Looking for Alaska 

By John Green

Blurb: 
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . 
After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review: 
This book is a first person perspective of Miles, who is looking for what he calls his ‘great perhaps’ by going to a boarding school. The book is split into two parts, before and after. Each chapter starts with a countdown to before the event or how many days it has passed after the event. I do like the layout of the book, definitely something new and it gets you ready for something to happen. The event as you can probably guess from the title has something to do with a girl called Alaska, but more will be said in the spoilers section of the review.

I know by being 20 technically I’m no longer an official teenager but I feel like I can speak of what teenagers sound like. In some scenes the characters do sound like they’re having normal young conversations but I’d say for the most part they sound obnoxious and forced humour. 

A thing I really didn’t like in this book was the high use of smoking. It wasn’t really needed for the plot and to me it just felt glorified. The only time it didn’t was when Alaska joked that she smokes to die. But for the most part they’re just having a great time heavily smoking away, it’s just not a good message.

This leads me onto the characters. You have Miles, Colonel, Alaska, Takumi and Lara as the main characters. I don’t think there is a single character I liked. They were all obnoxious, rude and so angry. I’m use to stories where I read about heroes or the characters had such a hard backstory that you can let them be a bit mean and still enjoy them. But these characters just didn’t have anything to them, they barely had depth or character development. They and the book was just simply boring. 

I did however enjoy the scene where they play a game called best day/worst day. This finally gave us some much needed character development well for some of the characters. Mile’s just seems to be the most boring of all the characters.

Another thing I did like about the books was the famous last words quotes. Miles was known for remembering and liking people’s famous last words and would often state them. I just liked this because I appreciate some good funny facts and it felt fitting in the book, something different. 

I also don’t have anything bad to say about the writing style, I feel like it was well written and I enjoyed how for Lara’s dialect that John Green spelt the words as if she was saying them with her accent. 

However, overall it was simply a boring book, I couldn’t even think of many scenes to discuss in the spoilers section.

*SPOILERS*

Some scenes that I did fairly like was Miles and Lara date. On this date, they attended a basketball match and Miles got hit on the head with a basketball. This caused him to have concussion which he repeatedly tried to tell Lara and Takumi and then ended up throwing up on Lara. This felt like a typical teenage scenario, so I liked it. 

The event that I discussed above started with a drunken game of truth or dare which led Miles to makeout with Alaska and both currently in other relationships. Then they fall asleep and Alaska wakes up because of a phone call then comes back screaming that she needs to get off campus. Miles and Colonel agreed to help her. She then drives away drunk, ends up in a car accident and then dies. Alaska isn’t lost, she’s dead and in the after chapters the boys try to figure out how it happened and if it was suicide. 

I think I was hoping for a good adventure of trying to find Alaska but all I got was nothing. Nothing at all. The only thing in this book is that it has a good message about death and how to overcome it. 

Overall, a boring book covered in lovely quotes and messages. Therefore I’m giving it 1.5 stars to be generous. 

Quote: 

“Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war.” 

- Alaska Young, Looking for Alaska

Rating: 1.5 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

Looking for Alaska 

By John Green

Blurb: 
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . 
After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review: 
This book is a first person perspective of Miles, who is looking for what he calls his ‘great perhaps’ by going to a boarding school. The book is split into two parts, before and after. Each chapter starts with a countdown to before the event or how many days it has passed after the event. I do like the layout of the book, definitely something new and it gets you ready for something to happen. The event as you can probably guess from the title has something to do with a girl called Alaska, but more will be said in the spoilers section of the review.

I know by being 20 technically I’m no longer an official teenager but I feel like I can speak of what teenagers sound like. In some scenes the characters do sound like they’re having normal young conversations but I’d say for the most part they sound obnoxious and forced humour. 

A thing I really didn’t like in this book was the high use of smoking. It wasn’t really needed for the plot and to me it just felt glorified. The only time it didn’t was when Alaska joked that she smokes to die. But for the most part they’re just having a great time heavily smoking away, it’s just not a good message.

