Hallowseveathon Vlog Fail 2020

NetGalley

I've just signed up to NetGalley. They offer E-Arcs and Audiobooks on request basis before the book is published. Although you may not get the book you wanted, you can earn a score with the books you're offered by reviewing them on NetGalley and other websites such as Amazon and Goodreads. 

I have received my first badge, which is encouraging. I have requested two books so far, one of them being Ruth Ware's new book One By One that is due to release in November 2020. Hopefully, I will get one of the two I have requested as one is a children's book.

30 Day Daily Journal Challenge | What has it done for me

I don't know what possessed me to try journaling for a month, but I did and here I am to try and tell you about it.

• I'll start off by saying I don't bullet journal or art journal. My journaling style sometimes has a little bit of colour with the titles I sometimes give them and sometimes I will highlight a list that ends up in there. Usually, though I can just write and write, though it didn't start off that easy. I started off with some prompts, like favourite movies, books and poetry etc. Just the standard run of the mill stuff really. Though it helps with me talking about multiple things and starting what I want to talk about.

• I've managed to fill up about a quarter of a notebook that I'd already previously used for other notes. It was already three-quarters full with these notes for video's etc, but I thought I'd use that notebook to try it out and see how writing goes and it worked pretty well. I think some days were more interesting than others in day to day life, especially on some days where I felt I had nothing to really write about and only filled half an A5 page. Others I had plenty and filled four sides of A5 paper. There were plenty of those prompts to start off with, but now that I've started writing about most things I feel more comfortable dumping information in the page, whether that be a good thing or not.

• I've included lists and detailed reasons behind some things and well as rambling about random daily things. It can all be included in journals. It doesn't have to be pretty or beautiful, it can be scribbles, moaning and talking a load of rubbish you wouldn't normally want to dump onto other people, making it a healthy way to vent emotion without bottling too much up.

• There is no wrong way to journal, it's just finding the right way for you. Some like bullet journaling to be organised or creative, or like me and mostly write. You can use any notebook, expensive or cheap (I'm in the cheap category here, having used spiral notebooks so far like above), many kinds of stationery can work for you whether it is fountain pens or standard Bic pens like me. All you can do is try different things and not spend too much money if you don't want to. There are also digital ways to do this too and I have digitised my first month on Goodreads as part of a challenge I made for myself to start journaling. There are plenty of free apps out there that work well for differing needs and also paid ones that allow for al kinds of fancy things. Though I just have a very basic one free from Microsoft on my computer. So what I'm saying, do what suits you the most, there is no right or wrong way to journal and nothing is off-limits to write about. Just do you.

This process has helped me process, thoughts feelings and how my life is going to change. It's therapeutic for me in a way and helps me concentrate on a specific task, stopping my mind from wondering in ways I don't like. I hope you find a reason to journal and any reason is a good reason to do it. I hope this post has been helpful to you.

Booktube Tag | From Reddit

The original tag I found on Reddit if you want to look Made by a lady called Crystal. Answer free for you to copy and paste questions.

I plan to make a youtube video with these questions and If you can I hope you do too.

• What camera do you use? Some Canon?
• How do you make thumbnails? I don't, I just let Youtube do the work.
• What editing software do you use? Microsoft free movie maker allows for basic video editing.
• Why did you start booktube? I had watched for a while and eventually, with a webcam started with my own videos.
• Favourite book or author you've found because of booktube? Ruth Ware and Ruth Hogan. Ruth Ware gives me amazing thrillers and Ruth Hogan gives me amazing stories with characters I can't help but love.
• What kind of books do you read? discuss the content of your channel in relation to that. I read a lot of thrillers and some children's books the most, but try others things occasionally in there too, I don't know what that means for my channel, I just love to read, review and share.
• What is important to you in a book? (Black authors, own voices, trans diversity, a good mystery, mermaids, anything) I love thriller, I need to be on the edge of my seat most of the time with that plot, or a book with amazing characters I just don't want to read behind.
• Do you have a bookstagram link? https://www.instagram.com/mikaylaambrosem/
• An interesting fact about yourself. I've just started journaling and I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.

The Diamond Girls - Jacqueline Wilson | Review

Well, this one was absolutely something. By God it was traumatic. There is child abuse, teen pregnancy and nutty parents. The book encourages teen pregnancy and following in your parent's footsteps and making their mistakes (not that teen pregnancy is always a devastating thing, but it's not ideal).

