Coming soon on Book-A-Holic.....

Hi everyone!

   So I just wanted to let you know that Emma Daley, author of the Propheticus series will be stopping by here in Book-A-Holic on 4 July ( Wednesday ) for an interview as a part of the Propheticus blog tour, hosted by Shane from ItchingForBooks. I'll also be featuring a review of the second book in the trilogy ( The Migliao / My review of book 1 HERE ) and a giveaway!! all as a part of the tour.

    And then I have another blog tour coming up on 16 July ( Monday ) of Dead Radiance by T. G. Ayer, featuring a review, an excerpt and a giveaway! And I'm just so excited since those two are going to be my very first blog tours. But I really do hope to see you there :D Plus, you get the chance to enter the two giveways <3 

And hope you all are having a wonderful day/night!

xoxo, Mariam

Know Her! Beverley @ A Reading Daydreamer

So today I am happy to welcome the super sweet Beverley from A Reading Daydreamer  to Book-A-Holic. Beverley is such a friendly girl by the way, you'll see and honestly, her blog is one of my favorites. But without further ado..... 



1) Hi Beverley! So to start off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog, A Reading Daydreamer, and why did you start it?

Hi bookaholics!  I’m Beverley and I’m 15 years old.  I’m just a typical teenager trying to balance schoolwork, exams, reading, blogging and free time with friends.  I started my blog in January of this year, I thought it would be a great way to share my thoughts on all the books I read and it seemed like so much fun to ‘meet’ other people who share the same passion for reading as me!  I try to blog regularly with reviews and other book-related things and I also would like to write more discussion posts in future!

2) What genres do you like to read the most and what are five of your favorite books?

I like to read most genres for YA, including contemporary and romance.  I hope to read more dystopian fiction this summer and I’ll be starting with Divergent!  My most favourite book is Someone Else’s Life, I absolutely LOVED that book – I haven’t read such an amazing book in AGES!  Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt follows closely, I adored that book so much too – Ryan is just GORGEOUS <3  I also really enjoyed Bunheads by Sophie Flack, it’s such a magical, enchanting book, and The Look by Sophia Bennett is so beautiful and deals with fashion, modelling and cancer.  Oh last but not least, Torn by Cat Clarke!

3) Do you participate in any memes? If yes, what are your favorite ones?

I used to do In My Mailbox but after the whole drama surrounding The Story Siren, I decided to take part in Showcase Sunday instead which is now my favourite meme.  The only other one I participate at present is Waiting on Wednesday and I’m loving it already because it allows me to discover loads of upcoming releases!

4) Which author would you like the most to interview on your blog, and why?

Hmm… there are loads of authors I would like to interview but at the moment, I’m going to have to go for Sophie Flack, the author of Bunheads.  I adored her book and I’d love to ask her more about the ballet world since she was once a ballet dancer as well! And of course, I would ask her for some writing tips!

5) If you could meet or even be best friends with any character from any book, who would it be and why?

I really want to meet Oliver from The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, he sounds like a really charming guy and I wouldn’t mind spending seven hours on a plane beside him ;)  He was so witty and gentlemanly in the book and he just sounded amazing

6) What rating system do you use when reviewing a book, and why?  

I use the simple five star system because I think it’s really simple and gives my readers an idea of what I thought of the overall book.  After my blog re-design, I kept the star system but now I use teacups instead!

7) Do you usually listen to music whilst reading?

No, I find it far too distracting! I tried it once or twice but I ended up humming along to the music and not remembering what I’d read :D

8) It's summer! So what are some summery, easy reads that you're willing to read soon or read and thought were amazing?

I read The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han last summer and ADORED it so this summer I’m looking forward to finishing the trilogy as they are great feel-good, summer reads!  I also hope to read A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, I just want to catch up on some contemporary reads I’ve heard are good!

9) In your spare time, if you're are not reading, blogging or even studying ( although it's summer now!  ) what do you usually like to do.. any hobbies?

Piano and violin are probably my main hobbies and they take up a LOT of time so if I’m not reading, blogging or doing schoolwork, I’ll probably be practising! I also like playing badminton – it’s the only sport I’m kind of good at.  I also do ballet with a friend every week and I sometimes try and spend weekends with friends going shopping or to the cinema!

10) How do you see yourself in the future, like what would be your dream job?

My lifelong ambition is to be a vet so hopefully I’ll be doing that! Plus teaching piano part-time and maybe continuing with my blog, who knows how it will turn out?  And I’d like to maybe write a YA book to, being an author would be super fun!

11) If you ever wrote a book of your own someday, what do you think it would be about?

