Lover Eternal by J. R. Ward

Title: Lover Eternal
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Piatkus
Released: March 7th 2006
Pages: 441 (Paperback)
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In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the time when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage's protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles years ago. But when Rhage's intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves...

After reading Dark Lover, I didn't think that any of the other books would be able to hit the mark - well, the books and the couples! Because let me tell you something - I fell head over heels for Wrath and Beth. Despite their cheesy moments and Beth's occasional pathetic blip, there was just something about them that kept me reading on. However, I'm starting to think there's just something about Ward's characterisation that keeps me reading on, because I adored Rhage and Mary just as much!

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Title: Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Author: Thomas Hardy
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Released: 1891
Pages: 592 (Hardback)
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When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her 'cousin' Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future. With its sensitive depiction of the wronged Tess and powerful criticism of social convention, Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of the most moving and poetic of Hardy's novels.

I haven't been posting a lot on the blog lately. Why? Blame this book. I've recently started my English Literature A-Level course, and this is the first required reading book we were set. At first, I didn't think I'd enjoy it - for those of you who don't know, Victorian literature language is quite different from modern novels, and Hardy especially loves this circumlocutory style which means he can sometimes go off on tangents for ages until he actually gets to the point. Long story short, it took me a while to read. But I've finally finished it, and actually, I rather enjoyed it.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Title: How to Be a Woman
Author: Caitlin Moran
Publisher: Ebury Press
Released: June 16th 2011
Pages: 312 (Paperback)
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It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain...

Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby?

Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking. 

So a lot of my fellow feminists have told me to read this - something "every woman should read" so I thought hey, why not? How to Be a Woman is pure genius. It's hysterically funny and cringe-worthy, but at the same time, Moran addresses some issues that every woman is thinking. This book is basically a woman's guide to life.

Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

Title: Dark Lover
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Piatkus
Released: September 6th 2005
Pages: 416 (Paperback)
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In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. 

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

I don't like erotica, and I'm wary around vampire books - yet I've fallen absolutely head over heels for the Black Dagger Brotherhood? The novel was thick and the plot held depth, yet I devoured it like it was a piece of toast - reader, if you have not read this series yet, I implore you to try it. It's unlike any other.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Game of Thrones
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: HarperCollins
Released: August 6th 1996
Pages: 801 (Paperback)
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Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must... and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. 

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Title: Wonder
Author: R.J.Palacio
Publisher: Corgi
Released: February 14th 2012
Pages: 315 (Paperback)
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August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Usually when asked to sum up a book in a few words, I can do it easily. But with Wonder, I am completely stumped - there are no words in the human language that could possibly describe has amazing - how wonderful - this novel was! There are no books out there quite like this - it is a unique, just like the main protagonist, August. This is a book that everyone must read at least once in their lifetime.

All of Me by Kim Noble

Title: All of Me
Author: Kim Noble
Publisher: Piatkus
Released: October 6th 2011
Pages: 369 (Paperback)
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When Kim Noble was younger than five years old, her personality splintered and fractured. She was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which causes unbearable pain.

Now her body plays host to more than 20 different personalities, or 'alters'. There are women and men, adults and children; there is a scared little boy who speaks only Latin, an elective mute, a gay man and an anorexic teenager.

All Of Me tells of Kim’s terrifying battles to understand her own mind, of her desperate struggle against all odds to win back her 13-year-old daughter, and of her courage in trying to make sense of her life. It is by turns shocking, inspiring, sometimes funny, and deeply moving.

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Title: The Silver Linings Playbook
Author: Matthew Quick
Publisher: Sarah Critchton Books
Released: September 2nd 2008
Pages: 289 (Movie tie-in paperback)
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Pat Peoples has a theory that his life is actually a movie produced by God, and that his God-given mission in life is to become emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending - which, for Pat, means the return of his estranged wife Nikki, from whom he's currently having some 'apart time.' It might not come as any surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility. When Pat leaves hospital and goes to live with his parents, however, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends now have families; his beloved football team keep losing; his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. And he's being haunted by Kenny G. There is a silver lining, however, in the form of tragically widowed, physically fit and clinically depressed Tiffany, who offers to act as a go-between for Pat and his wife, if Pat will just agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition...