This leads me onto the characters. You have Miles, Colonel, Alaska, Takumi and Lara as the main characters. I don’t think there is a single character I liked. They were all obnoxious, rude and so angry. I’m use to stories where I read about heroes or the characters had such a hard backstory that you can let them be a bit mean and still enjoy them. But these characters just didn’t have anything to them, they barely had depth or character development. They and the book was just simply boring. 

I did however enjoy the scene where they play a game called best day/worst day. This finally gave us some much needed character development well for some of the characters. Mile’s just seems to be the most boring of all the characters.

Another thing I did like about the books was the famous last words quotes. Miles was known for remembering and liking people’s famous last words and would often state them. I just liked this because I appreciate some good funny facts and it felt fitting in the book, something different. 

I also don’t have anything bad to say about the writing style, I feel like it was well written and I enjoyed how for Lara’s dialect that John Green spelt the words as if she was saying them with her accent. 

However, overall it was simply a boring book, I couldn’t even think of many scenes to discuss in the spoilers section.

*SPOILERS*

Some scenes that I did fairly like was Miles and Lara date. On this date, they attended a basketball match and Miles got hit on the head with a basketball. This caused him to have concussion which he repeatedly tried to tell Lara and Takumi and then ended up throwing up on Lara. This felt like a typical teenage scenario, so I liked it. 

The event that I discussed above started with a drunken game of truth or dare which led Miles to makeout with Alaska and both currently in other relationships. Then they fall asleep and Alaska wakes up because of a phone call then comes back screaming that she needs to get off campus. Miles and Colonel agreed to help her. She then drives away drunk, ends up in a car accident and then dies. Alaska isn’t lost, she’s dead and in the after chapters the boys try to figure out how it happened and if it was suicide. 

I think I was hoping for a good adventure of trying to find Alaska but all I got was nothing. Nothing at all. The only thing in this book is that it has a good message about death and how to overcome it. 

Overall, a boring book covered in lovely quotes and messages. Therefore I’m giving it 1.5 stars to be generous. 

Quote: 

“Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war.” 

- Alaska Young, Looking for Alaska

Rating: 1.5 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

Ink (Skin Books, book 1)

By Alice Broadway

Blurb:
Every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When Leora's father dies, she is determined to see her father remembered forever. She knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all.

Review: 
This isn't the first time I've read this book, and it also isn't the first time that it's got me out of a reading slump. So surely that alone explains the 5 stars, it is definitely a truly amazing book, so captivating and special. Just wow! Thank you Laura again, for recommending this book I will be thankful forever.

On to the actual book. So this book is set in a world where everything you have done in your life, achievements, wrong doings, family is all tattooed on your skin. Hence the book title, Ink. When you die, your skin is stripped from your body and a book is made out of it. Once the book is made it then goes to the weighing ceremony where if you are a good person the book goes back to the family, or if you are a bad person then the book gets burnt. Then there are the blanks who aren't inked and take children, belongings and food away from the marked.

Now the characters. Leora is a teenage girl who is just completing her final exams before she chooses her life time job, she has a best friend called Verity which they are very close. They will literally do anything for each other. Leora also seems to have a crush on Verity's brother like most females do who have friends with older brothers.

Leora is struggling with her exams because she just lost her father and she isn't too sure whether she will make an inker or not because she thinks she will fail her exams. She is worrying a lot about the ceremony of her father and whether she will get him back to read especially since a bad memory makes a reappearance and his book gets confiscated before his ceremony.

The whole journey of this book is just amazing it is just non-stop action and drama. Which is possibly why it gets me out of a reading slump every time I read it. The characters relationships with one another are really realistic too and the challenges that they face are actually real life problems, where as some of the other young adult fantasy books is just too far fetched.

The writing style of this book is good, I wouldn't say excellent because the more times I read it the more faults I find with it. It's a fast paced well wrote book, with repetition of some information. I managed to just ignore it but it can get a bit boring at times reading the repetition, but it's nothing drastic.

The actual story-line of the book is very unique too, not something I've read before and I can't wait to see if Alice Broadway releases anymore books because I will just automatically buy them. I need them in my life. I need her to get me out of reading slumps constantly. Think I'm on my 4th slump of the year.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes uniqueness, fantasy, hidden love, mystery, and friendships. It's just perfection it really is. Just read the damn book and comment your opinion I'd love to know.

