Game Of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire

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Hey guys, before I start this post I want to say that some of you will have noticed a change in the URL! I just wasn't using this blog, though I had loads of posts half written in my drafts -  I just didn't know where to take it. Now I've changed it from Juyey Rambles to Juyey Reads. A place where I can do book reviews, as I do get through quite a lot of books. Haha.

First book I'm going to be reviewing since the name change is A Game of Thrones - A song of Ice and Fire by George  R.R. Martin. 

For the longest time I've been putting off reading these books as the last books I read that had loads of hype around them, (50 Shades of Grey) I absolutely hated.
Finally I got around to buying the first book on Google earlier in the month. 

What GoodReads says: 

The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. GAME OF THRONES is now a major TV series from HBO, starring Sean Bean.

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.

I have to first say I haven't seen the show, so this review is based purely off of the book. 

I was angry reading it. Angry.
I know it is based in a time when men thought they ruled the world, whilst woman would do anything to please their men but as a woman I just got angry.

Without giving spoilers, I just wanted to slap the woman (and girls) who wanted to do nothing more than "give their man - who they may not be with for many years - a son!"

A main character ate the raw heart of a horse because of a myth that said that her unborn child could end up basically being stillborn, disabled or... A FEMALE! Oh shock horror. That actual scene did make me want to heave a bit as well.

There was another line where one of the characters mentioned that the people in this area they were currently in, allowed everyone to have an opinion, even woman!
Then a woman was getting raped over the corpses of those in her village, by numerous guys.
It just made me angry and cringe so much reading it, I don't enjoy reading that.

If you've got a weak stomach, avoid these books like the plague because they are graphic. 

If you're a woman or have any sort of respect for woman, again avoid, because you will get angry like me at certain scenes. Also I should warn you now, they don't seem to care about how old the females are before "having their way" with them. There is also incest.

Looking at it like that I honestly don't understand how these books got so popular, really makes me worry about people. Saying that though, once you get past the underage sex, incest, violence, animal cruelty and sexism the actual story is interesting, enough that I've bought the next 4 books to carry on reading it.

I honestly don't think this book is worth the hype everyone is throwing around them, but once you get past all the foul themes it's an okay read, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I know this is a bit of a mixed review. I will be reviewing each book as I finish, maybe I'll enjoy them the more I get involved in that world.

Last thing I shall leave you with, do not get attached to the characters.
No one is safe in this world.

xx

Review: Divergent Series

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Hey guys, I have another book review for you today, in fact I have a three in one book review for you as this is in fact a review (can I say review any more times?! haha) for the Divergent Trilogy. 

I first heard of these books from Ingrid (Miss Glamorazzi) either on her Youtube or Twitter, I'm not sure which one but she was raving about this book and I knew I had to get a copy - it sounded like my type of book. 

The Basics:

The book is from a 16 year old girls point of view. Beatrice Prior.
On an appointed day of the year, 16 year olds in the dystopian Chicago World have to choose where they wish to live out the rest of their lives, either the faction they were born in or to leave their families behind and move to another faction.

Each faction is dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue:

Abnegation - Selfless

Amity - Peaceful

Candor - Honest

Dauntless - Brave

Erudite - Intelligent

Beatrice who has never felt like she belonged in her faction is torn between staying with her family and becoming who she really is. She makes a choice that will surprise everyone - herself included.

The initiation that followers is highly competitive, Beatrice who renames herself Tric and her fellow initiates struggle to live out the choice they have made, they must undergo extreme physical and psychological tests during the weeks that follow. 

Tris has to determine who her friends are in this new faction, deal with those who have no faith in her because of where she's come from and discover romance, all whilst she keeps a secret - a secret that  she was warned could mean death. 

There is restlessness and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect world. 

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These books are fast paced I read them far too quickly because I just couldn't put them down. Which to me is a sign of a great book. Before owning this book I hadn't heard of much about the story - a lot less than what I have written above but I already knew I needed to read it, I'm so glad I did. 

They are long books at 400-500 pages each, but honestly you cannot tell as you end up turning the pages so quickly to find out what happens next. 

I can't really say much about the other two books Insurgent and Allegiant because I'd be given away massive plot points that would ruin it for you, but I highly recommend you give them a read.

My favourite from the three was Divergent but I was totally shocked about the ending of Allegiant, I didn't expect that ending at all, even after the book I was still pressing the "next page" button on my Kindle because I was like "....that cannot be the end, there is mistake!"
I praise Veronica Roth though because not many people would end their book that way which makes it slightly different.

