BookTuber!

I am now a booktuber!
Check out my first video here - 

Beginning of my BookTubing Journey

Was it a complete fail?

Also connect with me on
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReadableCharper
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Drum Role Please...

Announcements...

1. So I have a YouTube channel which is a dedicated BookVlog! Check it out at  http://www.youtube.com/user/ReadableCharperBookV.

But because of crappy camera I have to wait until the new year before I can start posting videos :)

2. I have no subscribers to this blog and yet 700 pageviews. A little bit disappointed. I understand I'm just new but not even one? So if anyone's wondering why I don't have any competitions or giveaways it's because of that

3. Please feel free to comment! It would make me feel a whole lot better if I knew what people thought of this. Even a simple 'cool' would be nice!

4. Suggestions are welcome! Anything else you would like to see on this blog? A book you would like me to read? Just tell me

So contact me at CourtneyH650@hotmail.co.uk or Comment with any inquiries!

A Thousand Words

This just happened to me... Not happy.

Currently Reading...

Status: Not yet started.

TBR: August/September

So I got 3 out of 4 books completed on my August TBR pile but honestly I have a problem. I'm a book buying addict! I know, I know.

My TBR pile is currently 21 books long! Plus I've got a ten book haul coming in from Amazon on Friday AND I start back school that day too!

I'm not even going to start on the fact that most of the books from my haul and TBR pile are only first in trilogies and series' because my head just might explode!

So I'm going to take all this into consideration and hope I don't get too much school work for the first month (unlikely) and balance my family duties (which there are surprisingly a lot of), chores (ugh...) and room decoration with trying to read and post on my blog (which shouldn't be a problem).

So I thought I'd make a bigger dent of the House of Night series and try and get through both Betrayed (which I keep calling betrayal) and Chosen. Some of you may know that I don't own these series but my Aunt does, which is also the case for the Morganville Vampire series too so when I finish these two I can take them back and get another few off them.

So, like I said above I'm hoping to read these two together before getting more.

After originally meaning to read this sooner I've bunked it down a few notches. I have no idea why but the series seems a little bland in my head, even though this is only the second book so I've been putting it off but will read straight after Chosen. Pinky Promise!

Book Review: Last Breath

So, you're new to Morganville. Welcome, new resident! There are only a few important rules you need to know to feel comforable in our quiet little town:

- Obey the speed limits.

- Don't litter.

- Whatever you do, don't get on the bad side of the vampires.

Yeah, we said vampires. Deal with it.

As a human newcomer, you'll need to find yourself a vampire Protector-someone willing to sign a contract to keep you and your safe from harm (especially from the other vampires). In return, you'll pay taxes... just like in any other town. Of course, in most other towns, those taxes don't get collected at the blood bank.

Oh, and if you decide NOT to get a Protector, you can do that, too... but you'd better learn how to run fast, stay out of shadows, and build a network of friends who can help you. Try contacting the residents of the Glass House- Michael, Eve, Shane, and Claire. They know their way around, even if they always end up in the middle of trouble somehow.

Welcome to Morganville. You'll never want to leave.

And even if you do... well, you can't.

Sorry about that.

So this is book 11 in the Morganville Vampire series (wow it's long, but totally worth it!)

Claire Danvers is concerned when three vampires vanish from Morganville without a trace. The last person seen with them is someone new to town - a mysterious individual named Magnus. Claire is convinced creepy Magnus isn't human ...but is he a vampire, or something else entirely? 

Claire's hunt for answers leads her to solving another mystery that's long been puzzling her: why do vampires live so far out in a sunny desert when they're sensitive to sunlight? The answer has nothing to do with sunlight, but with water - and an ancient enemy who has finally found a way to invade the vampires' landlocked community. Vampires aren't the top predator on earth. There's something worse that preys on them ...something much worse. 

Which means if Claire, and Morganville, want to live, they will have to fight on to the last breath ...