Hmm… it would probably be realistic fiction with a strong, kick-ass female protagonist and I might throw in a love triangle too – I love when two boys have to fight for a girl hehe! As for the storyline, I have absolutely no idea.  I seem to be having writer’s block because we have to think of a plan for a creative writing piece in school and I’m completely stuck for ideas.



Ah I can't wait too!

12) Are there any books that you're most looking forward to reading this year?



What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang is my most anticipated book of the year, the synopsis is A-MAZING and the cover is really pretty too, I don’t think I can wait until September!  I’m also looking forward to reading The Hunger Games books too – I’m so behind but I can’t wait to see more of my beloved Peeta!  And Divergent is another priority on my list too, everyone seems to love that book.  As soon as I’ve got those out the way, I can look forward to the new releases!

13) What are you planning on achieving in your blog this year, any improvements, additions, I mean we already saw the super cute new look of your blog :)

Aw, thank you – you’re too sweet but I’m glad you like it!  I’m hoping I’ll keep on improving my reviewing style – I think I’ve developed more of a ‘voice’ since my return and I’ve said that I want to cut down on the length of my reviews but sometimes I just have too much to say!  This summer, I’d like to review more consistently and try to post something every other day at least as I don’t post frequently enough right now – I don’t want to bore my readers!

14) And finally, what tips would you give to new bloggers?

I don’t think I’m entitled to give anyone tips but here are some things I’ve learnt.  Be yourself and people will appreciate you more for that!  Put some personality into your posts as they make your blog much more friendly and fun and try to comment on other blogs.  You can’t expect people to comment on yours if you don’t put in the effort to join in the blogging ‘community’.

Quick-fire Questions:

- Facebook or Twitter: Facebook, although I’ve recently joined Twitter

- Books or E-books: Books, definitely!  I love the feel and smell of proper books :D

- Tea or Coffee: Does green tea count?

- Cats or Dogs: Dogs all the way!

- PlayStation or Wii: Don’t have either but I prefer the Wii!

- Riding a Horse or a Camel:  I’d love to ride a camel one day, that would be so much more awesome than riding a horse :D

Thank you so much Beverley for being here today!

Thank YOU for inviting me here, it’s been a pleasure answering all your questions!



***

Thank you Beverley for answering my questions! I really enjoyed reading Bev's answers and I'll definitely have to check out some of the books she mentioned up there ;) So go check her out on her blog A Reading Daydreamer, now that you found more about her, I bet you'll like her blog :)

And hope you all are having an amazing day/night!

xoxo, Mariam  

Waiting On Wednesday #2

Waiting on Wednesday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott
Genre: Young Adult
Expected Publiscation: 31 July 2012

Goodreads

Since both girls were small, Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and right-hand lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as "top girl" - both with the team and with Addy herself.

And then a suspicious suicide hits close to home, and the police investigation focuses on Coach and her squad. As Addy begins to suspect what really happened, the line between right and wrong grows blurrier, and she must decide where her loyalties truly lie-and how far is too far to go for someone you love.

The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as "total authority and an almost desperate intensity," provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.

Isn't this cover just so cute? Well, that was my WOW :) What books are you most anticipating? Leave me a comment down below telling me or a link to your own post, which I'll be sure to check out <3

Happy Reading!

xoxo, Mariam

Choppy Random Talks: Spark Your Creativity

    Welcome to my first Choppy Random Talk. Choppy Random Talks is a discussion post created by me and so here is where I'll be talking about random things that would come to my mind. It's a bit rambly of course so I hope you don't mind. And while writing this I will probably be drinking my tea and I don't ever drink coffee :o but I'm literally addicted to tea, people on twitter probably know all about it. So perhaps while reading this, you can also grab a cup of whatever that is you like to drink and ENJOY ;)

It's Monday.... What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is a meme hosted by Sheila from the Book Journey.

Books I read last week:

The Migliao (Propheticus 2) by Emma Daley

On My Blog Last Week:

Book Review: Matched

Books I'm Currently Reading:

Something Strange And Deadly by Susan Dennard

Goodreads

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Books I have my eyes on:

Emclave by Ann Aguirree ( Goodreads )

So what are you currently reading? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your own post, which I'll be sure to check out ;)

And hope you all are having an amazing day/night!

xoxo, Mariam

PS: I am taking part in the Propheticus blog tour featuring a review of the second book ( The Migliao ) and an interview with Emma Daley! as well as a giveaway!! My stop will be on 4 July and there will of course be an official announcement on my blog soon. But thought I could quickly throw it in here and hope to see you there <3

Waiting On Wednesday #1

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine. This is my first participation and I'm excited for more. I still don't know yet if I'll stop posting my On My Wishlist post every Saturday but anyway and without further ado....

