Feature and Follow

Feature and follow is set up to help find new followers and to find great blogs to follow yourself, this blog hop is hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read, who both pick a blog to feature that week. This weeks feature blogs are: Bewitched Bookworms and My 5 Monkeys.

Q)  What blog are you thankful for?

A) I am thankful for so many blogs as they all inspired me to start blogging myself, so picking one is tough. However I am most thankful for http://thebookscout.blogspot.co.uk/ after reading that blog I knew that I definitely wanted to start blogging.

Seeking Crystal - Joss Stirling

'I'm coming back to get you whatever happens...'     

When fate throws Crystal Brook into the path of Xav Benedict, the personality clash is explosive. It's hate at first sight. As their families gather in Venice, a powerful enemy seizes the opportunity to attack. Xav and Crystal must unite to save their loved ones, discovering a secret that entwines them forever...


Only a few authors make it onto my favourites list and Joss Stirling did, with her fabulous soulfinders series. With an idea similar to that of soulmates, many would brush it aside with the 'oh it's just another romance novel' but they shouldn't - I do happen to love romance novels myself though - these books have a certain twist and these soulfinders have so much love and passion that they do put ordinary soulmates to shame. These are the books that make me really wish I had a hidden savant power that will be revealed - I'm secretly trying to lift a magazine off the table with my mind as I type.

Seeking Crytal is the third book in this series based on those with savant powers and like all others it delivered with a kick. There are so many things I loved it is just easier to make a list:

- The action, one of the best things in this book. I love the conflicts created in the book, and how they chose to deal with it. It's almost like a brilliant spy novel - just without all the paperwork and government checks that spies have to do. But the action is balanced perfectly with . . .

- Friendship and other characters, I loved all of the new characters. Such as, Steve, at the start I thought he was just big headed like most celebrities, but he startled me with his understanding of savants and relating to them. Every character added to the story - I epecially enjoy side love stories like Steve's and Lily's - but I enjoyed learning more about original characters (the Benedict brothers and they're parents). Diamond and Trace's first meeting was so good - no messing arond just the joy of finding each other, unlike . . .

- Xav and Crystal, I love the part where they realise they're soulfinders, that was one of my favourite parts of the novel, I kept re-reading it because it was so sweet. They were the perfect couple, Xav and his jokes and his cheery personality, colliding with Crystal who has serious problems on her mind - neither understanding each other, but somehow (even before they knew they were soulfinders) they understood each other completely. All helped along with . . .

- The location, Venice was perfect. The complicated streets reflecting the complications in all the characters lives. And Venice just adding extra romance, with the flooding and gondola's. I imagined it as a vibrant place, some areas with wide open squares whilst having twisting alleys that are easy to get lost in . . .

- Just like the entire book, it was so easy to get lost in the sheer brilliance and I read into the night. I really hope Joss Stirling writes more to complete a so far perfect series, and if she does I will hit, kick and bite anybody who gets in the way of me reading it (metaphorically of course).

4.5 stars out of 5

Never Forget Your Favourite Books

With lots of new books coming out all the time, I feel that I've forgotten about all the books I used to love reading and made me want to start blogging in the first place. So this month I'm just going to re-read all my old favourites: Ally Carter (the Gallagher Girls series and Heist Society series); Meg Cabot, and Joss Stirling.
                                           



Between the Lines - Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Delilah knows it's weird, but she can't stop reading her favourite fairy tale. Other girls her age are dating and cheerleading. But then, other girls are popular.

Delilah loves the comfort of the happy ending, and knowing there will be no surprises.

Until she gets the biggest surprise of all, when Prince Oliver looks out from the page and speaks to her.

Now Delilah must decide: will she do as Oliver asks, and help him to break ot of the book? Or is this her chance to break into happily ever after?

After discovering the book I found the plot very interesting, it seemed for me different than any other YA romance book I've read before. It's told in alternating character points of view and with the fairy tale retold between chapters. Illustrations throughout the book and coloured writing however reveal that this book is geared towards more early teens.

I love a good romance story and almost always in a romance story is conflict and trouble; but one of the characters being a fictional character trapped in a book, is a big heap of trouble. From the start you're thrown into their separate worlds: Oliver's hate for being trapped and Delilah's hate for being stuck in high school - where everybody hates her.

Oliver has friends that are as close as family, and a good life. But despite everything he isn't happy. What I like about the alternating character chapters is that you get to understand more about Oliver's hobbies, sometimes in these sort of books you only see the girls opinion of the boy and discover no personality to him. We also know that Oliver is very good looking (and to be a Prince in a fairy tale he has to be) but he is also caring and quite clever. Since he has to try so many ways to get out of the book.

Delilah has a few people that care about her: her mum and best friend Jules. Everybody thinks she has gone crazy, and with her reputation falling her mum becomes more disappointed in her. All we really know about Delilah is that she enjoys reading and is a good girl in school, for me her personality could of been developed more, as it seemed to cover the same points (her obsession with the book, unpopularity at school...).

The romance between Oliver and Delilah was sweet, and understandable, and caring, but I felt some passion was missing - only slightly because of their instant love. Occasionally I would wonder if Delilah had fallen for the fairy tale Prince Oliver.  Other characters though were developed more deeply - especially from the fairy tale book - and most characters all showed a hidden side: Jules through her scary outfits was a caring friend, Rapscullio being the bad guy and his love of art, and Captain Crabbe being an evil pirate whilst loving dentistry; showing everybody is more than what you see.

Overall this book seemed a bit young for me but had a very cute romance. The beautiful drawings were very good and fitted the fairy tale theme, and help create a feeling of reality for the fairy tale. The ending was different to what I expected but was slightly unrealistic (even though characters coming alive is unrealistic) I am happy with the ending though as it answered all questions and problems that could have occured.

3 stars out of 5