Lisa's Books gems and tarot

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree – Paola Peretti

Mafilda is a nine-year-old girl who loves school, football and her cat. Also, her sight is failing. With the help of her family and friends, she must discover all the things that will be important to her when her sight has gone.

I found this story to be very powerful. Mafilda is so relatable, and the fact that she is going through something so tough is astounding.

Mafilda has Stargadt Disease. Her sight is failing and there is nothing she can do about it. There is no cure. I couldn’t imagine going through that, to one day waking up to complete darkness.

Mafilda has to find out what is important to her, what is essential. She must find something that she can do without her sight. Her family, and friends help her along the way.

This book got even more intense when I found out that the author, Paola Peretti, also lives with this disease. Her emotions and life experiences stand out in this story. It was eye-opening.

Heart of Thorns – Bree Barton

In a world where only women can possess magic – and every woman is suspected of having it – the half-girl, half-aged Gwyrach are feared, reviled, and hunted. After training under her father and his infamous Hunters, Mia is determined to scour the four Kingdoms and enact the Hunters’ Creed: Heart for a heart, life for a life.

But then her father announces a quite different future: She will marry Prince Quin, heir to the throne. Just like that, smart, headstrong Mia is thrust into the last role she ever wanted: pretty, wifely bauble to the future king.

Son on the eve of her wedding, Mia plots a daring escape, only to discover the unimaginable: She has magic. She may be a Huntress, but she’s also a Gwyrach.

As the truth comes to light, Mia must untangle the secrets of her own past. Friends darken into foes and logic begins to fray – as do the rules she has always played by. If Mia wants to survive, she must learn to trust her heart…even if it kills her.

I received Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton in my July Fairyloot box from http://www.fairyloot.com

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down. There was so many twists and turns that the whole book was a journey.

Mia has spent years training to kill the Gwyrach who killed her mother, and on her wedding day to a prince she does not want to marry, she finds out that she herself can bear magic.

Mia is thrust into a new world where she herself is now hunted, and everything she has ever known is a lie.

Bree Barton has created a world that is so real that you feel like you are on the journey with Mia and Quin. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard

This is a world divided by blood – Red or Silver.

The reds are commoners, ruled by a silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to seventeen-year-old Mare, a Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

But Mare possesses a deadly talent of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of her potential, the Silvers hide Mare in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess. Knowing that one false move will mean her death, Mare must use her new position to bring down the regime – from the inside.

Now Mare has entered a game of betrayal and lies.

This is Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart…

I heard so many great things about this book so I just had to find out for myself.

Instantly, the world of Reds and Silvers intrigued me. The fact that the Silvers are all powerful and rule the world (and the Reds along with it) is captivating. And then this Red girl shows up (Mare), given a chance at a job, instead of the horror of fighting in the war.

Unknowingly, she is different. The Silvers are fearful of her and her abilities, and when they find out what they are, they control her even more by insisting that she become a Silver. Controlling her every move, of every day.

Mare must use her abilities to help other Reds.

This book was great, down to the suspense, the character developments and the entire world that Victoria has created.

If you enjoy The Hunger Games and Divergent, then you will love Red Queen!

All Of This Is True – Lygia Day Penaflor

DSC_0774[1] MIRI – loves the novel Undertow like it’s a living being. So when she and her friends get the chance to meet the author, Fatima Ro, they plot a way to get closer to her. As for what happened with Jonah… Well, obviously none of that was Fatima’s fault.

SOLEIL – wants to be a writer herself one day. She can’t believe it when Fatima asks them to hand out with her – and having Jonah there makes it even better.

PENNY – is more than the party girl everyone thinks she is, and she’s willing to share her darkest secrets with Fatima to prove it. But what will happen when Fatima finds out about Jonah?

ALL OF THIS IS TRUE IS A STORY OF OBSESSION AND REVENGE, BETRAYAL AND FORGIVENESS, AND THE DEVASTATING RESULT OF A SECRET THAT DIDN’T STAY BURIED.

I received this book in my June book box from http://www.bookboxclub.com.

I really liked the way this story was set out: rather than chapters, it was more like sections of interviews and emails. I found it refreshing and a very quick read because of this.

Each character in this book has their own views and you can relate to them individually. The character development was good, and you can switch from character to character easily.

The secret (without revealing too much) was intense, but predictable towards the end. Beginning the book, you couldn’t stop reading to try to find out what was going on, and you were trying constantly to figure out what was with Jonah?

A good read, and I liked it. I gave this 4 stars.

Grace & Fury – Tracy Banghart

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi face very different fates: one in the palace, the other on an island prison where women must fight to survive.

Serina has spent her whole life preparing to become a Grace – selected to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining example of the perfect woman.

But her headstrong and rebellious younger sister has a dangerous secret, and one wrong move could cost both sisters everything.