This is for fans of Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Delirium - or anyone who enjoys a good series. 

For those who have read it, what faction do you think you'd be in? 

xx

I read: January

Hello, I thought I would do a list of books I've read each month and a little something about them, that way even if I don't get around to doing a review on them - you can still keep up to date with what I'm reading (IF like me you like seeing what other people are reading - another way to do this is to follow me on GoodReads) or learn a bit about new books. Who doesn't love that?

So let's get started.

1. Inferno by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon is back. We first see our hero waking up in a hospital where he is told he's been shot! I KNOW! Insane, it just goes from drama to drama with this guy and this book is more hecticness for him.

He wakes up in Italy, not knowing why he's there or remembering people he's met, so whilst we discover what's happening, so does he.  What we do know is he has this object that people are willing to kill him for and his doctor is the only person he can trust....
This is a brilliantly written, fast-paced book that definitely lives up to Angels and Demons - the first RL book and my favourite of the series. 

2. When Girlfriends Make Choices - Savannah Page:

This is actually the third book in the series, although I've only read this and the second, how I missed the first one I don't know. Each book is based around one the friends in a group. This one was about Lara, a workaholic who hasn't had the best of time when it comes to love. She lives with one of her best friends and her baby daughter. One thing she prides herself on is that she hasn't had a work romance, that's just messy right?! Until there was Paul...
This is a easy read and I enjoyed it included the stories of the other friends as well - it's nice when you've become attached to characters from a previous book, that they come back further along in their lives - it's like catching up. 

Definitely a girly read but I will definitely be reading the rest of the series this year.

3. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay:

The second book in the Dexter series. Having being a big fan of the TV series I definitely wanted to read the books - even if they weren't like the show, MORE DEXTER STORIES!
This book kind of disturbed me how the bodies were found, I don't want to give details away but you need to have a strong stomach for it.  Good book all the same but still, don't eat whilst reading it.

Doctor Who - Night of the Humans:

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to reading this book. I've had it for years and it's just sat there unread. I blame my kindle for this. I haven't read many of my actual books since having my kindle, which is why this year I'm trying to get through them all. 

Of course one of the first books I had to read would be a Doctor Who book. This one is based on a story that wasn't aired - like a lot of recent Who books are. 

This one is just Amy and the Doctor who get separated, Amy with the aliens and the Doctor with humans, only they're not like you and I.

This was a fast paced book which I really enjoyed reading. It was great to have another adventure with Miss Pond.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:

This is original Sherlock in a new cover. I actually thought it was new Sherlock based off of the BBC show with Benedict and Martin in, then I started reading it and it mentioned 1886 (or 9, one of them). Definitely not recent Sherlock then.

I have never actually read a Sherlock book though shockingly, but being a fan of the BBC show as well as the Robert Downy Jr film, it made sense to me to carry on reading. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it's split into mini stories involving Sherlock and John Watson, each chapter is a new story. 

I loved the introduction from Mark Gatiss too, it is great to have his views of the stories - knowing he is part of the reason why we have this brilliant show on our TVs. Also he plays Mycroft who is awesome. 

I'm also about 70% through another book but as it's not finished that will end up going on February's list.  :)

Have you read any of these books? Do you have any recommendations? 
xx

Top Ten Books of 2013

Hey guys, I was tagged by my friend to write my Top Ten books of 2013. She did this on Facebook but I thought I'd write it on here, 1) because I thought you guys would be interested in reading it too, and 2) because I wanted the space to be able to type about it - without taking over Facebook. :D

These aren't in any order, just books that made an impression on me during the year and whatever order I remember them in. (Brain fog is horrendous).

1: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - aka JK Rowling

This was the 100th book I read in 2013. I deliberately saved it. 

I was excited to get my hands on it after hearing who the writer was - having not heard of it prior to that. 

I loved it! I will even go to say it was a lot better than the Casual Vacancy which to be honest with you took a while to pick up. This one I could get straight into, I'm not sure if that's because I love mysteries and crime books, but this one just was a page turner. 

I now cannot wait for the next book. 

2: Life Of Pi by Yann Martel 

When I saw the trailer to the film I was gripped and intrigued by it, oddly as it wouldn't be something I normally want to see.

