Waiting On Wednesday||❤

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 This week is..........
One
By Sarah Crossan
Publication Date: August 26th 2015

 
(Goodreads)
Grace and Tippi are twins – conjoined twins.

And their lives are about to change.

No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world – a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?

But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined…

From Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?

What Are You Waiting On This Wednesday?

Keep Reading,

Naomi...xxx

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Teaser Tuesday||❤

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

---

'He looked into my eyes and seemed to understand that I was only one step up from being a maid myself. That wasn't the reason for my worry, but it did seem strange that a lottery was the difference between someone like Anne and me.
~The Selection By Kiera Cass

What is your teaser?

Keep Reading,

Naomi...xxx

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The DUFF-A Film Review||❤

The Duff
When people said that this film would be different, I didn't expect it to be So different it was completely alien to me. Yes, I do understand, films can't follow the book but this wasn't really 'The DUFF' anymore. It was like they flushed the whole meaning down the plug hole and out of the tap came a wannabe mean girls film.

This film was about Bianca, a girl whowas the 'duff' in her friendship group (The Designated Ugly and Fat Friend). When she is told so at a part by none other than Wesley Rush, a childhood best friend, she decides to recruit his help along the way distancing herself away from her friends.

This film had everything you didn't want in a film, cheesy acting, a weird storyline, cricket worthy lines which made me want to puke and a mean girl/disney star who was as intimidating as an orange. Mix this all together and you will make my worst nightmare. Mae Whitman was who definitely saved the film. Her witty personality and brilliant acting made me love Bianca as a character in this film. But who really stealer the show was Ken Jeong. Although he did have a minor role, he did inject some fun into the film and I found myself smiling the most at his parts.

What I didn't like about the film was that the book was almost dumbed down to fit younger audience. What the film was missing was the rawness from the book. Everything seemed to fake and set up that I had to force myself to sit through it. If they did go along with the book it would have been a more diverse film and a mature film. The DUFF does cover mature issues but this film felt like it deserved to be at the front of Nickelodeon promoting God knows what.

Overall I would give the film a 2/5. It wasn't good but I did smile around twice so it wasn't that bad. I wouldn't advise you to waste your money to see it. The Duff is a no no for me!

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Waiting On Wednesday||❤

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 This week is..........
Extraordinary Means
By Robyn Schneider 
Publication Date: May 26th 2015

(Goodreads)

From the author of The Beginning of Everything: two teens with a deadly disnase fall in love on the brink of a cure.

At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.

There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.

But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.

Why Am I Waiting This Wednesday?

I am so excited for this book because I haven't actually read any book to do with tuberculosis and I just want to see what the life of a patient would be like. Also it looks like an exhilerating read I will always keep my eyes on!

Keep Reading,

Naomi...xxx

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The Selection-A Book Review||❤

The Selection
By Kiera Cass
Publication Date: April 24th 2012
Rating: 5/5 stars
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. 

My Thoughts...

*received in exchange for an honest review*

The Selection was not what I was expecting it to be at all. I thought it would be cliché, judging by the cover and the synopsis, but I urged myself to give the book a try because it seemed different and now I seriously dont regret it. We are plunged into a world of judgment meaning that if you are in a certain class your life has been mapped out for you. For example, if you were a 5 you would be an artist and if you were a 8, you were a criminal. Although the book was dystopian it did mainly concentrate on the romance between characters and less on the world they live in. It didn't really bother me that much because I wasn't expecting much on that side anyway and I wanted to really see development between characters which I did indeed see.  

Kiera Cass' writing style is casual yet not too laid back. It made it easier to connect with America as a character and I wasn't so confused that I was rereading each line so many times that I felt like continuously banging my head on a plank of wood. This meant that I actually finished this book in one sitting. I stayed up really late on a school night and ended up having 4 hours of sleep but I couldn't put the book down at all. I kept on finishing a chapter then saying to myself 'Naomi, you need to sleep...nah just one more chapter' another chapter led to another and I actually ended up finishing the book. I was sleep deprived that day but completely satisfied that I had finally finished it. Then I got really annoyed because the book ended on a cliff hanger and I just  kept on thinking about what would happen and it just stressed me out!