Favourite Character: Leora

Read: 24/03/19 - 26/03/19

5 stars out of 5

Check out Sammie's review of Book 2: Spark

Written by Sammie

Ink (Skin Books, book 1)

By Alice Broadway

Blurb:
Every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When Leora's father dies, she is determined to see her father remembered forever. She knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all.

Review: 
This isn't the first time I've read this book, and it also isn't the first time that it's got me out of a reading slump. So surely that alone explains the 5 stars, it is definitely a truly amazing book, so captivating and special. Just wow! Thank you Laura again, for recommending this book I will be thankful forever.

On to the actual book. So this book is set in a world where everything you have done in your life, achievements, wrong doings, family is all tattooed on your skin. Hence the book title, Ink. When you die, your skin is stripped from your body and a book is made out of it. Once the book is made it then goes to the weighing ceremony where if you are a good person the book goes back to the family, or if you are a bad person then the book gets burnt. Then there are the blanks who aren't inked and take children, belongings and food away from the marked.

Now the characters. Leora is a teenage girl who is just completing her final exams before she chooses her life time job, she has a best friend called Verity which they are very close. They will literally do anything for each other. Leora also seems to have a crush on Verity's brother like most females do who have friends with older brothers.

Leora is struggling with her exams because she just lost her father and she isn't too sure whether she will make an inker or not because she thinks she will fail her exams. She is worrying a lot about the ceremony of her father and whether she will get him back to read especially since a bad memory makes a reappearance and his book gets confiscated before his ceremony.

The whole journey of this book is just amazing it is just non-stop action and drama. Which is possibly why it gets me out of a reading slump every time I read it. The characters relationships with one another are really realistic too and the challenges that they face are actually real life problems, where as some of the other young adult fantasy books is just too far fetched.

The writing style of this book is good, I wouldn't say excellent because the more times I read it the more faults I find with it. It's a fast paced well wrote book, with repetition of some information. I managed to just ignore it but it can get a bit boring at times reading the repetition, but it's nothing drastic.

The actual story-line of the book is very unique too, not something I've read before and I can't wait to see if Alice Broadway releases anymore books because I will just automatically buy them. I need them in my life. I need her to get me out of reading slumps constantly. Think I'm on my 4th slump of the year.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes uniqueness, fantasy, hidden love, mystery, and friendships. It's just perfection it really is. Just read the damn book and comment your opinion I'd love to know.

Favourite Character: Leora

Read: 24/03/19 - 26/03/19

5 stars out of 5

Check out Sammie's review of Book 2: Spark

Written by Sammie

FairyLoot - April 2019

Theme: Dark Magic

Items: 

• Exclusive Tote Bag by @morgana0anagrom and KDP Letters  
• Tea Strainer by FairyLoot
• Philosopher's Stone Soap by Pretty Suds
• Notebook by Stella Bookish Art
• Book Sleeve by @monolimeart
• Exclusive Emberfall Enamel Pin by Literary Emporium
• Exclusive Collectable Tarot Cards by @artbyemmilinne
• Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Review: 
The theme of this box is Dark Magic, which intrigued me as I do love magic books. Then I noticed it mentioned a book sleeve and Harry Potter so I bought the box. Although not all the items in the box were useful to me, I still really appreciate this boxes items as majority of the items are actually really useful for a change.

First item was the tote bag inspired by the Grisha trilogy. I haven’t read this series but it was already on my to read list so I was glad to receive that. I love tote bags, I now have quite a few and use for all of them. They are just always really handy and roomy, I’ve decided to use this new one for when I go swimming. I liked the design of this bag, although I prefer the quote side to the faces side.

Next item was a cat shaped tea strainer which I found very cute. I don’t drink tea personally but my sister is a big cat fan and tea fan so she was thrilled with this item. I can admire its usefulness and cuteness. 

Another item that I can’t personally use is the philosopher's stone soap because of my eczema. I did however really love the look of it and the idea of it, it really suits being soap. This item I also gave to my sister but I’m not sure how good it is. 