Being an avid reader I knew I had to read the book before seeing the film, so I got myself on Amazon and found it was less than £1 for the kindle version of the book. Brilliant!

I would say this, the book is not for those with a weak stomach - which is something I would have liked to have know prior to reading it, having a weak stomach and all. BUT it was a good book and it stayed with me long after I had finished it.

3: The Haunting at Reindeer Manor by Kevin Guest

I got this as a freebie from Amazon. I was looking for Christmas books and it came up. It has absolutely nothing about Christmas in it, but it's still a good read. Creepy. I finished this about 3am and spent the rest of the night creeped out haha. It's the first of three books, the series is good but this one was definitely one that got the heart racing more.

4: Animate Me by Ruth Clampett

This was a cute book about a guy who works in animation keeps drawing on Starbucks cups to impress the girl he likes. The book includes some of the drawings. It was a good book and very cute, I'd love someone to doodle me pictures on Starbucks cups :D

5. Chance of a Lifetime by P.T Dilloway

You have to read this book - the series actually - with no distractions or you could easily lose the plot (in the story, not actually lose the plot). I have done a review on all three books in this series earlier on in this blog if you go back a few pages. They do contain spoilers though.

6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think most people read this book in school. My school was rubbish and we spent 2 years reading and re-reading Animal Farm. A book I cannot stand now because you can't read a book 3 times a week, every school week for 2 years without hating it. :S I'd probably have felt the same about any book if I had to re-read and re-read and re-read it so many times in that long space of time.

As it is, I didn't pick up this book until this year and now I'm wondering why I've never read it before. I loved it.

7. Billy and Me - Giovanna Fletcher

I heard about this book a lot following both Tom and Carrie Fletcher on Twitter. It was written by Tom's wife Giovanna. I found it on Amazon for £3 so couldn't say no to that. I'm glad I didn't, this book made me feel EVERY emotion you could feel, such an easy read and inspired me to create this make up look.

Apparently she is writing another book and let me say this, I will not hesitate to pre-order it when I can.

8. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Another book I bought because of the film. I actually watched the film first and LOVED it. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. What's not to love?

Even more it tackles mental illness which people shy away from so much, or else make those who suffer from mental illness "crazy" which isn't the case. 

Then I read the book - although slightly different I loved the story even more so. I have read it twice already and ahhh love it.

9. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

A friend got me on to the Delirium series, I honestly loved the series minus the ending - which would ruin everything to most and I definitely got angry at it, but I would re-read this book again. It was one of those books I literally blocked the world out and just came out like "NEED THE NEXT ONE NOW!" 

I love disappearing in books, and this is a book you can definitely forget the world around you for a bit.

10. Inferno by Dan Brown 

Lastly would be Dan Brown's Inferno. To be fair this was the half book I read in 2013/2014 but I still had to add it. I love Dan Brown. My old boss borrowed me his Angels and Demon's book years ago when we were talking about loving reading, I literally returned the book to him the next day like "SO GOOD!" then I read Da Vinci Code and loved that one as well. Of course when the Lost Symbol came out I had to buy that - even though I didn't enjoy it as much, I knew I had to get Inferno when it came out. I love the Character Robert Langdon so another story involving him - I needed to read. Inferno is definitely a better read than the Lost Symbol (IMO) and I could no put it down. I hope Dan continues to write for Robert, I would love to go on more adventures with him.

That's it, my top ten (in no order) books I read in 2013.

You will notice I didn't go into too much details about the book - but if you click the name of the book you will be linked to their GoodReads page which has descriptions about each.  

Last year I read a total of 112 books (well 112.5 haha) I challenged myself to read 100 books so I was impressed I went over.

This year I'm challenging myself to read only 50. I want to try and get more reviews in and I can't do that when I go from one book to the other too quickly haha. 

You can follow my reading journey on GoodReads. If you have an account feel free to add me, I'd love to see what you're reading too. :D 

xx

Summery: PT Dilloway Last Chance

Today's post is going to be a review of the final book in the Chances Are series by P.T Dilloway. 

This post will contain spoilers.

In the beginning of this book Mac who is going out with Stacey - he knows her entire history, yet still wanted to be with her.  He takes her on a night out - a special night out he says, so she gets all excited thinking he is going to ask her to marry him. Wrong, he asks her to move in with him. She's not best pleased.

Even though she can still remember her time as Stacey Chang and her life as a guy she's adapted to being a woman. It's all so crazy when you think too much about it. The guy she's going out with is the uncle to the guy she went out with when she was Stacey Chang, who lives with his uncle so Stacey see's him all the time.

