Kyla's Library

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Top Ten Tuesday- Upcoming Releases I'm On the Fence About

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is: Upcoming Releases I’m On the Fence About.

The books on this list are ones that sound amazing but I don't really know that much about them so I don't know if I should put them on my to-read list yet.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

What are you thoughts on these books?

Should I read them when they're released?

Saturday, 2 February 2019

January Wrap Up 2019

What I Read:

Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices book 3) by Cassandra Clare - 5 STARS

I love the Shadowhunter world and I really enjoyed reading this book. The ending made me feel so nostalgic so now I really want to reread the series.

Enchantée by Gita Trelease - 4 STARS

{I received an ARC of this book from the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. The time period and setting of this book was described beautifully and I thought the characters and plot were very interesting to read.

Vengeful (Villains book 2) by V.E. Schwab - 3 STARS

I liked Vicious a lot but was disappointed in this book. The complex characters and their relationships felt almost pushed to the side in this one in favour of other new characters who just weren't very interesting.

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard - 4 STARS

This was a reread for me this month and I really enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it. This is such a great YA contemporary centred on strong female friendships. You can find my full review of it here.

Fierce Fragile Hearts (Beautiful Broken Things book 2) by Sara Barnard - 3 STARS

{I received an ARC of this book from the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

I really hoped Fierce Fragile Hearts would've kept to the same strong themes of the first book but I was disappointed that it didn't. You can read my full review of it here.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa - 3 STARS

I was really looking forward to reading this book but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I loved Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series but I didn't like the Talon series and Shadow of the Fox really reminded me of Talon. I found the characters and the overall storyline to be a bit bland.

Archangel's Prophecy (Guild Hunter book 11) by Nalini Singh - 4 STARS

I enjoyed this instalment in the Guild Hunter series but the cliffhanger ending is making me really wish I had've waited until the next book was out to read it, I can't wait to see what happens next.

My January Bookstagram pictures (xo_reader_kyla):

What books did you read in January?

Thursday, 31 January 2019

Book Review: Fierce Fragile Hearts (Beautiful Broken Things #2) by Sara Barnard

Book: Fierce Fragile Hearts
Series: Beautiful Broken Things book 2
Author: Sara Barnard
Genre: YA contemporary
Edition: ARC/uncorrected proof
Published: 7th February 2019

*I was sent a free ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Two years after a downward spiral took her as low as you can possibly go, Suzanne is starting again. Again. She's back in Brighton, the only place she felt she belonged, back with her best friends Caddy and Rosie. But they're about to leave for university. When your friends have been your light in the darkness, what happens when you're the one left behind?

My Rating: 3 STARS

My Review:

I loved the beginning of Fierce Fragile Hearts because it really sets the scene of where the characters are in their lives. It's been two years since the ending of Beautiful Broken Things and Fierce Fragile Hearts opens up with Suzanne moving back to Brighton and her looking forward to the new chapter in her life. I loved how Suzanne, Caddy and Rosie were still in each other's lives and still friends.

I thought it was great to read from Suzanne's point of view because you get to see all the parts of Suzanne's life that Caddy (the main character in Beautiful Broken Things) never really seen. In Beautiful Broken Things we are told about Suzanne's history with her parents and the abuse she suffered as a child but in Fierce Fragile Hearts we actually see the full effects of that because Suzanne is the main character. This is her story and those parts of the book were very emotional to read.

I loved Dilys and the way her and Suzanne were introduced. I really enjoyed reading their interactions with each other and I wanted to read more of them. I thought Dilys' background was very interesting and I loved the bond that grew between Suzanne and Dilys, it was nice to read about these two characters finding a companion in each other.

One of my favourite things about the first book (Beautiful Broken Things) was the fact that there was no romance in it and it focused solely on friendships but in Fierce Fragile Hearts I felt that it strayed from that point. I felt that a lot of the story in Fierce Fragile Hearts focused on Suzanne and her new relationship with Matt (a new character introduced in Fierce Fragile Hearts) and it made the friendships that were so wonderfully built up and explored in Beautiful Broken Things feel like a side thing.

I didn't like how distant Caddy and Suzanne were in this book. I understand that years have passed since the first book and it would be unrealistic to expect things to not have changed but I was shocked at how much Caddy's character felt like a stranger to me which was weird since she was the main character of Beautiful Broken Things. The special bond of Caddy and Suzanne felt almost nonexistent in this book which made me really sad.

Overall I liked how we get to see more of Suzanne's life and history in Fierce Fragile Hearts and I loved reading about her bond with Dilys but at the same time I was disappointed at how much the book focused on the romance and less on the main friendships. I still enjoyed the writing a lot and liked how we get more closure on Suzanne's life.

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Top Ten Tuesday- Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is: Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List.

• Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin

• All the Lonely People by David Owen

• The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

• Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

• Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

These are a few of my most recent additions and some of them have not yet been released but I'm really looking forward to reading them when they do get released.

What are some of your most recent additions to your to-read list?

Monday, 28 January 2019

UKYA Books I Want To Read In 2019

Last year I made a post where I talked about wanting to read more UKYA books and I made a list of the ones I wanted to read in 2018 so I thought I'd make that an annual list and talk about the UKYA books I want to read in 2019.

• All the Lonely People by David Owen

• Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard

• Floored by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood

• The Burning by Laura Bates (21st Feb)

• Song of Sorrow (Sorrow book 2) by Melinda Salisbury (7th March)

• A Girl Called Shameless (The Exact Opposite of Okay book 2) by Laura Steven (7th March)

• All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle (August)

It's not a very long list and I do plan on reading more UKYA books during the year but I didn't want to make an overly ambitious list that I probably wouldn't get to so I decided to keep it short.