I did however keep the little notebook for myself. I loved the cover of it as it is so sparkly and pretty. I like how the pages are blank (without lines) so you can draw or write in it. I love the design and I’m sure I can find some use for it at uni.

The book sleeve was probably my favourite item. I already have quite a few of these from FairyLoot now but I like this one the best because it’s much bigger, which is very useful when reading A Song of Ice and Fire series. My book fits in it so much easier now. I also like the design, I haven’t read the book but it still looks pretty and again I prefer the side with just the pattern rather than the faces.

The only non useful items was the pin and tarot cards. I do however enjoy collecting pins from these boxes so I put this pin on my pin flag which is now starting to look cool, still need a lot more though. The tarot cards don’t interest me too much as they are of a book series I haven’t read yet.

The book in this box was Nocturna by Maya Motayne. It has a very beautiful cover and is signed and sprayed with a lovely strong shade of blue. One of my favourites sprayed edges I’d say. I’m looking forward to reading this book, and reviewing it in the future.

Overall, despite having a couple of items that I personally can’t use, I’d still rate this box highly of 4 stars. If I could use scented soap and drank tea, I’d give it 5 stars. This box can be clearly seen as worth my money so I’m pleased with that.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

FairyLoot - April 2019

Theme: Dark Magic

Items: 

• Exclusive Tote Bag by @morgana0anagrom and KDP Letters  
• Tea Strainer by FairyLoot
• Philosopher's Stone Soap by Pretty Suds
• Notebook by Stella Bookish Art
• Book Sleeve by @monolimeart
• Exclusive Emberfall Enamel Pin by Literary Emporium
• Exclusive Collectable Tarot Cards by @artbyemmilinne
• Nocturna by Maya Motayne

Review: 
The theme of this box is Dark Magic, which intrigued me as I do love magic books. Then I noticed it mentioned a book sleeve and Harry Potter so I bought the box. Although not all the items in the box were useful to me, I still really appreciate this boxes items as majority of the items are actually really useful for a change.

First item was the tote bag inspired by the Grisha trilogy. I haven’t read this series but it was already on my to read list so I was glad to receive that. I love tote bags, I now have quite a few and use for all of them. They are just always really handy and roomy, I’ve decided to use this new one for when I go swimming. I liked the design of this bag, although I prefer the quote side to the faces side.

Next item was a cat shaped tea strainer which I found very cute. I don’t drink tea personally but my sister is a big cat fan and tea fan so she was thrilled with this item. I can admire its usefulness and cuteness. 

Another item that I can’t personally use is the philosopher's stone soap because of my eczema. I did however really love the look of it and the idea of it, it really suits being soap. This item I also gave to my sister but I’m not sure how good it is. 

I did however keep the little notebook for myself. I loved the cover of it as it is so sparkly and pretty. I like how the pages are blank (without lines) so you can draw or write in it. I love the design and I’m sure I can find some use for it at uni.

The book sleeve was probably my favourite item. I already have quite a few of these from FairyLoot now but I like this one the best because it’s much bigger, which is very useful when reading A Song of Ice and Fire series. My book fits in it so much easier now. I also like the design, I haven’t read the book but it still looks pretty and again I prefer the side with just the pattern rather than the faces.

The only non useful items was the pin and tarot cards. I do however enjoy collecting pins from these boxes so I put this pin on my pin flag which is now starting to look cool, still need a lot more though. The tarot cards don’t interest me too much as they are of a book series I haven’t read yet.

The book in this box was Nocturna by Maya Motayne. It has a very beautiful cover and is signed and sprayed with a lovely strong shade of blue. One of my favourites sprayed edges I’d say. I’m looking forward to reading this book, and reviewing it in the future.

Overall, despite having a couple of items that I personally can’t use, I’d still rate this box highly of 4 stars. If I could use scented soap and drank tea, I’d give it 5 stars. This box can be clearly seen as worth my money so I’m pleased with that.