Weird.

Eventually Mac does propose. (Maddy becomes her wedding planner, she's been planning her own wedding for years, even though Grace refuses to ask her)

Two months before her wedding day, Stacey starts turning into Steve.

She goes off to see Dr. Palmer and insists she gives him another injection. Dr. Palmer refuses saying he has had enough and there's no saying to what more would do to her. 

Eventually she does and Stacey becomes a girl again. The problem - she's a girl. I think she peeks at 13 years old. Stacey who is getting married in 2 months asks her again to give her another injection as she can't marry Mac as a 13 year old girl.

Dr. Palmer refuses but a relative of the original doctor (I can't remember either name. I'm so bad) who is assisting Dr. Palmer ends up giving Stacey another dose of this formula, one that she has been working on which ages Stacey up to about 18 or 19. Younger than herself prior to turning back into Steve but old enough to get married. 

The pair marry and then on their honeymoon Stacey notices changes in her body. A week later she is an fragile old lady who can't bath herself and wearing pads as she can't always control her body. Lovely.

When at home on her own - her husband has nipped out for a few minutes - a girl comes around - girl scout I think. This girl scout is some guy that Steve put in prison 20 years ago. He had taken the injection so he wasn't recognised by the police. She shoots Stacey and leaves.

Stacey has an outer body experience and she sees her body changing - back to Steve's before she goes back into the body. She's Steve again and now can tell Jake exactly who he needs to look for. 

During this time he doesn't contact Mac. 

They end up capturing this guy who is now a girl and Steve is turned back into Stacey - a different version of herself but she makes it work. She goes back to Mac's office and tells him everything - then it ends.

You can get this on Kindle for 77p or buy the book for £7.99 here. 

------------

I have missed out a LOT of information in these reviews because I don't want to give everything away, so there will be a tonne of surprises for you even if you do know the main plot line.

These books were such a surprise to me, I downloaded the first one because I thought I may read it at one point - I didn't expect it to be full of twists and turns and so much drama. Fantastic read that I couldn't put down, but also didn't want to finish as I was enjoying them so much. 

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good page turner, that enjoys crime and thriller books. Also one that's not confused easily. 

If you have a kindle, I'd definitely purchase these.

Three books for £1.54 really is a bargain if you ask me, especially if you compare it to the price you'd pay if you were buying the hard copy books, which would throw you back around £20. 

xx

Summery: PT Dilloway - Second Chance

Source

Today's post is the second book in the Chances Are series by P.T Dilloway.

I have already reviewed the first book Chance of a Lifetime here if you wish to read it. 

This post will contain spoilers.

This book follows the life of Stacey (aka Steve) and his daughter Maddy and her girlfriend Grace.

They're back in school and Stacey is adjusting to life as a teenage girl after living 50 years as a guy.

In this book Stacey and Maddy get kidnapped by some Chinese guy whose dad was killed at the end of the last book.  They are taken to a derelict school building and separated from each other.

Whilst they are there they are being looked after by a woman who is doing what this guy want her to do, because he said he has information on where her daughter is - or he has her daughter kidnapped. 

One of the two. 

During the time there the guy (who's name I can't remember) takes both Stacey and Maddy into a room each and gives them an injection with similar stuff that changed Steve into Stacey. This formula changes Maddy into a 2 year old Chinese girl whilst Stacey becomes a 7 year old Chinese girl. 

The woman who had looked after them ends up helping them escape the building, and sets it alight hoping to trap the guy inside. 

The now two kids go towards a store and ask the owner if they can call their Grandad. Their grandad being Jake - Steve's Police partner who took Steven in when he became Stacey. They age quicker than normal until Maddy is 4/5 and Stacey is 10/11.

Jake and his wife take in Stacey and now Maddy and then take them to the therapist that Steve AKA Stacey went to see, in the waiting room Stacey befriends a girl who asks her if she wants to play Angry Birds whilst they wait for their appointment. 

The girls get enrolled in a posh school. Whilst Maddy is losing her old sense and fitting right in with her class mates, Stacey can remember her life as Steven and Stacey Chance (she's not Stacey Chang) so has a harder time, especially when a girl in her class is being rude to her.

She is set a class assignment to work with a guy. This guy ends up being the nephew of the therapist Stacey goes to see weekly.