Can Serina fight? And will Nomi win?

I loved loved loved this book! I received this book in my June Fairyloot box from http://www.fairyloot.com.

It isn’t a book that I would normally pick out for myself, but I am glad that it was sent to me. I just love Nomi and Serina, and everything that they are standing for. This book is about fighting back, it is about changing the world for the better. A world where women have no rights, and must submit to every male around them.

Grace and Fury has a shocking twist, one that I did not see coming, and I cannot wait to see what happens next…

Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn’t stick out more if she tried.

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book – he thinks he’s made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor…never to Eleanor.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you’re young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.

I quite liked this book. It is about falling in love with a person you really don’t expect. Eleanor is the new girl in school, and the way she dresses, and her big red hair, really makes her stand out. Even if she doesn’t want to.

Park tries to keep his head down, to be invisible. When Eleanor sits next to him on the bus, he can’t stand it. How is he supposed to stay invisible sitting next to her every day? It isn’t long before they start to communicate, but not with words, but instead with comic books. Then, not long after that, they begin to talk. They fall in love.

This story has great character development. Rainbow Rowell really pulls you into the story, you have no choice but to go on this journey with Eleanor and Park.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

A MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. AN ABANDONED ORPHANAGE. A STRANGE COLLECTION OF VERY PECULIAR PHOTOGRAPHS.

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 Peregrines 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.

I absolutely adored this series. This first book brought a whole other world to life. Jacob has gone through tragedy himself. After losing his grandfather, Jacob tries to find any ties to him, which leads him to ruins of Miss Peregrine’s home on that island in Wales.

Jacob finds more than he bargained for. Not only does the island and the home his grandfather lived in so long ago still exist, its inhabitants are still there. Stuck in a loop.

Jacob meets Emma, Horace, Millard, Bronwyn, Miss Peregrine and more. He has to tackle monsters, wights and hollows, and then he has a very tough decision to make. The character development is so good and the description is imaginative.

Combined with the photographs, this book is a harrowing read and the photos really draw you into the story.

Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

Falling for the fallen…

For Nora Grey, romance was never part of the plan. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgement.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora isn’t sure if she can trust him. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and to know more about her than her closest friends. And when she tries to seek answers, she discovers she is right in the middle of a centuries-old battle between the immortal and the fallen…and it’s time to take sides.

I really liked this book. I was a bit hesitant at first when some people referred to it as a remake of Twilight. I can certainly see where those points came from.

This book is so much better than I imagined.

Patch is a fallen angel, and to inhabit a human body to become human again, he must kill somebody. This is where Nora comes along. What Patch doesn’t expect though, is to fall in love.

The last thing Nora expects is to fall in love with her tall, dark and handsome biology partner, especially when he seems so reluctant to share.

With drama, romance, and lots of suspense, this book has it all.

In the end, will Patch make the biggest sacrifice, and give up the only thing he has wanted for a long time?

You’ll have to read Hush, Hush to find out!

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe – Lauren James

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met, never even spoken to – someone who is light years away?

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew member on a spaceship bound for a new planet. She is the loneliest girl in the universe, until she hears that a second spaceship has launched from Earth, with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication is via email, and the messages take months to transmit, yet Romy finds herself falling in love. But what does she really know about J? And what do the strange new messages from Earth mean? Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone…

I could not put this book down. I love everything to do with space, and this book did not disappoint.

I loved Romy and her courage and determination after being left alone as a child on The Infinity after her parents died. I certainly don’t think I could do it. She had so much to be responsible for, including the full maintenance of the ship, and looking after herself, and she was only eleven years old!

This book had twists and turns that you definitely don’t suspect and I was surprised at certain turns of events.

I hope beyond all hope that Lauren James writes a sequel because I would love to see what happens with Romy next on Earth II.

The Queens of Innis Lear – Tessa Gratton

It begins when a wizard cleaves an island from the mainland, because the king destroyed her temple.

It begins on the day two bright hearts are born to the island, one just past dawn as a crescent moon rises, and the other when the sun is brightest, obscuring the glow of stars.

It begins when a queen sits in a pool of stars.

I received this book in the May book box from http://www.bookboxclub.com

I had reservations about this book to start with. Firstly, it is a retelling of King Lear. Although this makes a great plot, it is not really my cup of tea. Secondly, when I began to read this book I realised pretty quickly that the writing style is not what I am used to reading.

This story is written from the viewpoints of many characters, whom have been portrayed extremely well. Tessa Gratton is very skilled at describing her characters including their moods. This worked well and really got you into the minds of the character who was speaking.

I found that the plot moved slowly throughout the book, which slowed me down quite a bit. However, I found that listening to the audiobook made the story flow a bit easier (at least for me).

Overall, I am glad that I read this book, and I do look forward to reading more material by the same author. DSC_0675[1]