‘You crushed us to build your monarchy on the backs of our blood and bone. Your mistake wasn’t keeping us alive. It was thinking we’d never fight back!’
Wow. This book has certainly taken the bookish world by storm, and for good reason. I can state confidently that the hype surrounding this is fully deserved, and that this is going to go down as one of the best books of the year by far.
The book follows Zélie, a courageous young diviner suffering the loss of a parent and a culture. We follow her on a mission, to bring magic back to her world after the oppression of her people by the current ruler, and together with her brother, and some unexpected travelling companions Zélie sets out to return her world to its former glory, to the world she knew and loved.
Needless to say, I reallllly enjoyed this book. The characters were well written and well developed (which is a godsend) especially Amari, who I actually thought went through one of the biggest character arcs throughout the book. Honestly, I could have done without the romances that develop, but they weren’t shoved in my face either so it wasn’t TOO bad. The girls were strong and independent, which made this book a kick-ass story and just really got the imagination hooked.
The concept of the diviners and maji was fresh and amazing, one of my favourite fictional cultures actually (I’d be a Burner I think) and gave off a sort of Avatar vibe I felt (and in ‘The Last Air-bender’, not the tall blue people).
The magic was also exceptionally well written. You can tell if a person hasn’t really thought much about the way their fictional magic is going to work, and in reading this book you get the sense that the author thought hard about the characteristics of this form of magic, I really liked it.
The standout part of this however, is by far the world building, a thought that has been commented on by almost every review I’ve read, and if you read it, you’ll see why. The world building in this book is just awesome, it’s mind-blowing. So detailed, so intricate, and so well thought out, it really brings the book to life, and was one of the best books I’ve read in terms of generating imagery whilst you read.
You may have noticed that I knocked half a star off this rating, and that’s down to a few very MINOR and very PERSONAL opinions. Firstly I spotted a few tiny little plot holes which just kind of stopped the flow for me, but one of the main things I had wrong with this book is that the characters say ‘Ugh’ A LOT. I know it seems picky but it did really begin to annoy me the further through the book I got, and I feel like there must be some other ways to convey pain than just ‘ugh’ every time some discomfort is felt. No disrespect to the author of course, she’s written an incredible book and I certainly couldn’t have done it.
Like I said these are INCREDIBLY MINOR DETAILS and just personal opinions, which if I’m honest are far eclipsed by the rest of the book.
So how do I sum this up? It’s an amazing read, and I would make a plea here to anyone reading this, PLEASE do not miss out on this book, I promise you’ll regret it. There’s a reason there is so much hype around it, and it’s thoroughly deserved hype. In my opinion it’s easily one of the best books of the year, and is going to be a favourite of the book community’s for a very VERY long time.
Feel free to let me know what you thought, I always like to say hi to people so don’t be afraid. All opinions welcome xx
Until Next Time x
I have to say that one of the things I am most enjoying about leaving uni is the fact that I can now read what I want, whenever I want. Honestly, to just be able to finish a book and move smoothly on to the next one is wonderful. No textbooks, no recommended reading material, no journal articles (the bane of my life).
I’ve already read a few really great books this year (check out my Quarterly wrap up coming at the end of this month), and I’m so much more relaxed!
I’m living my best reading life right now and I’m SO loving it!
IT’S SNOWINGGGGGG…..STILLLL….THERE’S SO MUCH SNOWWWW. Seriously, it’s been a while since we saw this much snow where I live!we’ve got about 6 inches!! Still had to go to work of course but since I work at a historic monument it was pretty awesome I have to admit. And we had a great time, everyone was in a good mood despite the fact that the roads were hell and we had to battle through the weather. So this week has definitely thrown some curve-balls at us! Here, check out the picture I took at work. Spooky but also pretty!! 
Now don’t get me wrong, I love snow as much as the rest of you, but when you’re in a car and the roads are icy it’s quite unbelievable how quickly you become aware of the fact that you are in fact in a vehicle that can cause a lot of damage and can potentially kill. That’s how Tuesday night was for me. Struggling up a hill in my little car because when I left home for work it wasn’t snowing and I needed to get home. Then I got stuck. And I’m going to be honest, apart from the physical bruises I got (cos I fell over which made me feel like a bit of a loon) I was also quite scared.
In a way I guess its a good thing because now I know that I won’t drive if there’s even a chance of snow, but I didn’t enjoy the learning curve.
In book news this week, I’m still trying to get the motivation to finish Children of Blood and Bone (it’s HUGE) and I have taken delivery of a few second hand books that I’m excited to start reading! One good thing about the snowy weather is the fact that I get to stay inside with my books all day, it’s great.
This week I’ve been feeling a bit happier, I don’t know whether its just because I’ve managed to have a few good nights sleep or whether its just part of my mood cycle, but yes, it’s a refreshing change! I also have a few days off work now which is doubly great.
I do have a bit of a conundrum however. I have a few proof copies of books that I don’t want anymore (they’re pretty recent releases too) and I was wondering what the best way to get rid of them is, since the charity shops won’t take them I was considering a giveaway type thing, but then again I’m not sure if giving away proof copies is allowed. I’ll have a think, and if you have any ideas let me know!!
I think that’s all m’news, so don’t forget to comment with anything you think, I always love a book recommendations etc, and as always,
Until Next Time x
The Little Book Blog 