Novels

1. Glass Houses (October 2006, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-21994-5)^[5]
2. The Dead Girls' Dance (April 2007, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22089-7)
3. Midnight Alley (October 2007, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22238-5)
4. Feast of Fools (June 2008, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22463-9)
5. Lord of Misrule (January 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22572-4)
6. Carpe Corpus (June 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22719-0)^[4]
7. Fade Out (November 2009, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22866-9)
8. Kiss of Death (April 27, 2010, Signet Books, ISBN 0-451-22973-8)
9. Ghost Town (October 26, 2010, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23161-9)
10. Bite Club (May 3, 2011, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23318-2)
11. Last Breath (November 1, 2011, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23487-1)
12. Black Dawn (May 1, 2012, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23671-8)
13. Bitter Blood (scheduled November 6, 2012, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-23811-7)
14. Fall Of Night (scheduled May 17, 2013, NAL Hardcover, ISBN 0-451-41425-X)
15. Untitled, scheduled to be released in November 2013

If you can put up with long series and are into the whole vampire thing then this is a series for you. I do warn you though that it's hard to make your collection look like a collection because of the constantly changing cover designs. Although I do warn you now that it's for the mature young adults in some bits. If you get my drift...

But hey! I'm mature :)

But it here: Last Breath Book #11

Series: The Morganville Vampires #11

Characters: Michael Glass, Shane Collins, Eve Rosser, Claire Danvers

Setting:  Texas (United States) 

Book Review: City of Bones

Maybe because there was such a big hype about this book and a need to like it or maybe because I was just in a fowl mood when reading it but all I can say was it was... OK.
*Don't hit me!*

Maybe give me a few days and I'll come to my senses but did anyone else see then ending... eck!
But it's ok... I have crap friends who spoil endings if I don't cover my ears and sing at the top of my lungs when around them.

I must of liked something in this book (perhaps the love triangle *wink wink* who knows?) because I did put all of the books up to City of Lost Souls and the Infernal Devices series on my Amazon wishlist. My favourite scene was page 292 and I know this because it's my friend's copy (Morgan, for future reference) and she's a page corner folder which I'm pretty sure most people fell is a sin but what can yaddo?

Anyway....

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

So when I first saw the book in Eason I was like 'Ew!' and even now I wrinkle my nose (wow that makes me sound like a snob) but still... Anyway that one time of seeing the book set of a chain reaction in which the book showed up everywhere! Then my good-friend Morgan tells me she's read it and I can barely stop my jaw-dropping. From what I'd heard of the book everyone loved it so I gave it a chance.

My mind didn't really settle into the world of the Shadowhunters but I kept reading and reading until after less than 48 hours I was finished.
I think I was in a fowl mood, being basically banished my granny's kitchen to read does that to me surprisingly, because once I got home and to my own bed I was laughing at the jokes in the book.

While I was reading I couldn't help but think of all the times I heard Jace was sarcastic but mainly I found Clary funnier even if Jace did have his moments.

Once it ended I should of been shocked like most readers, but nope (thank you blabber-mouthing friends who can't keep their mouths shut) so maybe that's why I wasn't so enthusiastic but I am looking forward to see how the rest of the series goes.

Wow it sounds like I hated this book which I certainly did not. Hate is a strong word. I did enjoy the read and can't wait to read the rest of the series. I'm even trying to earn money to move them quickly from my wish list to basket :)

I also found out this went from being a a trilogy to a fricking 6 books series? Like make up your mind...

Quotes:

"At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.” 

“If you were half as funny as you think you are, you'd be twice as funny as you are now.” 

“It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234'.” 

Awards:

• AwkwardTriangle - because the awkward love triangle moments made this book for me
• BonesToAshesToGlass - Cool names. I'll give them that
• PerfectlyTimed - The book had the perfect times for people to walk in and mess things up

But it on Amazon - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd (2 July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406307629
• ISBN-13: 978-1406307627
• Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.4 cm

Book Review: Hallowed

*Contains Spoilers for Unearthly Book 1. Please do not read if you have not read the first book*

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.


Basically, I wanted to read this book to find out what happened next for Clara, Tucker and Christian and this book definitely throws the love triangle in.

So what's life like after the fire?

In this book Clara had a new vision. A cemetery. Someone she loves is going to die and there are a few close people she loves who aren't in the vision. Tucker is one of them.
At the same time as dealing with Tucker might die she has to battle her failed Purpose. The night she was meant to save Christian in a forest fire she saved Tucker instead. Luckily, Christian was also part-angel and thought his purpose was to save Clara.
Her brother Jeffrey is going off the rails, her mum is hiding secrets and her friend Angela wants to start an Angel club.
All this is happening while she battles to find out what her mother is keeping from her, trying to save the people she loves and battling with the fallen angel, Samjeeza.

