Summer Book Haul

Man, has it been a while! I could give the whole 'the past month, I've been crazy busy' speech or whatever, but really it's just a waste of both our times! I'm pretty sure you all understand, and for that, you're all awesome! Haha

I felt bad, nonetheless, for having not posted in a month, and I still don't have too much free time at the moment, so here's my Summer Book Haul/Unboxing video that I posted on my booktube channel!

Tell me if you've read any of these and whether they were any good or not, to be honest I'm excited for them all!

I should be back to posting regularly soon enough!
Thanks guys,

Half Bad by Sally Green

Title: Half Bad
Author: Sally Green
Publisher: Penguin
Published: March 3rd, 2014
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal
Source: Easons

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

'Half Bad' is the interesting and uniquely written story of Nathan, a witch of half white and half black, half good and half bad descent, in a world where being a black witch, comes with a death sentence. It's the story of Nathan's growth, both literal and figurative, as he fights through the struggles of his life.

This being a very character-based novel, I think it's only right to address that first. What I can definitively say about Nathan, is that I felt he was a confusing character, and rather confused, himself. With the sort of life he's had to put up with, what with being discriminated against, locked up, tortured and all, I understand why he is the way he is. For the most part. He's undeniably violent and fluent in the language of profanity, which was all right; that didn't bother me at all, but I felt there was no growth in his character throughout the book. I felt like young Nathan in the beginning of the book was identical to seventeen year old Nathan at the end, bar a few obvious physical differences. The personality, motives, determination we see in him, while admirable in such a young person, doesn't really change by the time the book ends, which I feel is disappointing and a missed opportunity, because there was such room for it in the book.

Speaking of Nathan in the beginning of the book, I loved how this book started. Writing the first few chapters in 2nd person was a daring choice but I thought it was actually quite engaging. I will say it did take some getting used to, but that, along with Sally Green's interesting writing style in the beginning, varying chapter syntax and such, really drew me into the story.

Unfortunately, while I found the writing style intriguing in the beginning, as the story continued, I felt it grew really repetitive and didn't do much to keep me interested in the story. I felt like the story really lacked a sense of direction for most of the book, and my theory for that is, simply, the story was stretched over way too long a time period.

In the beginning, after the introductory first few chapters of his being locked up, Nathan is pretty young, and over the course of the book, around 5 years pass. The problem, I found, with this was, the author, Sally Green, lingered on every part of these five years, and the result was a lack of depth. I mean think about it, if you attempt to cover 4-5 years in the space of less than 400 pages, no particularly part of those 4-5 years gets enough attention, leaving them all underdeveloped and thus, the lack of depth, which was probably the book's downfall for me.

So yes, while the premise and story in general were really enjoyable, the way in which these were handled proved disappointing. I'd recommend to those who love witch-related books, and have an abundance of patience.

Have you read Half Bad? What did you think of it? Share your thoughts!

Thanks for reading guys!

Cover Reveal: The Revenge of Seven

Hey guys!

Mother of freaking God, almost 3 weeks since my last post? Unacceptable I know, I know, so very sorry, but the last month has been crazy hectic and busy and stuff, so I hope you understand? Sure you do, you guys are all awesome! Haha

Anyway, today I realised that the cover of one of my most anticipated 2014 reads has been released! If you didn't already guess it, it's 'The Revenge of Seven', the fifth book in the Lorien Legacies! Loving the series as I do, I just had to give some input and stuff, so here it goes!

I Am Number Four

Book One

My rating:
             80%

The Power of Six

Book Two

My Rating:          

             85% 

The Rise of Nine

Book Three

My Rating:

              90%

The Fall of Five

Book Four

My Rating:            

90%   

The Revenge of Seven

Book Five

Yup, there it is everyone!

I have only one thing to say about the cover:

The green growth that obviously take up most of the cover, what exactly is it? The first answer would probably be plain old grass or a moss of some sort, but if you take it as being an aerial photograph, could it also be a forest? Either way, the vibrant colour immediately makes me think 'Lorien', and if I'm right, is this the final book in the series??

The covers of the previous few books have had very subtle indications to the plot;
- John's lumen legacy in the first book cover.
- A possible hint to Six's weather manipulation legacy with the rain drops and whatnot, in the second book.
- The whole desert setting, where Six was lost for a while, in the third.
- A more modern setting in Chicago, where most of the fourth book took place.

I might be reading too much into the covers, but something tells me this is where the story ends; with the fifth book that is. Something tells me that they'll finally return to Lorien, or at least avenge it by killing Setrakus Ra.

Have you read the Lorien Legacies books? What do you think about the cover of the fifth book?

Thanks for reading guys!

April Wrap-Up

Hey guys!

So yeah, as unbelievable as it is, April is coming to a close, and to join in on the Booktube tradition, I decided to do a wrap-up video for the month!

Basically it's me talking about all the books I read this month, and what I thought about them, like mini reviews!

How was your reading this month? What did you read?

Thanks guys, and I hope you enjoy the video!

My Top 10 TV Shows

Hey guys!

I know, I know, I've been seriously neglecting the blog as of late, and I won't try make any excuses, but seriously, it's tough doing this VEDA thing! Haha

If you don't know what VEDA is, it's basically posting a new video everyday in April, on my booktube/youtube channel Emdawg Reads. It's been so incredibly fun, and draining at the same time! Don't worry though (if you actually are that would be strange), come May, I'll be writing a lot more!