I know Jaqueline Wilson is known for her controversial topics, but with this book which is meant for younger readers, she hasn't managed it with much grace at all. I don't think that most 9-year-olds are mature enough or able to understand and know that some topics in the book aren't ok or the norm. If this book was marketed to teenagers then it could be done much better, but within this book, it's not done to a high standard at all.

If you have 9 or 10-year old please be aware of the topics of the book being more teen-related and not very child friendly as you'll know what your child is capable of dealing with within a book.

I could only give this 2 stars on Goodreads.

The Reading Rush Vlog 2020

The Reading Rush Vlog

Reading Rush Day 6&7

Saturday:

• A Shade Of Vampire: A Bender Of Spirits - 94 pages 

Sunday:

• A Shade Of Vampire: A Bender Of Spirit - 81 pages

Reading Rush Notes: 

During the week I read 3 books.

• The Story Of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson (158)
• The Diamond Girls by Jacqueline Wilson (230)
• A Shade Of Vampire, A Bender Of Spirit - Bella Forrest (324)
• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix - J K Rowling (partial read 118 pages)

My total page count was 830 pages and fulfilled 6/7 of the reading prompts. Also managed a couple of the prompts on the website.

• Read a book that matches the colour of your birthstone: The Diamond Girls
• Read a book that starts with 'the': The Story Of Tracy Beaker 
• Read a book that inspired a movie you've already seen: Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix
• Read The First Book You Touch: The Diamond Girls 
• Read a book entirely outside of your house: The Story Of Tracy Beaker
• Read a book from a genre you want to read more of: Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix
• Read a book that takes place on a continent that you don't live: A Shade Of Vampire, A Bender Of Spirit

Some of the online challenges I completed were:

• Make a bookstagram post
• Make a booktube video
• Participate in a Twitter sprint
• Read a five-star book

I think it's safe to say I feel very accomplished this week. I look forward to the next readathon I take part in.

The Reading Rush Day 3 & 4 2020

Wednesday:

• A Shade Of Vampire - A Bender Of Spirit - Bella Forrest (105 pages)
• Harry Potter & The Order Of The Pheonix - J K Rowling (53 pages)

                                                                                    Total pages: 158 pages 

Thursday: 

• A Shade Of Vampire - A Bender Of Spirit - Bella Forrest (53 pages)
• Harry Potter & The Order Of The Pheonix - J K Rowling (22 pages)

                                                                                   Total Pages: 76 pages

Notes:

Things are moving along nicely in A Shade Of Vampire now and am learning a lot of information about the people that are being assy. To finish on Sunday I must read 81.5 pages per day unless I read extra pages before sleep.

The Reading Rush Day 1 & 2 | 2020

Monday:

To Finish The Diamond Girls, Tracy Beaker and The Bender Of Spirits by the end of the week I must read 101 pages per day.

Today I read parts of three different books.

• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix - J K Rowling 25 pages 
• The Diamond Girls - Jacqueline Wilson                                65 pages 
• The Story Of Tracy Beaker - Jacqueline Wilson                    52 pages 

Total Pages: 142 pages 

Tuesday:

I read from the same three books today.

• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix                   40 pages
• The Diamond Girls                                                           165 pages 
• The Story Of Tracy Beaker                                               92 pages

Total pages: 297 pages 

Notes:

(The Diamond Girls)

What the actual fluff? There's child abuse, a mentally unstable mother and potential paedophilia. It's not being dealt with much care at all. It's very much content that should normally be left to an older reader who can deal with properly. I know these things very much do happen within children's lives, but if it needs to be written about it needs doing delicately. I've never been so distraught in my life.

Pages for Monday & Tuesday: 439 pages

Reading Rush TBR 2020

Most Read Authors | Part 2

Used my reminder while flicking through my journal to finish off a previous journal entry about my most read/favourite authors. Here goes:

• C.J Tudor - I've only read two of her I believe four books. I have one of the unread ones on my phone, but I think I need the actual copy to encourage me to read it, to be honest. My favourite of her work was The Chalkman, giving it four stars on Goodreads, It has two timelines between a group of four/five boys. It was their present and past after a girl dies and we finally discover with them what really happened to a young girl.

• Gill Sims - I love her Why Mummy Drinks Series. She's got another one coming out later this year and I can't wait to pick it up. They're all hysterical and document the struggles of bringing up children, married life and then some. You can't help but laugh, be frustrated with her and feel what she's going through as a very busy working mother trying to keep it all together.