There weren't many main characters in the book to concentrate on which makes things even better because I am really bad at remembering names. I can barely remember The Hunger Games characters and I read the book THREE TIMES!' My favourite character would have to be of course Prince Maxon as he was an awkward character who didn't even know what he was doing. He was charming, sweet and was just a person who understood things and always listened even if it didn't really matter. America was a character who was fierce and wouldn't give up on anything. She fought for what was right, she didn't cower away in the corner and was always there to offer help to people who needed it.

I don't really want to talk about the romance as it is the main element in the book and I feel like if I talk about it then a whole load of spoilers will splurge out and I try to keep my reviews spoiler free. Overall, I do think this book was worth the read and I will be reading the next book as soon as I can get my hands on it!!

Keep Reading,
Naomi...xxx

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Creative Blogger Award||❤

Thank you to my beautiful friend Abbie @Afro Bee Beauty for nominating me for this! Thank you so much, love you!!

The Rules

• Nominate 15-20 blogs and notify all via their social media/blogs
• Thank and post the link of the blog that nominated you (very important)
• Share 5 facts about yourself to your readers
• Pass the rules on to them

My Facts

1. I can play 4 instruments. My main ones are Violin and Voice which I spend most of my time doing and the ones I do not so seriously are the Piano and Guitar.
2. When I was younger my best friend flushed my hat down the toilet, I found it hilarious but my mum didn't think otherwise.
3. I have an obsession with butter. I will literally lather my toast in butter then spoon out some butter so I can dip my toast into it, I know it is sooo weird!
4. I am obsessed with Netflix and so watch around 4 TV series at once. I will literally sit in my bed all day finishing a series and I will only leave for snacks an food.
5. This blog is the longest blog I have updated regularly and used. I have had others years ago but I never bothered to use them, then my friend introduced me to booktube at first but I didn't want to do that specifically so I started a blog instead!

I don't like nominating specific people but I'm leaving this space open so feel free to do this tag and just comment below if you want to do it as I would love to hear about it!

Keep Reading,

Naomi...xxx

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Heist Society-A Book Review||❤

Heist Society
By Ally Carter
Publication Date: February 9th 2010
Rating: 4/5
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took h on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birtscholatarina and her Uncle Eddie travelled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately , leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.
Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrioeve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.
For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

My Thoughts...

Katarina has always been a criminal. It runs deep into her blood and once she has escaped it it turned out that she always finds herself running back. Katarina lives the dangerous lifestyle and when a deadly criminal thinks her father has stolen one of the worlds most valuable paintings from him she is determined to get them back. But there is only one issue, she had two weeks to track down these paintings but all isn't easy. Her uncle has told her to step back and let the job be done but Katarina has to somehow gather these paintings and steal from one of the most surveillancesurveillanced art museums in the world. What could a group of teenagers do?

I'm a massive fan of Ally Carter and when I saw this in my school library I couldn't help but pick up the book. After enjoyed the Gallagher Girls series, although I havent finished the series yet, I was already quite used to Ally Carter's writing style which is more relaxed and is exhilarating. When reading this book I almost felt like jumping in with all the characters and joining in with their heists and zipping around Europe with her. I also liked how it was all But the action and I felt like I was on th edge of my seat when I was reading it. I enjoyed the book so much that I ended up finishing it in 2 days!!  

The characters are each different in their own way and I loved how Katerina was a character who never gave up even though people told her to step back. I also loved how she was always there to protect and help her friends even if it meant endangering herself. Hale, the main male character, and Katerina's relationship as friends is so sweet, they always do things together and are the leaders of the whole group of teenagers. They all knitted well together as a team and together bravely attempt to do something which could ruin their lives.

What stopped me from giving the book a full on 5 stars was that it was quite unrealistic. I doubt any normal group of teenagers however many years they have trained for would not be able to do anything of such a high level without being rattled out by someone. But hey, that's the beauty of fiction. Also, I felt like the villain in the book wasn't intimidating enough and didn't cause as much havoc to make the book exceptional and almost flawless. There just wasn't enough evil for me and I love a good villain to secretly take sides with!

Overall I thought this was a brilliant, action-packed book which you would enjoy if you are a fan of Ally Carter or a lover of thief based books.

Keep Reading,
Naomi...xxx

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