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Penguin
Released: June 8th 1849
Pages: 355 (Paperback)
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Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Title: Water for Elephants
Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Released: May 26th 2006
Pages: 335 (Paperback)
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As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was ultimately their only hope for survival.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Title: To Kill A Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Publisher: Vintage
Released: July 11th 1960
Pages: 307 (Paperback)
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A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice, —but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.James

Title: Fifty Shades of Grey
Author: E.L.James
Publisher: Arrow Books
Released: June 20th 2011
Pages: 514 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon


When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly, she tries to put him out of her mind - until he turns up at the store where she works part-time, and invites her out.

Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her distance, it only makes her want him more.

But Grey is tormented by inner demons, and consumed by the need to control. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Grey keeps hidden way from public view.


I feel like I need some kind of award for having finished this book. It's been sat on my shelf all summer, and if I'm being honest, I was avoiding reading it because I had a nagging voice in my head saying, What if you like it? What if you really enjoy it, and you become one of the people who can't get enough of it? It's fair enough to say that my worries were silly - there is no way on Earth that I would ever like a novel like this. Please prepare yourself for the rant of a lifetime.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Title: Lolita
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Publisher: Penguin Books
Released: 1955
Pages: 361 (Paperback)
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The book chronicles the life of its narrator and protagonist, Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged, fastidious college professor, focusing on his disastrous love affair with a young girl (he happens to like little girls), named Lolita, whom he'll do anything to possess. In this dark, comic novel, Nabokov paints a complex portrait of obsession that reveals Humbert to be both a monster and a wild romantic who fails to attain his ideal. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? Or is he all of these?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Released: September 15th 2011
Pages: 387 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazement. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. 


The challenge must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Sara Fitzgerald's daughter Kate is just two years old when she is diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Reeling with the helpless shock of it, Sara knows she will do anything - whatever it takes - to save her child.

Then the test results come back time and again to show that no one in their family is a match for Kate. If they are to find a donor for the crucial bone marrow transplant she needs, there is only one option: creating another baby, specifically designed to save her sister. For Sara, it seems the ideal solution. Not only does Kate live, but she gets a beautiful new daughter, Anna, too.

Until the moment Anna hands Sara the papers that will rock her whole world. Because, aged thirteen, Anna has decided that she doesn't want to help Kate live any more. She is suing her parents for the rights to her own body.

I have literally just finished this book, and I am currently an emotional wreck. It was actually amazing. Admittedly, I was worried at first that I wouldn't like it, purely because Picoult is an adult author, and I thought that I wouldn't be mature enough to understand some of the things that happened. But I was totally wrong. Merlin, I just...I'm speechless. My mum, who has read nearly all of Picoult's novels, warned me that at the end there is a twist that is just so unexpected you are just left sitting there going "What...the...hell!". And so this morning, I tried to guess what the major twist was, and in the end, my mum told me. But now that I've finished, I realize that she lied, and there was actually a way bigger twist yet to come! I just have so much praise for this book. By chopping and changing the point of view to every major character in the book, you really get up-close and under-the-skin of all of them, and you get to the point where you feel like you're an extra member of the family, yourself. I absolutely adored the characters of Brian, Jesse, Anna and Kate - but I couldn't stand Campbell or Sara half the time. But then again, all great books do have characters that you want to slap in them, don't they? Otherwise what's the point of a novel where all the characters are perfectly nice? Exactly - there wouldn't be a point. Picoult is such a talented author, and I'm really glad that I chose this book to be the first I ever read of hers. I hope the next one I pick up lives up to it's standards!
Rating:5/5