• Lee Child - He's one of those authors that knows how to do a fast-paced thriller very well, even though I've only read five of his books. My favourite was The Visitor, the pacing was fantastic and I was on the edge of my seat throughout, I can't wait for the next one in the series.

• Shari Lapena - My favourite of her books Is An Unwanted Guest. It surprised me and I loved the twist ending. It was a very good thriller like an Agatha Christie thriller but something I'm more interested in devouring. I can't wait to read her next book.

Currently reading - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix
This one will take a while to get through as it's a pretty long book, but also my least favourite in the series. As much as I can understand Harry's attitude I find him very irritating and want to slap some reason into him sometimes throughout this book.

Favourite Books

• The Death Of Mrs Westaway - Ruth Ware

This is one of my favourite books of all time. The main character is so relatable, but also can't help but feel awful for her. By the end, you can't help but feel terrified for her. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout the book.

• The Book Theif - Markus Suzak 

This book is so good. It took me about 50 pages to get into, but when I did get into it, but God it was amazing. My heart broke by the end and I loved so many of the characters in the book. 

• A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness 

This book is emotional and heartbreaking. It follows a 13-year-old boy dealing with a rough family situation as his mother is terminally ill. You can't help but feel bad for him and his mother.

• The Snow Child 

This one sticks with me a tonne. I was even thinking about for weeks after I read it. It's beautifully written and you love the characters through the hard times and the good. 

Quarterly Wrap Up & TBR No.2 | 2020

Most Read Authors.

So, I wasn't sure how to go about this. Do I do my most read or my favourite? Maybe both is an option, right? Maybe, I'll go with that.

My top 3 most read authors as I'm writing this:

• Bella Forrest - 91 books (I know, WOW!)
• Robert Kirkman - 47 single issue comics (The Walking Dead)
• Lemoney Snicket - 13 (A Series Of Unfortunate Events)

The Walking dead is just over 3 volumes of The Walking Dead series and I've read The Gender Game by Bella Forrest as well as 84 books in her Shade Of Vampire series.

My Favourite Authors:
So carrying on with the theme of authors, I made a separate list of my favourite authors and came up with 7. There were 5 women (51%) and 2 men (28%) on my list.

• Ruth Ware
• C.J Tudor
• Ruth Hogan
• Gill Sims
• Shari Lapena
• Lee Child
• Dan Brown

There are a few to talk about, so today I'm only talking about 3 of them.

Ruth Ware. She is a thriller writer and I've read all of her published works as of writing this journal entry. She's perfected her craft over her previous books and her first book is what sparked my imagination with her writing and stories.

My favourite of her books that I've read is The Death Of Mrs Westaway. The main character is the most relatable person in the world to be, even though she thinks she's doing something that is illegal, you can completely see how desperate she is throughout the book. Although I did figure out part of the twist in the book, it didn't take away from the book at all and was surprised at the rest of the book and the extra twist nearer the end of the book. I can honestly say this is the only book where I've genuinely been scared for a character in a book.

So, for the next author. Ruth Hogan, all I can say is that she's a genius. She knows how to write a character-driven book that is as interesting as any plot-driven book. The Keeper Of Lost Things is what got me hooked, but it was her next 2 books that stand out the most.

The Wisdom Of Sally Red Shoes is a book that really gets you (if you struggle with the trauma of losing a child, this book may not be for you as It will likely be distressing). It's about grief and learning to cope with it. You can understand and feel for both ladies in this book (duel perspective) and I think this book was very well done and my heart was broken for both characters.

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel is also a fantastic book. It has themes of a family falling apart and also has two perspectives, though my favourite was of the daughters. I loved the innocents she brings to the story, her misunderstanding of the things going on around her and both her ignorance, love a fascination with Queenie

Malone.

My last author is Dan Brown. I love his books and have read all of them so far. They're very quick, entertaining and very easy to follow. My favourites are The Davinci Code and Inferno, while my least favourite is The Lost Symbol.

The Davinci Code is my favourite because it challenges religion is such an interesting and entertaining way that I love. It makes Christianity easy to understand and is fast-paced enough that you can get through it in less than a week,

Inferno is also fantastic, without giving anything away here, the ending is utterly jaw-dropping and I can't recommend it enough.