Such A Rush by Jennifer Echols

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Expected Publication: 10 July 2012

Goodreads

A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.    

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

I'm starting to love Jennifer Echols and this is going to be my second book by her. It sounds like an easy read, generally speaking, I think that Jennifer's style of writing is easy and hopefully this going to be appropriate for summer. Plus, I love the cover, so cute.

So what books are you most anticipating? Leave me a comment down below or a link to your own post which I'll be sure to check out ;)

xoxo, Mariam

Book Review: Matched

      Cassia Reyes lives in a society where at the age of sixteen, they get matched. And with Cassia turning sixteen, she was so eager and excited for her Matching Banquet to see whom is she matched to. And as the night went absolutely fantastic. She then saw Xander's face, her match on micro card. But then the screens goes black and another face appears, Ky Markham. And although, Cassia believed in the Society, they told her it was just a glitch. But Cassia couldn't stop thinking about Ky. And slowly slowly they were falling in love. Now she has to choose, Xander, her best friend or Ky, the boy with the secrets and whom would offer her a mysterious path in life and things to get discovered... 

     The Matched trilogy is an another dystopia, with a well structured Society that Condie built along with an interesting idea but I honestly had a hard time rating it but eventually I gave it an A because it had some moments where I absolutely loved it. And Ally Condie has this quite simple style of writing, I liked how it was written and I liked how they added poetry throughout the story, it makes the readers seek this poem that Cassia treasures ( which I liked by the way, although I'm not  much of a poetry lover ). The cover is also a bit plain but eye-catching and if you saw the other two covers, it's cool how they are all connected. And so here, Cassia is in the bubble, as in her compliance to the society, like she is trapped, somewhat the cover speaks for the story more.

   So Matched follows Cassia, who lives in a well controlled, stable society, where everything is perfect, couples are chosen for each other, dinner is served in the same exact time for everybody and with the curfew, people are in their homes with no problems. And lucky Cassia was matched with her long-known childhood best friend, Xander. But when she plugs in her data card on which she can observe more info about her match, Xander. Along with Xander's face, another face poped up, Ky Markham. A guy she barely remembers from childhood but after that night he lingers in her mind.


   Cassia was a character that was easy to get along with, I mean if she was real, I would have definitely been friends with her. She's certainly a loyal person. The only thing about her that annoyed me was her extent of belief in the Society, which wasn't all that good, not at all actually. Ky, was a character that I liked the most out of all, he was mysterious and cool headed, hard to reach but easy to be with. And I absolutely love Ky and Cassia together and the atmosphere of  the almost-forbidden love that surrounded them and I love how they slowly developed a tiny love story that ended with a kiss and a poem.  


   Frankly, this dystopia wasn't my favourite but it was definitely awesome as in being acceptable. And I'm looking forward to reading the other two books. So I would say, if you were a dystopian future lover, just go ahead and read it. And keep in mind that you will have to either love it or hate it, but in both cases it is still readable.

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched | Crossed | Reached
Published: November 30th 2010 by Dutton Juvenile
Source: Owned
Goodreads | Amazon

Grade Rating:

xoxo, Mariam

It's Monday.... What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is a meme hosted by Book Journey.

Books I read last week:

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols ( Review Soon )

On My Blog Last Week:

Tag: 16 Random Questions

Book Review: Propheticus #1

Books I'm Currently Reading:

 The Migliao ( Propheticus #2 ) by Emma Daley

Amazon

Aniah and Novell's relationship has suffered some because of Aniah's discovery and the visitation of the SleepWalker last year. Aniah must learn to protect herself and fight against the dark creatures as she leaves her home behind and begins a dangerous journey, trying to discover her role in the Prophecy of the Dark Angeli. Sample of writing from book: I didn’t feel like the savior of the universe. I was afraid of tiny cliff sides and dead animals. But I didn’t have a choice; people depended on me-millions of people. My life was no longer my own. Just as the Mangitor de Sangue’s was not their own. My name is Aniah. I saw my fate last year in the eyes of a monster, otherwise known as a SleepWalker, a breed of the Mangitori de Sangue. I have yet to learn about this prophecy in which I am an omnipotent warrior sent to save this universe from the deadly clasps of the Mangitori de Sangue, an ancient army of blood lusting creatures. I must try to pull myself from this fearful prison of self pity and desperation that I have trapped myself in, realizing I could lose everyone I ever loved, and become the warrior that millions are counting on. I must learn to fight and spill blood; to run and to hide; and worst of all, to be prepared to have my world ripped to pieces.

