In My Mailbox (30)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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I got two books this week:

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1. Black Swan Green By David Mitchell

2. A Small Free Kiss In The Dark By Glenda Millard
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I read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell about a month ago and really enjoyed it so I decided I would look into more of his work and they all sounded great but I made myself just pick one! I also won a contest from Sara @ Just Another Story, so I picked out A Small Free Kiss In The Dark. I absolutely love the cover and it has that awesome waxy feel to it that seems to be all the trend at the moment. I can't wait to get started on these two :)

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children By Ransom Riggs

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, 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 Miss Peregrine's 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.

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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.

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When I first saw Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children online, I was immediately intrigued, but as soon as I saw the book trailer I was instantly sold. It was amazing! It felt more like a trailer for a scary movie than a book and I was happy to see that it lived up the trailer.

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Jacob has always looked up to his Grandfather. However, now he is of the age where he is questioning some of his Grandfather's stories about his time at an orphanage with other children that seem to have peculiar gifts during WWII. When Jacob finds a letter among his Grandfather's belongings he feels the need to find out once and for all if he was to be trusted. This leads him and his Dad to an island off the coast of Wales to uncover the secrets that it holds.

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Jacob is a strange character. Whilst he is a sixteen-year-old he sometimes acts a lot older for his age. He is also a bit of a loner. I wouldn't say that it is by choice exactly, but he appears to have gotten used to spending time on his own and is comfortable with his own company more than he is around other people. However, when he meets the peculiar children he feels more at home and perhaps a little more understanding of his own oddities. What I loved about Jacob though, was his ability to follow his heart and instincts. He has faith in his abilities even when the people around him doubt him.

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I loved the whole idea of the peculiar children stuck in time at an orphanage. These children all have different gifts that make them unique. They have all been stuck in time at the home for many years. They all still act and think like children but occasionally they have these snippets of thinking and talking that make them sound more like the age they truly are. This gives them a slightly creepy aura about them. Jacob bonds with a young girl in particular called Emma who also grows fond of Jacob. I really liked the friendship between these two but I'm not sure I felt the need for it to progress into anything else. I did feel sorry for Emma at times because you can tell that she wants nothing more than to live a normal life and grow up. At times the peculiar children had the essence of the Lost Boys from Peter Pan but more, well, peculiar.

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The story was enthralling and exciting at times. There were parts where, just like in a horror movie, the suspense and tension gradually keeps on climbing until you think you can no longer bear it right before you know a scary part is on the way. I think the gloomy and isolated setting of Wales really added to this atmosphere of a place out of time with the rest of the world. Miss Peregrine was also a great character. As the protector of the peculiar children she is strict but kind which makes her likable and I would really like to learn more about her.

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One thing I have to mention is how beautifully the book has been made. It is a cloth bound red hardcover with the curly gold font of 'Alma LeFay Peregrine' on the front. The pages themselves are thick which the gives it a great weight and interspersed throughout the whole novel are wonderfully surreal and bizarre black and white photos. These photos are all real that have been gathered by Riggs himself or private collectors that have kindly given their permission for them to be used. What amazes me is how Riggs manages to work these photos seamlessly into the story and make them feel like an integral part of it.

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This book is definitely captivating and enthralling. It has a spooky atmosphere that is mixed with mystery, action and adventure. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with creepy and sinister baddies. A highly exciting and original debut novel that has left me wanting more!

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Random Passage: Each room was a disaster more incredible than the last. Newspapers gathered in drifts. Scattered toys, evidence of children long gone, lay skinned in dust. Creeping mold had turned window-adjacent walls black and furry. Fireplaces were throttled with vines that had descended from the roof and begun to spread across the floors like alien tentacles. The kitchen was a science experiment gone terribly wrong - entire shelves of jarred food had exploded from sixty seasons of freezing and thawing, splattering the wall with evil-looking stains - and fallen plaster lay so thickly over the dining room floor that for a moment I thought it had snowed indoors. At the end of a light-starved corridor I tested my weight on rickety staircase, my boots leaving fresh tracks in layers of dust. The steps groaned as if woken from a long sleep. If anyone was upstairs, they'd been there a very long time.

In My Mailbox (29)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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I got two books this week! I won Blood Red Road from Wondrous Reads and my Dad brought me A Tiny Bit Marvellous on a whim. I've heard good things about Blood Red Road so I can't wait to get stuck into another dystopian andI hope A Tiny Bit Marvellous is as funny as Dawn French is. So it's been a great book week :)

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1. A Tiny Bit Marvellous By Dawn French

2. Blood Red Road By Moira Young

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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favourite people are there: Susannah, her mother's best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy called Cam and lingering looks from Conrad's brother, Jeremiah, Belly's heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

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Summer is my favourite season and I love nothing better than to sit and read out in the sunshine and this was such a perfect book for that exact purpose.

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Belly lives her life waiting for the adventure of summer to start where she can finally pack up her schoolbooks and head on over to the beach house she has been spending her summers at for as long as she can remember. Along with her mother and brother they spend their holiday with family friend Susannah and her two sons Conrad and Jeremiah. Even though Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, both boys have always treated her like a little sister. However, this summer Belly has grown up and hopes that they will now see her in a different light.

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I loved how the story was told in the present but with flashbacks to some of Belly's previous summers at the beach house. It really allows for you to get a feel of the dynamics between the characters and how bittersweet memories sculpt who they are now. We get to see how Belly always tried to join in with the boys games even though they thought she was too young and silly to play, especially her brother Steven. However, now Conrad and Jeremiah are starting to see that she isn't just an annoying little girl that is always stubbornly trying to tag along. They stop overlooking her and start to realise how pretty she is (hence the title). There is a lot of tension about as everybody adjusts to their new-found outlook and feelings.

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I really loved the two boys but I think my favourite was Jeremiah. He appears to be completely carefree and happy but with a big heart. There is a bit of heartbreak for him when he realises Belly's heart will always belong to Conrad but I love how he doesn't go off and sulk about it or jeopardise his friendship with Belly because of it. He just gets over it which is so refreshing. Conrad is the more intense of the two and has always been so, but this summer he has started to isolate himself and has become more aloof. This annoys and frustrated Belly because she just wants him to notice her in the same way as Jeremiah but Conrad has more important things on his mind which could leave him distraught.

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Belly was also a likable character. She felt realistic and relatable. Sometimes she seemed to be a little self-centred but that's what made her more realistic because there's always a time in a teenage girl's life where you lose sight of what's happening to the people around you because you are too focused on trying to get the boy of your dreams to notice you. However, what I really loved about Belly is how she can hold her own amongst the boys and also her deep care for them and their mother. At first when I read the name Belly I thought it was ridiculous but when I read on and found out why she has this nickname it's just perfect as it represents the relationship between young boys and girls perfectly, especially siblings.

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I did love the other characters in the book too; Belly's mother, her brother and also Susannah. I particularly liked the friendship between the two mothers and how they support each other through difficult times. The only character I wasn't sure about was Belly's short-lived love interest Cam who was a bit pointless because he was only there to incite jealousy from Conrad and didn't feel like it added anything worthwhile to the story. Although I suppose he was the one that ignite Belly's new-found freedom and independence form the boys now that she's old enough.

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This was an amazing summer read that brings back nostalgic feelings from those warmer months. It's an easy read that flows with down-to-earth writing. It's charming, endearing and doesn't give you a headache from an overload of teenage angst. It has a narrative that seamlessly weaves the current summer with summers past and has a great blend of interesting characters, magical summers and emotional scenes. I would recommend it for fans of Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler and I can't wait to read the sequel 'It's Not Summer Without You'!

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Random Passage: The thing is, Susannah was right. It was a summer I'd never, ever forget. It was the summer everything began. It was the summer I turned pretty. Because for the first time, I felt it. Pretty, I mean. Every summer up to this one, I believed it'd be different. Life would be different. And that summer, it finally was. I was.

A Tangle of Magicks By Stephanie Burgis

Kat's back! And this time, Regency England's feistiest twelve year old is in even bigger trouble than before...

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When her family arrive in Bath in search of a suitor for Kat's sister Angeline, it's not long before Kat discovers that the town of Bath is fizzing with wild magic.

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Stumbling upon a plot to harness the magic in the Roman Baths, Kat finds that her brother is unwittingly involved. To foil the plot and save her brother, she must defy the Order of the Guardians and risk losing her magical powers, forever...

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When I won a giveaway for A Most Improper Magick I was so excited to see that it's sequel had been sent with it, A Tangle of Magicks! I thoroughly enjoyed the first in the series and was glad that this sequel was just as good.

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Kat is back in this sequel and she is the same outgoing and amusing character. She often jumps head on into a situation without thinking it through first which more times than not gets her into trouble. At times she can be annoying and often stubborn but only in her determination to help the people she cares about even if it destroys her reputation in society. Her magic progresses in this book which led to a tense and exciting climatic end.

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I enjoyed reading about some of the great characters from the first book again, especially Angeline who becomes an even more complex and interesting character. She is feisty and shares her sister's determination and stubbornness. I loved the relationship between the sister's and because they are quite similar they often get exasperated with each other but you can still tell they will go out of their way to help each other if they really needed it. In this sequel we get to see more of Charles, Kat's brother but less of her other sister, Elissa, who I kind of missed. However, Stepmama and Reverend Stephenson become more likable and you end up feeling more sympathy for them.

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This book is a cute and fun read, full of mischief and magical adventure. It's a fast read and it's easy to jump right back into Kat's world. I loved that it was set in Bath in Regency England and it's the perfect book to introduce youngsters to the era whilst keeping it fun and adventurous. I really enjoyed it and hope there's going to be another sequel!

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.5

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Random Passage: The pavement was crowded with ladies carrying parasols and gentlemen carrying elaborate quizzing glasses - a reminder of Lord Ravenscroft that I didn't need, especially not as we prepared to meet Stepmama's most snobbish good relations. All of the promenaders watched with undisguised curiosity as Charles and Papa followed us out of the carriage, Charles wearing his most particularly bland expression - retreating, as usual, from any scene of potential conflict. Of course, none of our observers could speak to us without a proper introduction, bit I heard the whispers of speculation rise around us as we approached the front door. (from uncorrected proof)

In My Mailbox (28)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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I got two books this week:

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1. Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

2. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
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I can't wait to read the penultimate instalment in The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy and find out what happens to Grace and Sam! Also, Texas Gothic sounds like a great read :)

In My Mailbox (27)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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I recieved one book this week which I won from sheisknownasjess (thanks!) and I can't wait to get stuck into it. It looks like the perfect summer read :)

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1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

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