In regards to The Lost Symbol, nothing much happens and is very disappointing compared to the rest of the books. That's why I think they missed it out of the movies franchise and skipped straight to Inferno.

So here is a list of the authors I didn't talk about today so that I know who to write about next and to remind me to actually write about them.

• C.J Tudor
• Lee Child
• Gill Sims
• Shari Lapena.

Quarterly Statistics April/June 2020

• How many books I read: 13 
• Page count:                                             Average Rating:

Per month: April: 1343                                   3.8

                   May: 862                                      3.5

                   June: 1061                                    3.7

Overall:               3266                                    3.68

• Overall book-length: 251
• Places they were set: Scotland (Hogwarts), Surrey, New York, Russia, Poland/Auschwitz, London, Georgia, Texas
• Genre: Fantasy, children's fantasy. biography, thriller and apocalypse/horror
• Release years: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
• Authors male to female ratio: 6 female and 7 male. Female 46% to male 53%.
• Are any of them new to you? Yes, but only 1.
• Format:

Audiobook: 3 23%

E-Book:7 53%

Paperback: 3 23%

My favourite two books of the quarter were, The Pale Dreamer by Samantha Shannon (4* on Goodreads) and The Visitor by Lee Child (4* on Goodreads). My Least favourite was The Children Act by Ian Mcewan (3* on Goodreads).

Quarterly TBR July/September 2020

This is my to be read books that I plan to read during the next three months, hopefully, I will get to them all and potentially read a few more (I hope as I'll be having a very busy few months after July getting used to a new addition to my family).

1. Some Kind Of Wonderful - Giavanna Fletcher 
2. A Shade Of Vampire -A Bender Of Spirit - Bella Forrest
3. The Other People - C.J Tudor (I hope to read this one)
4. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix - J K Rowling 

I also hope to take part in a week-long reading challenge at the end of July called The Reading Rush, which will add another two or three books to my overall TBR. Here are two books I hope to read for that anyway:

• The Diamond Girls - Jacqueline Wilson
• The Story Of Tracy Beaker - Jacqueline Wilson

June Wrap Up | 2020

1. The Walking Dead Issue 47 - 4 * 
2. The Lumberjanes Volume 1- 3*
3. Echo Burning - Lee Child - 4 *
4. A Shade Of Vampire - A Circle Of Nine - Bella Forrest 4* 

I read a total of 1061 pages with the four books I read and the average star rating was 3.75.

All star ratings/reviews ore available to see on my Goodreads unless I also review here. There will also be links available on Goodreads to buy any books I've read that you may be interested in (I have no affiliation with any of the links and receive no money).

May Wrap Up 2020

This month I only read two books and was very unmotivated to actually read. I hope to read more in June.

• Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris (3*)

I didn't like this book as much as her first work. I didn't have the emotional connection to the main character in this one as I did in her first biography. A shame really because I really wanted to love this book. 

• The Visitor - Lee Child (4*)

I enjoyed this one a lot during my time reading, I was taken on a ride and was mildly surprised at who the killer was, even though the clues were all there to indicate who it was, so I should've guessed really. Had a lot of fun reading this one.

Stay At Home Book Tag

• Laying in bed - a book you could read in a day

The Pale Dreamer - Samantha Shannon 

Maya Goode's short stories - (Emily, Broken, The Raft, Odd Habit)

• Snacking - Guilty Pleasure Book

A Shade Of Vampire (series) - Bella Forrest 

• Netflix - A series you really want to start

The Girl Who Dared To Think - Bella Forrest

• Deep Clean- A book you've had on your shelf for ages

I have none, I buy them as I read them now

• Animal Crossing - Book you've bought because of the hype

The Priory Of The Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

• Productivity - Book you've learned from or had an impact on you

The Book Theif & A Monster Calls

• Facetime - A book you were gifted

The Visitor - Lee Child. I won a gift card and bought a copy

• Self Care- What is one thing you've done recently to look after yourself?