While reading the book I was pulled in by her strong relationship with Tucker but also her growing feelings for Christian.

If you think hard while reading you can guess what is coming. The whole way through I kept thinking what the ending would be and it was a more or less diluted version of my thoughts.

Quotes:

“Before I moved here, I never got the whole love-triangle thing. You know, in movies or romance novels or whatnot, where there’s one chick that all the guys are drooling over, even though you can’t see anything particularly special about her. But oh, no, they both must have her. And she’s like, oh dear, however will I choose? William is so sensitive, he understands me, he swept me off my feet, oh misery, blubber, blubber, but how can I go on living without Rafe and his devil-may-care ways and his dark and only-a-little-abusive love? Upchuck.” 

"Nice night for stalking," he observes.
"No, I was---"
"Get your butt in here, Carrots.” 

"Just in case, I dont know, his comic book collection decided to spontaneously combust. This was dumb and admittedly creepy in an Edward Cullen kind of way” 

"But at least you won't be running away.
I think it's more of a brisk walk.
Whatever.
I'm having an argument with myself. And I'm losing. So not a good sign."

"We search through the powder for a while, but don't locate my missing ski. After ten fruitless minutes I'm convinced that the mountain has eaten it."

-I know I out in a lot of quotes for this and Unearthly. But they're so bloody brilliant!

Other covers: 

Personal Awards!:

• Choosing You/Choosing Me: Gosh, the whole way though you wonder who she's going to pick!
• U.N.I -  After the Ed Sheeran Song (duh) but seriously, this is the only book I've read in a while were the person not just thinks about university but actually gets confirmation and a go ahead!
• Quotastic - Let's just all bow down now to Cynthia Hands quote humour!

Buy it - Hallowed (Book #2 Unearthly) by Cynthia Hand

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Electric Monkey (2 Jan 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405259922
• ISBN-13: 978-1405259927
• Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3.2 cm

Book Review: Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide To Getting Girls

While I didn't find the idea around the plot very realistic I did think it was a great plot. The characters were well described and easy to get to know which was surprising in such a short book.

It would be easy to say I hated the idea of teens using sex as a tool but this is a book which will relate to real readers in a modern time.

I knew what I was getting when I picked this book up and even though there weren't any big surprises or 'I am your father' scenes it was a great quick-read which I didn't regret the morning after.

It was short and sweet like cotton candy and even when I put the book down to sleep I felt myself want to pick it up just to find out what happened next.


Personal Awards?

• Cotton Candy - because it was short and sweet
• Turn on or Turn over - modern teens with modern teen thoughts

Haul...

Netgalley Haul!

Books that I recently got approved on NetGalley and need to read and review :)

Name: Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide to Getting Girls

Author: Tellulah Darling

Kindly Approved by

Publisher:		Te Da Media
Pub Date:		October 17, 2012
ISBN:		9780988054028

Why the hell can't chicks be more like guys?

That question plagues high school senior Sam Cruz. Sam is perfectly happy being a player. He just wishes girls wouldn't change the game from sex to relationships. It makes him look like an asshole. But when Sam's best friend, Ally Klinger, gets dumped, she begs him to transform her into someone who can screw around then screw off. No risk of heartbreak that way. It's Sam's chance to create the perfect female AND cheer up his best friend. Armed with Sam's Three Step Guide to Backseat Success, Ally gets the game better than Sam thought she would and before long, Sam has his wish: the female version of himself. Too bad it's driving him nuts. Told from Sam's and Ally's alternating POVs, Sam Cruz's Infallible Guide to Getting Girls is a fast-paced romantic comedy that follows these teens as they navigate the minefield of sex, love, and friendship.

This book contains strong language, drinking, euphemisms, and lots of "bow chicka wow wow."

Name: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Kindly Approved by

Publisher:		Harlequin UK
Imprint:		MIRA Ink
Pub Date:		August 03, 2012

What if the last person you should fall in love with is the only one who can save you?

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise."Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you. It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. The Room tilted...

No one knows what really happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of the horrible night that changed her life forever.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And now Echo has to ask herself just what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again...

Name: Two and Twenty Dark Tales
Georgia McBride (editor), Michelle Zink (editor)

SubTitle:		Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes
Publisher:		Month9Books
Imprint:		Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Pub Date:		October 16, 2012

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell, or if Jill pushed him instead, to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall.