And I Darken

Title: And I Darken

Author: Kiersten White

First Published: June 28th 2016

Series: The Conqueror's Saga #1

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 457

My Copy: Physical Copy

My Overall Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

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All the Light We Cannot See

Title: All the Light We Cannot See

Editor: Anthony Doerr

First Published: May 6th 2014

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Historical Fiction, World War II

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 530

My Copy: Physical Copy

My Overall Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, a National Book Award finalist, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times).

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Library of Souls

Title: Library of Souls

Author: Ransom Riggs

First Published: September 22nd, 2015

Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #3

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Available As: Paperback, ebook

Pages: 400

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:

The adventures 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 discov
ers 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.

Hollow City

Title: Hollow City

Author: Ransom Riggs

First Published: January 14th, 2014

Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 416

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:

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.

This book does not disappoint! As eerie and chilling as the first book, the sequel is a great read that had me on the edge throughout the whole book.

Being thrown into the harsh world, the gang desperately tries to find a way to save Miss Peregrine before it's too late. I really liked how we saw many more peculiars and how it wasn't just humans. All these new abilities! I like how Jacob developed his ability a bit more in this book, and he's on the road to fully being able to control it. Right now, it still brings him discomfort when he uses it.

I hope they do manage to solve everything in the last book (*sob it's a trilogy) and that things will get better. What will Jacob do? Will he stay with the peculiars? Or will he go back? I think he'll stay with his friends. What does going back to his old life bring him? I think he would just be miserable. Maybe he won't follow his grandfather's footsteps in this one.

What do you think of the cover? When I first walked past the book in the bookshop, I didn't even notice that there was a hole in the girl. But I think the cover describes the book pretty well. I think this is my favourite cover of the three books.

I can't wait to read Library of Souls. I know it's going to be really good. I'm also hoping that the movie will be good. Well, Tim Burton is directing it so I'm sure he'll catch the atmosphere!

My Chosen Quote:

“Laughing doesn’t make bad things worse any more than crying makes them better.”

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

First Published: June 7th 2011

Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 352

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

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 abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the 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. 

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

How often is it that you see a cover with a girl levitating? At first, when you walk pass the book, you might not notice it, but do a double take, and there it is!

The main reason why I picked this book up in the first place was because it had such a haunting cover. It's like the girl is hiding many dark secrets. So many questions flew through my brain. What is this book about? Peculiar children, how so? Then I flicked through the pages and the photos inside and they intrigued me. I love these kinds of books! So yes, I chose this book because of the cover...

Jacob is our leading protagonist in this book. From the beginning, we pity poor Jacob - his grandfather died in front of him, he's constantly plagued by nightmares and anxiety following his grandfather's death, but most of all? The mystery behind it. All those photos keep coming up and it's up to Jacob to solve the mystery. Who knew he would find so much more than he signed up for.

The story was amazing. I was sucked in from the very first page and I followed Jacob's journey from the past to the present then back to the past. All the peculiar children were so interesting! They have special abilities, but it's more realistic than ever. There's no 'turning it on or off' - the abilities are there forever. I guess having these kind of abilities will really come in handy, especially when up against the wights. What do they really want?

I highly recommend this book for those who like darker, creepier stories. I loved reading it and it's the kind of book that gets better the more you read it. I'm off to find Hollow City right now!

My Chosen Quote:

"I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was."

Once

"Everyone deserves something good
in their life. At least once."

Title: Once

Author: Morris Gleitzman

First Published: 2005

Series: Once Series

Genre: Historical Fiction

Available As: Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, Ebook

My Rating: 9/10

Felix is a 10 year old Polish boy living in World War II. He was originally from an orphanage where his parents dropped him off when he was little. One day in the orphanage, Felix witnesses police burning all the books and he is intrigued why they would do that. He then runs away in search of his parents, to find that the world isn't what it seemed.

World War II is a brutal war fought for many years. Told from the events from the Holocaust, Felix was on the run from the Nazis and struggling to survive. Being Jewish, he knew that if he was ever caught, he would never make it back alive. Journeying through the co
untry, he is joined by a girl called Zelda and they both made their way to the city, where they meet some friends in hiding.

Once is told from Felix's point of view, where he is struggling to survive and understand the world for it isn't as he once knew it. In the city, he meets Barney, a Jewish dentist, who is taking care of children in hiding. Through most of the book, Felix believes that his parents are alive and waiting for him to bring him home, until he witnesses the actual world. But being with these people, Felix finally understands the true danger of the world.

This book is a very sad yet heart-warming book. It gives of the aura of hope and tragedy. Like, even though things are horrible and it couldn't get any worse, there is still some good out there. Also, Felix is filled with hope for a better life for him and his friends. He keeps his hope until the end. When things were bleak, he would tell stories to the children in hiding and bring some happiness and laughter to their lives.

This book is a beautiful book and is wonderfully written. It was quite sad, but it's a great read.