Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Book Review

When I had finished the first Hunger Games book I was gushing my love for it. I gave a glowing review for both the book and the the movie and couldn't help telling anyone who cared to listen that they needed to read this book. But part of me wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the second book. I knew of course I would read it soon, but because I enjoyed the first one so much, I didn't think that the second book, Catching Fire, could ever live up to it. And it didn't. But it wasn't half bad either!

***Spoiler alert!! I try as always not to give away ANY spoilers for a book, but with a series this is particularly difficult. If you haven't read the first book, please go ahead and read the review first and then the book before coming back to this one. I don't want to give away anything that might spoil it for you! ***

***Second note, if you haven't read this book yet I do give away one piece of information that could be considered a spoiler, but is in the description of the book. It is something I think will make you want to read the book even more. Read this review under your own discretion***

Summary courtesy of Amazon:  Katniss survived the Hunger Games. Now the Capitol wants revenge. It's payback time, and her chance of survival is even slimmer than ever...

Like the first book, the opening chapters are back in District 12 and could be considered a little slow. A lot happens and things change dramatically after the end of the Games but nothing that is essential in my eyes to the narrative. The awkward love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale does develop better than I expected but I am left more confused than Katniss appears to be as the second book closes around her love life!

The second half of the book though was fantastic. As we return to the Hunger Games arena our favourite capitol characters return along with some new ones that build fantastic relationships and add to the narrative. The new arena is so complex and exciting that I was left again reading in a frenzy. There is something about the building rebellion in the districts and the new dramas within the arena that makes for fantastic reading. I was setting my alarm an hour early just so I could cram in another hours reading before I got started with my day, it was like an addiction.

The concluding events to this second book are well worth the slightly tedious start. The cliff hanger of a final sentence left me dying to read the next book. However I was left with a slightly sour note. Katniss' character developed scarily out of control in the final chapter and the result was not nice. I have heard a lot about her character in the final book and I couldn't help but agree with the rumors she turns from a strong female lead we all want to look up to into someone that is imperfect, selfish and some what unlikable. Haymitch on the other triumphs yet again to become a character I truly adore, along with the selflessness of Peeta they restore my faith in Collins character development.

This all taken into consideration it is difficult to score this book. I gave the first book in the series 10/10 and although it wasn't as good as the first, it still had me reading like a mad woman and consumed my life for the four days it took me to read. I think it will have to be:

8/10 

Have you read this book? What did you think it compared to the first one? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

Wild Child by Mike Wells - Book Review

I first found this Author when for some reason I ended up following him on Twitter. When I read the behind the scenes story of how 'Wild Child' came to be published and the story behind its cover art I was intrigued, yet I was never converted to making the purchase. But when I then saw that it had become free on Amazon I downloaded it immediately and it moved faster than anticipated to the top of my TBR pile as I read more and more about the book. I have to admit this was not what I was expecting, but so much more.

Summary courtesy of Amazon: Briana Fox is the wildest girl in school. She and Kyle have been close for a long time...almost lovers. But Kyle is afraid that if he pushes her, he'll have his heart broken and lose his best friend. When Briana challenges him to a swim across the lake, she's injured in a horrific accident, but she discovers a mysterious substance in an underwater cave that saves her life. What seems to be a magical yet harmless "power drug" invokes superhuman abilities, and Briana soon becomes dependent on it for her very survival. When two government agents learn of the discovery, they will stop at nothing to find the source and turn Briana into a human experiment. Is Kyle willing to risk everything to protect his love?

When I started reading this I was expecting a novel, but instead I was presented with a perfectly formed short story. Taking me just over 2 hours to read this book sucked me into the murky depths of the lake with Kyle and Brianne (referred to in the book as Brie) and only came up gasping for air once finished. I had read reviews that it was gripping and fast paced but I didn't really understand what this meant until I began reading. The YA themes of teenage defiance of parental rules and awkward romances is over shadowed by a surprisingly thought provoking narrative, that developed into a fantasy science fiction themed focal point that is completly unexpected.