I have taken a nice long bath 

• BONUS! - Name a book coming out soon 

The Sentinel - Lee Child & Andrew Child (May already be released)

Quarterly TBR (April/June)

1. The Pale Dreamer - Samantha Shannon
2. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire - J.K Rowling 
3. A Bringer Of Night - Bella Forrest
4. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
5. Becoming - Michelle Obama

Quarterly Reading Stats (January/March) 2020

January/February/March

• Amount of books: 4
• Page count per month:

January: 320                Overall: 14723

February: 629              Average Length: 368

March: 462                  Average Star Rating: 4*

• Places set: Scotland, London, Surrey, Universe 
• Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult Paranormal, Children's Fantasy
• Release years: 1997, 1998,1999, 2019
• Authors Male/Female Ratio (percent): 100% Female
• Are Of Them New To You? No
•  Age Groups: Children 9+, Young Adult 14+
• Formats: 3 Audiobook, 1 Kindle Ebook

Cilka's Journey | Heather Morris - Review

As hard as this is to say, it wasn't my favourite. I much prefered Heather Morris' first book The Tattooist Of Auschwitz.

As awful as the stories are horrendous in regards to content, especially with sexual assault being something in this that has affected me personally, I couldn't care as much as I should've. Unlike Heather Morris' first book, I don't think she managed to flesh out Cilka as much as she did the main character in The Tattooist Of Auschwitz. It lessens the story a little bit and I wonder if she did as much research as I'd have liked on Cilka's personality.

Wish I could have liked this a tonne more than I did and gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

April Wrap Up 2020

• Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (5 stars*)

I used the audiobook for this as well reading alongside occasionally with this book, and as always I enjoyed it massively. Stephen Fry's narration is the best one out there. 

• The Children Act - Ian Mcewan (3 stars*)

I didn't think too much of this book.
I found the relationship between the husband and wife to be frustrating and very boring, as well as there being excessive amounts of slow points to the book. There were stories in here to try and help with the understanding and seriousness of her work as a family high court judge, but I don't think they all made an impact and some weren't necessary at all. Once the main plot started, I was more interested but was bored by the intervals of boring information about other cases being dumped in.

• The Pale Dreamer - Samantha Shannon (4 stars*)

This novella was a good instalment to the Bone Season series and although it's a prequel, I think should be read between the first and second book. By doing this you'll not be confused but will get more information about the world and characters before the main events of the book. 

• A Shade Of Vampire: A Bringer Of Night - Bella Forrest (3 stars*)

I overall did enjoy this book, but with some perspectives, I was struggling to follow along, simply because of so many people in one perspective and so much going on. I think wit the usual characters and hierarchy of another planet, it can get a little confusing sometimes, and with this one, it took away from the book a little bit.

• The Walking Dead Issue 44- Robert Kirkman (4 stars*)

A good instalment in the series and read this online. Full of action and look forward to the next issue.

• The Walking Dead 45 - Robert Kirkman (4 stars*)

Yet another good instalment to the series and just as good as the previous one and very quick to read.

• The Walking Dead 46 - Robert Kirkman (4 stars *)

Much more gruesome than the previous two as the group must decide between one man and the entire team. Just as enjoyable as the previous two issues.

* Star rating out of 5. 1 being awful and 5 being amazing.

10 Year Book Tag

• What was your favourite book in 2009?

Holes by Louis Sacher. I read this at school when I was 14 years old and remember the book and movie.

• What's your favourite book in 2019?

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O' Farrell. This book shook me last year and it wasn't even a 5-star book, but it lingered with me and I still sometimes think about it in this new decade.

• What was your least favourite book of 2009?

A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare. It's not that I didn't enjoy my experience with this book, but I remember being confused and I now don't remember much about it.

• What was your least favourite book of 2019?

Come Rain Or Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro. I never did understand this short story, the characters weren't pleasant and shouldn't have known each other.

• What is a book published in 2009 that you still want to read?

I searched up 2009 books and although I've heard many of the popular releases, I don't want to read any of them and read none of them at the time. Most were out of my reading age and interest anyway.

• What was a book published you want to read before the end of 2019?

When I'm typing this, It's currently April 2020. So to answer your question slightly differently, I would love to start a series by Bella Forrest called, The Girl Who Dared To Think.

• What is a genre you used to read a lot of, but don't read much of anymore?

As a teenager, I used to read more young adult books than I do now. I still think that YA is valuable to readers, but as a 25-year-old it usually isn't my thing anymore. I read fewer than 10 YA books a year now.

• What was a new genre you discovered after 2009?

I've discovered that I love thrillers, though you have to sift through some rubbish occasionally. I love Ruth Ware, Emma Healey, C J Tudor and Lee Child the most.

• What reading habit or book habit you want to create during the upcoming decade?

As always I would love to use the library more, it's something I always try to improve upon every year.