During the book Stacey figures out she can sing, (the old Stacey could also) and decides to do her project singing with the nephew playing piano. During practise the two end up developing feelings for each other and end up a couple, because of this Stacey Chang forgets her life as Stacey Chance and Steve.

  

It's only when Maddy is kidnapped that Stacey is shocked out of her trance and remembers her previous lives and goes with Mac (the therapist) to save his daughter. Stacey gets on a the plane that Maddy is now on and sees that she is now a very small baby. This Chinese guy comes onto the plane and traps Stacey, getting her with the injection again so she decreases in age as well. 

Mac ends up saving them and taking them to the Doctor where they stay for weeks. When Stacey wakes up she's back to being a teenage girl, not quite Chinese but less so than she was as a child. When she asks to see Maddy, she see's that Maddy is also older, but because of the injection she's gained 200lbs. 

 When they are well enough to go back home, Maddy moves back in with Grace - even though at first she didn't think Grace would still love her, being bigger than she was. Stacey stays with Jake. 

You can buy this book on the kindle for 77p or the actual book for £8.99 here.

xx

Summery: P.T Dilloway's Chance of a Lifetime

Source

Hello everyone, 

Today I have a review for you on the first of the Chances Are series by P.T. Dilloway. 

(This review will contain spoilers, if you haven't read it, please read THIS post I did where I talked about the series briefly). 

I was snooping through Amazon Kindle freebies the way you do when I came across a book called "Chance of a Lifetime". After reading the brief description I decided I'd download it and give it a try at some point. I have a lot of books on my kindle so it wasn't one I thought I'd read straight away - but would eventually get to it.

As it turns out I did read it pretty soon after downloading it and boy am I glad I did.

This book was a page turner (or for kindle readers - a button presser. Doesn't have the same ring to it does it?) it was such a bizarre concept but I just had to read it to find out what happens next. 

The concept? Well It starts with a 50 odd year old male cop called Steve who is staking out a pharmaceutical company  after finding out some big shot criminal is going to be there. He doesn't call for back up, instead went by himself - drunk. Smart guy.

He ends up getting into a bust with this guy Artie Luther who injects him with this pink liquid before shooting him in the head. 

Steve wakes up under water in just his underwear having an out of body experience. He sees the bullet hole heal, his body change into a females body. He's turned into a 18 year old girl.
The issue? He still remembers his entire life as Steve. 

He finds his cop partner and explains what happens, after lots of persuading including medical tests his colleague / friend believe him and lets Steve (now Stacey Chance) move in with him and his wife, he tells his wife this Stacey is a runaway from an abusive life.

The first book sees Stacey coming to grips with becoming a woman and dealing with her first ever period, buying clothes and adjusting to a different body. In a clothes shop he meets a woman called Grace, she helps Stacey by giving her a job. One day she asks Stacey to go over to the coffee shop over the way to pick some bits up for them both, when Stacey does she sees her daughter who she hasn't seen for 12 years, and when she was a man. It turns out his daughter Maddy is the girlfriend of Grace.

Confused yet? It's about to get more confusing.

Stacey is determined to find this Artie who shot her and turned her into a girl. She is also talking to the assistant of the doctor (the doctor was shot the same night Steve was) who created this liquid which turned her into a girl, this assistant (who is also a doctor)  is trying to recreate the liquid to get Stacey back to Steve. Jake won't allow her to as she is no longer a cop.

She becomes best friends with her Daughter - who still doesn't realise that this is her dad. 

The Doctor's send her to a shrink to talk about the issue. The fact she still remembers Steve's life, but is also feeling like a woman. Her shrink is called Mac. 

Some point in this book Stacey ends up in bed with Grace (his daughter's girlfriend). As a new girl and still feeling the things Steve did she wasn't sure whether she was a new girl who liked girls OR a new girl who likes guys. Experimentation.  It was a bit weird that she went with her daughters girlfriend though.

She does realise this is wrong and ends up telling Grace it can only be that one time.

In this book they go back to the pharmacy company only to discover that Jake has been helping this gang who stole the drug that made Steve Stacey, due to blackmail. 

There is a whole load of fighting where Jake then tries to save Stacey. 

After all of that drama (I don't want to give too many spoilers away) Stacey knowing it could be a while before the drug is ready to make her a him again decides to go back to college. 

I would highly recommend this book if you have a kindle as it's STILL free.
You can also buy the book for just under £7 here. 

xx