The character of Brie, although essential to the narrative, I felt very little connection to unlike the protagonist Kyle, who is fantastic! With his ability to both panic and stay calm under pressure, his devotion to Brie and the relationship with his Father creating a well developed and interesting character that I only want to know more about. What truly cemented my admiration for this fictional boy was the cliff hanger of an ending that left me with far more question that answers, and possibly the best reason to get my hands on the next book in the series!

The only downside however being the next book in the series. Now being a Kindle lover, I have become accustomed to only paying a certain amount for a eBook. Promising to be as 'lean' as the first one I am finding it difficult to bring myself to pay the £3.65 being asked for the rather unimaginatively named 'Wild Child Book 2' with the world 'Lilith' added on to the end almost as an after thought.

Overall I would give this book a 8/10.

You can book this short story up for free on here, but no promises you wont feel as frustrated as me when you are forced to pay for the second one!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Book Review

It is fair to say I read a lot of books. I get even more books recommended to me that I never get the chance to read. So when something like the Hunger Games comes along it takes something really special to make me go - Wow. Suzanne Collins did this.

Summary courtesy of Amazon:  A fight to the death - on live TV. The game show where you kill or die, and where the winner's prize is survival. In District 12, where Katniss Everdeen lives, life is harsh and brutal, ruled from afar by the all-powerful leaders of the Capitol. The climax of each year is the savage Hunger Games - where twelve boys and twelve girls from each District face each other in a murderous showdown. When sixteen-year-old Katniss is chosen to represent her district in the Games, everyone thinks it's a death sentence. Only one person can survive the horrors of the arena. But plucky Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature...

I have heard about this book EVERYWHERE. Originally released back in 2008, it has taken a while to build the hype around this book, but with the up coming release of the movie at the end of next week it had reached fever pitch and I couldn't ignore it any longer. No matter where I turned people where talking about it, particularly in the beauty blogging world, and it was finally Corrie, over at DizzyBrunette3 who got me to download it and launch into the arena.

Hunger Games is the first book in the YA (young adult) series by Suzanne Collins set in a fantasy dystopian world ruled by the Captol. To remind the 12 surrounding districts of their place, they get them to sacrifice 2 people from each district to fight to the death for their entertainment. Sounds bad, it gets worse - they are all between the ages of 12 and 18! This book it too good for just teens, no matter what your age you will enjoy this book!

The story follows the protagonist of Katniss, who volunteers for the games to save her 12 year old sister, Prim. Accompanied by fellow District 12 tribute Peeta, they are groomed, trained and flung into the Captol controlled arena. With only 3 days training behind them they must use everything that they have to offer to just stay alive, never mind win. With just the right amount to blood, death and romance this book draws you in and doesn't let you go.

After 2 practically sleepless night I finished this books in a frenzy. This is superbly written to make you think about feel what the characters feel, and you begin to believe you are one of the people sat back at home forced to watch their children fight to the death for other peoples entertainment, and it feels so wrong, but you just keep reading.

Collins is a fantastic author, and Katniss has been crafted into a well rounded a likable character that any one can relate to. I can't wait to see how this is translate on the big screen, and will be the first in line when it is pre-released on Thursday in the UK. I am infamously critical of my favourite books being turned into movies, and there is still some Harry Potter movies I have refused to watch because I feel it would ruin the books for me. This film has a lot to live up to, and I have a feeling it might do very well.

It has taken everything I had not to start reading the next book straight away. I get so absorbed into series, but also get so sad when they end. I have a lot of books I want to read (I have over 50 already downloaded to my Kindle in a folder called 'To Read') but I know they next book in the series, Catching Fire, will find its way to the top sooner rather than later!

I think you can tell by the tone of this review what I am going to give it. It has come to my attention that maybe marking books out of 5 does not give enough distinction between the good books and the fantastic books, so from this review on I am going to bump up my scale to 10.

10/10!

You can pick The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins up from just £3.59 on Amazon in multiple formats, so if you haven't read it already, what are you waiting for?

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie x

[Stupid side note: I have been complaining for days that my hands have been aching. The fleshy bits below my thumbs appear bruised and tender to the touch and I just couldn't work out why. It was only last night, whilst finishing this book it dawned on me - I having been gripping my Kindle so tight whilst reading that I have injured my hands. Kind of ironic/ and pathetic/ alongside the theme of this book. When you hurt Katniss, I really do hurt too!!]

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