  Forgotten by Catherine Mckenzie

Goodreads

When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change – her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain

Books I have my eyes on:

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa ( Goodreads )

So what about you, what are you currently reading? Leave me a link to your post or a comment telling me, which I'll be sure to check out ;)

xoxo, Mariam

On My Wishlist #12

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Cosy Books .

And for this week...

Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins 

Published: 2nd December 2010

Genre: Young Adult, Romance



Goodreads: 

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

I love the cover and a swoon-worthy accent!! in Paris! Ahh! it all sounds so cute.

That was mine, what about you? Make sure to leave me a comment down below telling me what you think and I'll be sure to check it out ;)

                                                                     xoxo, Mariam 

Tag: 16 Random Questions!

Hi everyone!

And today I have another tag but more of a get to know me sort of tag. And this tag was featured on Cami's blog and you check it out here. But without further ado, here it is....

***

1. How did you get your blog's name?
Well, technically I am addicted to books so that's where it came from and Book-A-Holic sort of went together.

 2. If you could change your name to anything what would it be and why?
I mean Book-A-Holic isn't that unique but at the time, I wasn't truly aware of the names of the other blogs. I actually started my blog as soon as I found the whole book blogs community, so I didn't know enough :) If I would change it, it would be something like 'Crazy Obsession' or 'Longing to Read'. Probably 'Longing To Read' though.

 3. If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, what would it be and why?
I would tell her to listen. To listen to her parents or older people in general whom have enough experience in life to know better. And not to care about satisfying other people around her, more specifically her friends for example and to try searching for what completes her and satisfies her, as a person.


4. How old where you when you learned how to blow your first bubblegum bubble? 
Ah! Well, I remember struggling, I believe it was in 4th grade or 5th grade.

 5. What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be a broadcaster actually. I believe that at the time, it was just the desire of being on TV.
 
6. What do you order at Starbucks?
Nothing extraordinary, I usually go for a cup of Cappuccino.

7. What's the hardest thing you ever laughed?
Well, when I laugh hard, I laugh hard and I laugh a lot. 

 8. If you could play any musical instrument, which would it be and why?
I actually used to play piano at a younger age but eventually I stopped. But now I would LOVE to play guitar. I really love the idea of just holding a guitar and making up songs or imitating songs I love and all that fun stuff. 


9. What's your favorite thing to do when you are upset?
Read, it's my favorite escape. Or maybe buy myself a virtual gift, or perhaps something sweet to eat would work too.


10. What's your favorite movie?
Uhhh, maybe Harry Potter.


11. What's one food you can't live without?
Tea!! It's not food but it still goes into our tummies so that counts :)


12. What's your favorite dessert?
I stopped eating desserts, growing up and being on a diet for long intervals of time. My dessert now is represented in fruits, which I love. I love eating apples, watermelons, grapes, peaches & bananas, all types of fruit.



13. Favorite pizza topping?
Margaretta of course.


14. Would you rather have superpower to read-minds, or superpower to be invisible?
Reading-minds. It would be amazingly good and evil to know what other people think.

 15. What did you do for your last birthday?
Well, my last birthday was nothing special at all. I'm usually not the person who celebrates there birthdays. So I could just hang out with friends, have dinner and all that jazz.


16.  If you had one personal "selfish" wish what would it be?
Same here Cami, clothes. To have all the clothes that I could ever want.

So what do you think? Leave me a comment down below telling me which I'll be sure to check it ;)

And hope you all are having an amazing day!
xoxo, Mariam

Book Review: Propheticus #1

     Aniah once had a settled life with nothing beyond the usual to fear. But this safe world of hers has been disturbed. Once the Novell entered her life, she slowly began to discover new things but most importantly she was experiencing love. However, there was another bigger problem. She started having nightmares. How would nightmares possibly affect her life? Well, those nightmares were nothing near the normal ones, as long as the Mangitori de Sangue were involved. What's next and how can she be protected? And what is this prophecy that determined Aniah's fate...


    Propheticus is a fictional story but nothing about werewolves or vampires. I think of it as a great set up for the rest of the story in the other two books. And Emma has such a rich imagination that she created a dark wide (fictional) world with a fantasy to go with it. And although it may seem a little bit perplexing and not much information, but I think it's sort of okay because we seem to be getting to know about this world lingeringly, along with our heroine to some extent.