Today I just wanted to give you my top 10, absolute favourite tv shows, because next to reading, they're what I love most! So I hope you enjoy haha!

Thanks guys!

The 100 by Kass Morgan

Title: The 100
Author: Kass Morgan
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: August 29th, 2013
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction
Source: Easons

In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

'The 100' by Kass Morgan tells the story of 100 young adults, but predominantly 4, in a year at least three centuries from now, present day. It's an interesting perception of how a world of angsty youths would work in extreme conditions, the most evident being that they're the first to step foot on Earth after a nuclear apocalypse deemed the planet inhospitable for over three centuries. Interesting, fast-paced and.. romantic.

This is a book out of this world. Or, to phrase is more accurately, it has a storyline out of this world. Now this can be taken sometimes on a figurative level, because I had genuine moments of welcomed amazement, and it can be taken literally, because.. well.. a great deal of the book is set in outer space! For me, that's an immediate winner. Just the stripped-back, raw idea of the book got me hooked. I mean come on, imagine being in one of the character's shoes. Three hundred years into the future, you're a young person, probably not unlike yourself now; firstly, you're living in space, imprisoned for God knows what, and sent down to Earth, which was previously made inhabitable my a nuclear apocalypse, surrounded only, by others your own age.. How freaking amazing does that sound!

Unfortunately the concept and the plot are among the book's few redeeming qualities. There was a noticeable lack of direction in the middle of the book but the use of four different points of view helped with moving the story along and you never really get bored, even though the content may be considered boring. The plot was pretty enjoyable, and doubled with a really really awesome idea, the book could have really been top notch, stressing could have been, because it wasn't.

While having four different points of view helped with the plot and pacing of the book, it really didn't help with character development. Out of the four protagonists in the book; Clarke, Wells, Bellamy and Glass, only two can really be considered good characters, Clarke and Bellamy. Wells and Glass were just underdeveloped and seemed just tools to flesh out the different layers of the book. And they were blunt tools too, so not the most helpful.

With Wells, the Chancellor's son, everything was just way too predictable.. and boring. When the Morgan wrote about Wells and Clarke in the flashbacks, I sub-consciously found myself comparing old him and new him, and old him was so much better! Getting himself arrested and coming to Earth for Clarke might seem noble and romantic, but really it was just selfish, and when he held Clarke back from helping Thalia, I seriously wanted to strangle him, he was the most self-indulgent character I'd ever read about!
Glass, on the other hand, was just annoying. She's confined for what, six months(?), and the moment she escapes, the first person she thinks about and goes to visit is her ex-boyfriend? Granted her Mother isn't the best, but seriously?

Glass' story sort of leads to the next biggest problem I had with this book. And that was the amount of romance in this book. Living in a world where romance is guaranteed in a YA novel, I expected some romance to be in the book, especially having seen the adapter tv show. But having 80% of the novel revolve around love, when something as awesome as the theme of survival could take its place, was just so annoying. And I mean 80% literally. 25% from Clarke and 25% from Wells and their tiring broken love, 25% from Glass and her annoying 'Romeo-Juliet' love attempt, and 5% from Bellamy, who really was the most interesting character by far. I just thought, that in a Sci-Fi novel, romance didn't have to play such a big part.

So in conclusion, 'The 100' by Kass Morgan, while an exciting read, felt damp with huge problems.

Have you guys read The 100? Have you seen the show? What did you think??

Thanks for reading guys!

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking For Alaska
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Published: March 3rd, 2005
Genre: Young Adult / Coming Of Age
Source: Easons

Before. 
Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more.
He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After.
Nothing is ever the same.

Looking For Alaska is a story of the reality of death, it's a story of growing up and finding yourself, it's a story of first love in all its awkward glory, and it's a story of friendship and its importance in hardships.

Looking For Alaska, being Green's debut novel and all, introduces all the little signature characteristics you'd see throughout his works. His creation and development of primary characters to more or less carry the story, the actual story itself consisting of easily-relatable sub-plots and serious interwoven issues, and his brilliant writing style!

Looking For Alaska has it all. The characters were unbelievably realistic, and all incredibly easy to relate to. Miles, Alaska and Chip in particular, all experience the struggle that is growing up, in various ways, and act and react in a ways that make it clear that John Green knows what he's doing. Character development in this sort of book is essential, and Green delivers with unique and well-developed gems.

Looking For Alaska is the first book ever to make me cry. The overall story-arc was fantastic, the way the book was written, physically and chemically (if you will), helped to really highlight some off the problems of adolescence, and Green's class writing style is just the cherry on top!

Looking For Alaska wasn't perfect. There were times when the general plot was muddled and chapters seemed to wander aimlessly, but overall it was an excellent story. One, after which, deep thinking is almost a necessity.

Looking For Alaska was and is an amazing novel.

Thanks for reading guys!

Too Much Information?

Hey guys!

So I thought I'd do the TMI tag, just so you guys could get to know me little bit more, and here it is!

Oh yeah, and if you didn't already know, I'm doing this thing on my channel where I'm posting a new video everyday throughout April (VEDA)! So far it's going pretty good (I hope I didn't just jinx myself haha), but yeah you can check my VEDA videos here!

Subscribe to my channel if you aren't already ;)

See you guys later!