The Pale Dreamer | Review

This book is a prequel to the Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon. I recommend this book be read after the first book as to not confuse you, but rather enrich your knowledge of the world of which it is set.

I was pleased that I found this novella, four years after publication maybe, but I enjoyed it all the same. It made me excited about the next book after such a long wait. I loved being surrounded by familiar characters again.

It's a very quick read too with under 100 pages, I think most people would get through this in one day. It's quick, easy to read and so familiar it was a breeze to read. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

Quarterly Wrap Up 2019 (April - March)

January 

A Shade Of Vampire - A Veil Of Dark by Bella Forrest (5 Stars)

February 

• Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone (5 Stars)
• Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (5 Stars)

March

• Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (5 Stars)

Favourite Books Of 2019

• Sexcretery by Bella Bondia (5 stars on Goodreads)

This book was easily the most entertaining and well written. I know some are going to say, "how is erotica well written?" 

To that I say, if it's written well and the characters are realistic and are in realistic situations, the book can be fantastic. I never thought throughout the book, "fat chance of that ever happening." Although the plot has technically resolved itself by the end of this short story, you will be left wanting more just like I did. I can't wait for the next one.

• Why Mummy Drink (series) by Gill Sims (average rating of 3 books: 4.3 stars on Goodreads)

All of the books in this series exceptional. They're funny, heartwarming, sometimes sad and realistic to family life. It represents several family dynamics and like me, I'm sure you will fall in love with the family. It's based on real things too with a sprinkle of fiction thrown in to make up the overall story arc of the series, but is utterly fantastic to read nonetheless.

Least Favourite Books of 2019

• Come Rain Or Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro (1 star on Goodreads)

I found the start to be promising in this short story, but midway through It went exceptionally downhill. It quickly became my least favourite book of the year.

I liked Ray the protagonist, though I sometimes found him a little stupid about halfway through. I didn't like Emily or her husband in this at all, they were assholes to Ray throughout the book. Her husband wanted Ray to look useless and unable to care for himself properly in front of Emily to big himself up to save his own marriage. Ray complied with this and made himself look lazy and doing terrible in life when in fact he isn't and is doing reasonably well in life. I don't know how they're friends in the book and didn't find it very realistic.

• Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (2 stars on Goodreads)

I found this one very slow from the beginning until about halfway through. Bearing in mind that this book is huge at over 800 pages. Then wham, suddenly everything happens at once and it all merges into one big fireball. 

I found Ead the most relatable and realistic character in the book. I can't remember the names of any other characters, including the queen she's meant to guard. The rest of the characters were two dimensional and easily forgotten.

Reading Stats Of 2019

1. Shortest book: Sexcretery by Bella Bondai (27 pages)
2. Longest book: Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (848)
3. Pages read: 22,428
4. Books read:57
5. Average length: 393
6. Average rating: 4.2
7. Most popular: Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone (6 million ratings)
8. Least popular: Sexcretery (3 ratings)
9. Average highest rated: Sexcretery (5 stars)
10. Average lowest rated: Adele Biography by Chad Burden (3.36 stars)
11. Favourite book: I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O Farrel (4 stars)
12. Least Favourite: Come Rain Or Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro (1 Star)
13. Most Surprising: Viral by Mike Jeavons (4 star)

The Children Act | Review

The first half of this book I simply didn't like. I found Fiona's relationship very dull and I didn't want to read on. Once this new case comes along and is underway it gets a little more interesting with little bits of dullness speckled through.

There were a few unnecessary flashbacks thrown in too which was a little too much for the book that didn't add anything to the plot or emotional balance of the book. This made it take longer to get through and dragged out the story too much for my liking.

I think the writing was very long-winded alongside the unnecessary flashbacks. It could've been a little easier to understand if there wasn't as much babble between important plot and character-driven points.

I think both Fiona and her husband were both insufferable in the beginning. By the end, they'd become less irritating to me and I began to like them. I thought Adam, the boy who needed medical attention given by Fiona (a high court judge), was very nieve, but am unsure if that was mostly down to his upbringing.

By the end, I was surprised. Adam didn't grow up but gave in, which of course was a shame and I'd hoped he'd have grown from his experiences with Fiana and severe illness. Although Fiana's marriage was in the shit and there was a slow but steady improvement in her relationship with her husband, I was surprised at how they managed to communicate a little bit.

If I could give an extra half star for the ending I totally would, but alas Goodreads won't allow me.