    So the story opens with Aniah and her mother coming back from a long trip, getting ready for the Dark Months. And on there way, they found what seemed like an almost dead man. They took him home and took good care of him. Novell and Aniah's relationship has this natural development to it so it's not like, one day they started talking and the next they were kissing but it was just gripping. And although I felt there was some redundancy in their relationship, there was some intense incidents that would distract you. Ultimately, I really love the characters and I know I say this all the time but they felt real and authentic. The story was told from the point of views, of both Aniah and Novell and seeing it that way, made me pity them, like they both weren't certain about the each other's feeling and me, stuck in the middle, I wanted to yell at them, like for God's sake ;) 


    Overall, this was such an amazing read and it's definitely on my favourites shelf. I absolutely recommend it, anyone who loves fantasy and sci-fi novels will definitely enjoy this one. Honestly though, I wasn't captivited to complete reading from the first chapter so I would recommend giving yourself a chance to get into it. Exquisitely written and very descriptive which is what adds magic to fantasy novels. It had an interesting storyline and the ending was such a cliffhanger that I really can't wait to read the second book in the series.   

Title: Propheticus: The Mangitori De Sangue
Author: Emma Daley
Series: Propheticus | The Migliao | The Dark Anglie
Published: 20th November 2010 
Source: A copy was provided as a participant in the blog tour. And I reviewed it although I wasn't required or asked to. 
Goodreads | Amazon 
Grade Rating:

xoxo, Mariam

It's Monday.... What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is a meme hosted by Book Journey.

Books I Read Last Week:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ( Review )

Propheticus #1 by Emma Daley ( Review )

Books I'm Currently Reading:

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Goodreads

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

   All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

    John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over..

Books I have my eyes on:

Die For Me by Amy Plum ( Goodreads )

I'm trying not to start reading any series because I have plenty to finish :\ But tell me what are you reading? Leave me a link to your post or a comment down below telling me, which I'll be sure to check out ;)

Hope you all are having an amazing day!
xoxo, Mariam 

Book Review: The Scorpio Races

 Goodreads | Amazon

      As a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater, author of The Wolves of    Mercy Falls trilogy. I decided to give The Scorpio Races a try. And OMG! Stiefvater just continues to occlude me. It is a stand alone novel that revolves around a mythology of sea horses. Written from the point of views of the two main characters Sean Kendrick and Kate ( Puck ) Connolly. 


     So, the story takes place in the Thisby Island in Ireland. A remote, fictional place where some flesh eating sea horses called the Cappaill Uisce (plural/ pronounced Copoll-Ooshka) and Capall Uisce (singular/ pronounced Capell-Ishka) appears. And every November an annual race is being held between those Cappaill Uisce and their riders and rewarded with an irresistible amount of money when winning, making it possible for people to risk their lives for it. But those sea horses are nothing like normal ones obviously, and so the islanders are all at risk and many deaths occurs every day.

   Sean Kendrick is an expert when it comes to those sea horses. He is the one who everyone turns to when a disaster happens because of the sea horses and believe me much happens. Nineteen years old lonely boy and a four-time winner of the races but this race may seem more of importance. With winning this specific one, he gets his dream, freedom. But then you could easily observe the true bond between him and his horse, Corr, the fastest and most valuable sea horse of all. On the other hand, Puck seems to be obligated to join the race. She needs the money. Her parents were killed by those horses leaving her with her two brothers. Now, not only will she be the first woman to race but also on her own horse, not a sea horse.

     I love how Sean and Puck slowly develop a sweet relationship step by step. And Stiefvater has this style of writing that never falls in enchanting me, she has this way with words that can deliver the scene as desired. The characters are easy to visualize and genuine. Puck was so easy to go with. And when reading it from the two different point of views, it is really shown how Maggie completely transforms and she was able to wear the two characters pretty well. But to be honest, at the very beginning it might not be the most captivating but then once in, there is no way out, ( I mean, I finished this book two days :o ) you can easily get sucked in.   

    My only complaint was that there wasn't much about the race itself. The whole book revolves around the races but then by the end it wasn't sufficient. I couldn't even imagine the race quite well and also the part after when the race ended. What I feel is that Maggie Stiefvater was in a bit of a hurry while writing this book ;)

   Overall, a tremendous, refreshing read with an interesting mythology and an enjoyable storyline. Magically written as always when it comes to Stiefvater. This book made it's way to my favourites shelf and I absolutely recommend it. I personally LOVE horses by the way, so anything that includes horses is fun for me. But even if horses isn't something of your interest, I don't think that it has much of an impact.

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Pages: 409
Grade Rating:  

Happy Reading Everyone!
xoxo, Mariam