BEHEMOTH By Scott Westerfeld

Well, here we are. The sequel to Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan which I reviewed two books ago. At the time I said I wouldn't mind reading the next one and so, guess what?! I ordered it from the library and gave it a read.

This time round, we join Alek and Deryn on the run in Istanbul. Deryn is given a top secret mission which doesn't exactly go to plan and Alek and his men attempt to escape the Leviathan now they are technically prisoners of war. This too doesn't go to plan and the team gets slip up rather spectacularly.

Alek finds himself alone and fully in charge of his men for the first time in his life, how will he cope, and how many seemingly bad choices will he make along the way?

I liked the way that this book was so completely different to it predecessor. You knew that it had a book before it and you knew it was part of a bigger picture. It followed the story very well and it wasn't just the same characters in an entirely different book. The linking between the two books is incredibly well done and I say 'Well done Mr Westerfeld!'

There were a couple of odd occasions where I felt a little bit disappointed. Not with the author for the way he'd written the book. But because I felt almost like I had entrusted my friends to him and when something bad happened to them, it was the authors fault. Something inside me really rang out if the author hadn't kept one of his characters safe. This is the first book to ever really make me have that reaction. It was bizarre and took me a while to work out how I felt, but I guess it just goes to show how well Westerfeld linked his characters with his audience.

I really enjoyed reading Behemoth and will no doubt carry on to read the third and final book Goliath in the not too distant future. I found the pace a little slow in places and sometimes it was a little hard to keep reading, yet at other parts of the book, I could hardly bring my self to put it down and go to sleep. I've not been left with too much of a Book Hangover, yet I feel satisfied that I've read a good book. Not as good as the first but never-the-less still a good  read :) What will Goliath bring I wonder?

TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES By Thomas Hardy - PHASE THE FIFTH

Well I must say that I think I was definitely correct in my prediction of this phase. In my last Tess post I suggested that this would be an action packed out-working of the previous phase and boy was I right!

Can I just say that if I didn't hate Angel Clare before, I most certainly do now. I'm sorry Mr Hardy... but how can you write a book where you hate all the characters, but love the book? It just doesn't seem possible. The whole incident with Brazil made me furious to the point of wanting to put the book down.

One thing that I did find very interesting was the way that Hardy reintroduces a number of different characters from earlier on in the book. These include Alec, Izz, Marian, Farmer Groby and a few other minor characters. All of these have an expected, individual effect on Tess, but what I'm most interested in is the collective result they have on Tess and the future that she was trying to write for herself. All these people are from Tess's past and we know that, in going to Talbothoy's and marrying Clare, she decided to move on and make an effort to change the future society had set for her. The re appearance of these characters makes it seem as though fate is purposely forceing Tess to relive her past and not move on into the future. I think this is Hardy showing us just how important the judgements of society can be.

I think I've made my main points about this section of the book, but as it getting closer to the end of the book; only two phases left, its getting increasingly difficult to talk about the book without giving spoilers.

Sorry it's a short one. x

TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES By Thomas Hardy - PHASE THE THIRD

Well, that's another phase of this interesting book read. in someways I found this phases to be much simpler and also much easier to read and to concentrate on. Not sure what made this so much easier going, but I think it might be down to the addition of a larger; not large, but larger amount of dialogue than the previous phase which I found got quite monotonous in places.

In this phases I felt that Tess began to blend in with the other characters a little more than she has done in previous phases and chapters. She becomes closer to people than we have seen her done before and yet Tess is trying to distance herself from the other people in the story even more than we saw her don previously. Where as before she generally just avoided spending time with people, in this phase, Tess actively tells people that she is no good woman and that there a far better woman to love and befriend than herself.

This really shows the effect that society has had on Tess's mental health as they down just have a downward opinion of her, but now they have finally managed to convince Tess to have a bad opinion of herself. If she can't even love herself how can she ever expect other people to love, appreciate and want her. Her actions and speaking patterns with other people become almost child-like and yet her thoughts and reactions are more adult and complex than you would expect a young woman like Tess to have to feel. The three women also have quite childish emotions concerning Mr Clare, this could represent how women were expected to be seen in society. No real intellectual thought and opinion, only basic, black and white feelings, with little depth and exploration.

Anaphora and cataphora are used quite a lot in this section of the book, in particular referring back to what has happened. As if Hardy is forcing us to remember what has happened to Tess, just as society is forcing her to remember her horrific past. Throughout there are hints and reminders of what has been, and equally clues as to what this will lead to.

I must say that Phase the Third has been a definite surprise to me and I wasn't expecting this from the book at all. I feel now that this book is a little less predictable than I originally thought it was and I am excited to see what else Hardy has hidden in his work for you.

THE 100 By Kass Morgan

I first came across this book after watching the first few episodes of the new series on TV. While browsing in the local book shop, I noticed that the original book was on offer and decided to give it ago and I am more than pleased to say that I have not been disappointed in any way at all. In fact I've read the entire thing in less than 24 hours. I think I've only ever managed that with one other book before (The Fault In our Stars by John Green). The 100 is totally gripping and makes it impossible for the reader to put it down. The only regret I have is that the book finished. I just want to pick it up and start reading it again.

Now I don't want to make this a comparison between the TV series and the book, however if you have seen the TV version and are debating whether or not to read the book, go for it! Do it! The TV adaptation is so far different to the book. So many characters have been added and taken out to make it more appealing to a television audience. In fact the only characters which are consistent between the two are Clarke, Bellamy and his sister, and Wells and his father.

I like the book more because it gives insight into the everyday live of the people on the ship, parallel to the people who have been sent to earth. You also get to see the same event from two different perspectives, such as the passing of the comet.

This isn't the first time that I've been drawn to a book about younger people being left to fend for themselves in an effort to survive. Similar themes can be seen in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and also in Gone by Michael Grant. We seem to be living in a world at the moment, where we are obsessed with the possibilities of what would happen if there were suddenly a lock of law and order, who would take charge, who would survive. It seems to be quite a grim obsession we have currently, but definitely one that seems to be selling books. (which is always a good thing)

There doesn't seem to be anything mega special that jumps out at me when I think about this book. No important message forced at me by the author, no life changing epiphany which means I'll never look at life the same again. But maybe that's what make this book so awesome. It's just a darn good book without all the paraphernalia that makes reading books nowadays such hard work. Sometimes less is more.

Read it! You know you want to.

THE HIT By Melvin Burgess

I must say, this has been a really enjoyable and interesting book to read. There are so many different themes and ideas packed into this book and yet it doesn't seem complicated or over crowded in anyway shape or form. I love it! Then again, I'm all for any book that has some sort of moral, especially one that makes you think about, and appreciate it more than you do already. There were a number of times while reading this book when I genuinely found myself thinking about what would be on my bucket list if I found myself under the influence of Death, or equally I might have found myself wondering whether or not I would have chosen to take it.

I think it was quite brave of the author to take on a topic like drugs and gang violence, because these are covered a lot in novels now-a-days and it can be difficult to write about it in a way that makes your story stand out from the others. But I'm am pleased to say that I think Burgess has done an incredible job and has definitely written a novel which tackles common but important themes while making it stand apart from everything else at the same time.

A brilliant book and one that I would definitely recommend, I'm looking forward to reading some of Burgess's other work.

MIDWINTERBLOOD by Marcus Swedgwick

I have been wanting to read some of Sedgwick's work for quite a while now and the funny this is, is that I didn't even realize who the author of this book was until I had got it home and had read the first chapter. All I can say at this point is that I will definitely be reading some of his other work in the future.

The crops have failed three years in a row and numerous sacrifices have failed to restart the growing of crops and the people have no alternative than to sacrifice their king, King Erikir in a hope that this will please the gods and cause the crops to grow again, torn from his beloved wife he promises to live seven times and to find her in each life and love her like never before. Midwinterblood follows Erikir on his journey through his seven lives, searching and loving his beloved Merle until his final life as Eric Seven.

I was hooked into the book after the first page and found it incredibly difficult to put down. Seen as the book is split into seven parts and and epilogue, I tried to ration myself to a part a day, so that I wouldn't get so drawn into the book that I would have no time left for my homework, however instead of reading just part three on the third day, I couldn't tear myself away from the book to such an extent that I read parts three through seven and the epilogue as well.

MIDWINTERBLOOD really is a fascinating book; as it starts in the year 2073 and with every section of the book, moves back a number of years until the final part which is set in some unknown time before the tenth century. At first I was very skeptical about how this would affect the book and its narrative, but I found that I had nothing to fear because as well as making for an incredible read, it really developed the story in a way that could not be done by a conventional linear narrative. what Sedgwick has done is very rare and I think quite risky but I am pleased to say that I believe that he has done himself proud and produce a novel that is worthy of the award it has been nominated for (Cilip Carnegie Medal 2013). The other thing I found that these backwards time movements caused was a shift in genre, initially it started out as a modern day love story, then a war tale and the further back in time we went the more fantastical it got until we were reading about vikings and blood sacrifice, superstition and witches.

MIDWINTERBLOOD, is like seven separate stories that are all connected un some way: Eric, Merle, The hare, they all lead to the same point and each one has its own characters which reflect those in the initial part, like when you read a book and all the characters have an uncanny resemblance to someone you know.

It is not often that I become attached to the main characters of the story, normally I look into the side characters who normally get overlooked however in this book I definitely attached myself to Merle, also Eric, but not as strongly as Merle. I think this is because I could see that Merle knew the secret of her past and she knew Eric from before in their other lives, but right from the start I felt a connection between the two of us.

I am really pleased that Sedgwick chose for Eric and Merle to appear in each other's live as different people rather than just lover (mother and child, Brother and sister etc...) not only because I think had they constantly found each other as lover's it would have been predictable and less emotive, but I think that fact that they found each other in so many ways, really symbolizes the depth of their love for each other, a love that goes deeper than romance.

I really liked the motif of the hare that Sedgwick has used throughout the entire book. It is subtle but obvious at the same time, it doesn't stand out and shout at you but you always know it is there through out the book.

Out of the seven lives that Eric and Merle live I think the one that the author titles The Artist is my favourite. I really felt moved by the chapter and I though it was really emotive and sweet. I recognised part of myself in the child; Merle and I remember that when I was young I spent most of my time talking with adults just as she does in this life. I think that is why I found this chapter so relatable.

The final thing that I am going to leave you with is the thought of the dragon orchid and its importance in the book. Although it does not seem to be focal point, and not even the reason that King Erikir was killed in the first place, but that flower is the reason why the island is how it us and without it, there would be nothing magical and nothing special about the Island of blessed, but maybe there's more to the flower than first meets the eye.

This is a book that I would highly recommend to everyone, the individual parts are so unique that there is something for everyone to enjoy in this magnificent book my Marcus Sedgwick. I have nothing for this book other than very high praise. Next time you get the chance, grab a copy and dive in. Its a quick and easy read that will keep you turning the pages.