Rating: 4 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

FairyLoot - March 2019

Theme: Unbreakable Bonds

Items: 

• Colourful Scarf by Cara Kozik 
• Bookish Socks by FairyLoot
• Bookworm Page Tabs by FairyLoot
• Metal Bookmark by KDP Letters
• FairyLoot Anniversary Enamel Pin by FairyLoot
• 3 Art Prints by @morgana0anagrom
• Viper by Bex Hogan
• To Best The Boys by Mary Weber

Review: 
So I was so excited for this box to actually turn up as it was their 3rd anniversary box. But when I got it my opinion of it was quite low.

To start with, it was a purple box like it always is for their anniversary, and the actual box had a chunk missing out of the front. But I wasn't too bothered about that as I don't really keep the boxes.

The first item that I discovered in the box was the spoiler card and then a pair of socks. These socks were based on Alice in Wonderland. I have already worn them, they are a great material that is comfy, but they're actually quite tight on your feet and I'm only a size 5, so I'm quite surprised with this to be honest.

The next item I discovered was another fabric item a scarf. The first thing I noticed with this was that it was clicked in several places, which I found really disappointing. The actual scarf was a nice light material and when I looked at the books that were within the drawings of the scarf, I noticed it had a lot of my favourite books on so I was really happy about it. I plan on using it as wall art rather than a scarf so when I eventually get round to getting my replacement and putting it on the wall, I'll make sure that I take a photo and update this review for you guys.

Bookworm page tabs were the next item I discovered. These were definitely something I was not expecting to get in a box, I know other boxes have included them in the past and maybe they will be good to point out certain things to a friend if you lent them your book, so you can see if they have the same feeling about scene within the book. I personally wouldn't use them because I hate the idea of sticking something actually in a book no matter the reason.

The 4th item that was within this box was a metal bookmark based on the book Strange the Dreamer. The colour of it was gold and it was so pretty, and then the quote on it was also super cute along with the design. I also liked how they included a blue tassel attached to the bookmark to represent the colour of the book. I personally wouldn't use these because I'd be worried that if the tassels caught on something then I'd lose my page, which I'd be super annoyed about. 

The FairyLoot 3rd year box also included a enamel pin to celebrate. This was a purple design with the FairyLoot logo on. It was quite pretty but I don't really collect badges and stuff so I didn't find it useful or something I'd want in the box. But that's just my opinion each to their own.

The next few items were all art based on prints. We had 3 main art prints and two tarot cards. The tarot cards were based on the fandom six of crows. Which I still haven't read yet, but will get round to it eventually, I found these to be a lot better coloured than the previous series of ACOTAR. The 3 art prints were based on the following books: Warcross, The Cruel Prince and An Ember in the Ashes. The prints were pretty and the drawings of the characters is how I imagined them in a way. I've only read a part of The Cruel Prince and all of the Ember in the Ashes trilogy so I found these really pretty. But like I've said before I don't really have a use of art work unless it is on a useful item. This opinion will be different to others, oh well.

Within this box there was two books, the main book was To Best All The Boys by Mary Weber. This book was signed and had sprayed edges, the colour of the pages was like a dull green/silver. It was quite a nice colour and I found it went really well with the actual cover of the book. The only thing that I found disappointing was that my dust jacket of this book was ripped, but they are replacing it so I can't really complain. I have also already read this book and my review of it should be up shortly. It is a good read but not my favourite and I'm not too sure if I'd read the second one if a second one comes out.

The second book was called Viper by Bex Hogan. This cover was also super pretty, with its silver, gold, and blue colours. I have started to read this book and should hopefully be finished shortly. It is a paperback and signed. I love getting 2 books in the boxes because it makes it definitely worth my money even if I don't like the actual items of the box.

So overall, I didn't really like this box, and have only really kept and enjoyed 3 items, the socks and the two books. I know other people have liked the box more than me so everyone's opinion is different on it. I will be getting more boxes in the future but it's just getting a bit disheartening not loving the boxes and getting damaged, misspelled, or missing items. I've got a subscription at the moment I will possibly see how the next 4 month boxes are before I make a full informed decision.

Written by Sammie

Check out Sammie's review of To Best the Boys
Check out Sammie's review of Viper