Lorali - Laura Dockrill

This took me so long to read, what with my new job and the events of YALC (which I am writing a blog post on, it is coming!!) but I absolutely loved it.

Lorali is a mermaid princess, who has been transformed into a human. She meets Rory, a ‘Walker’ to her people, on a beach in Hastings, and he takes her in. Their first encounter had me in stitches, and I loved Lorali’s innocence. The story is told alternatively from Lorali and Rory’s perspective.

Most authors would just tell the story from their perspectives wouldn’t they? Not Laura. I found it slightly confusing at first, but as I got into the book I realised what a brilliant idea it was.

A third perspective, the sea, sees all and fills in the blanks that Rory and Lorali’s stories cannot possibly tell you. For example, the sea tells us about Lorali’s family’s desperate search for her, both in the sea and on land. 

She also explains how mermaids came to be, which I found fascinating, especially Lorali and her family’s individual stories. Personally, I think the sea’s narrative made this book as good as it is. It reminded me of Death narrating The Book Thief, making sure the reader is as well-informed as possible.

This book has romance, action, humour, and PIRATES. What more could you want? Nothing? How about some...FEMINISM? Lorali’s mother is the Queen of the Whirl, and there has only ever been female leaders under the sea - but that doesn’t mean that men can’t rule.

Although my stunted reading schedule meant I didn’t get into it as quickly as I’d hoped, once I got to halfway through the book I was HOOKED - Laura has done such a good job with this book, and I hope many of you will pick up this brilliant book.

My copy of this book, is signed and battered from the love I gave it reading. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did - buy this book! ★★★★★

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Top Ten Tuesday! Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish and there is a new theme every week, this week’s being the last ten books I bought or borrowed. This was so fun to work out, but I couldn’t even write it until Sunday because I couldn’t stop buying books!

1. Spotlight on Sunny

I ordered this book on amazon and it arrived on Sunday. It means that, for the moment, my Keris Stainton collection is complete!

2. On The Fence

This was another amazon order which came on Saturday. I am falling so hard for Kasie’s writing and I’m so excited to read this one!

3. More Happy Than Not

This arrived with On The Fence and I can’t wait to read it - I’ve heard so many good things about it!

4. The Red Queen

After saying I hadn’t read this in last week’s Top Ten Tuesday, and I decided to buy this when I visited Walsall Waterstone’s.

5. The Accident Season

My mom got me this while I was at work, when she visited Solihull Waterston’s. It’s packed ready to take to YALC.

6. Happy Again

This is the novella that follows This Is What Happy Looks Like, and it’s a kindle ebook - I finished reading it yesterday and loved it!

7. Lorali

I’m reading this at the moment, which my mom had pre-ordered for me on amazon and came on it’s release date. I had been waiting months for it to come out!

8. The Potion Diaries

Netgalley sent me this as an ebook, but I also bought the paperback from amazon. I finished reading it on Saturday, and I reviewed it here.

9. The Lost and the Found

I bought this in Bristol Waterston’s on my way back from Cornwall. They had it in early and I just had to buy it!

10. Deep Water

I got this on holiday in Truro Waterstone’s, but it’s with my auntie Vicki at the moment as she took it to Lu’s launch to get it signed for me (thank you!).

So those are my top ten, and we’ve learned that I buy all my books from amazon and waterstone’s, and I like to visit different branches of the store whenever possible. Thank you for reading!

The Potion Diaries - Amy Alward

Netgalley sent me an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review - and I also bought a physical copy as soon as it came out.

Samantha Kemi comes from a well-known family of alchemists, but business has been slow ever since synthetic potions took over. If it wasn’t for a few loyal customers that didn’t trust synths, there would be no business at all.

When Princess Evelyn accidentally takes a love potion intended for her best friend, Zain, she inevitably falls in love with herself. She has to be locked away, and the kingdom’s alchemists are summoned on a Wilde Hunt to find the cure.

Zain and Sam are on different teams in the Hunt. Sam is on the side of traditional, natural potions, along with her Finder, Kirsty. Zain and his father own the biggest synthetic potion company in the kingdom, and don’t know a thing about traditional potion making.

So when Zain and Sam become friends, it raised a Romeo and Juliet vibe in my heart. I really liked both characters, even more so than the others. 

It’s a dual narrative, which worked really well, but I much preferred Sam’s side of the story to Evie’s. Seeing her falling in love with herself was funny, but Sam’s story was much more interesting and gripping. 

This was a really unusual book, and I loved reading it. Buy this book! ★★★★

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The Last Summer of Us - Maggie Harcourt

Now that we are into the summer, there are a lot of summer reads cropping up in my TBR piles - here is my first summery read of July! I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post this review sooner, but I’ve been really busy with my new job - it’s definitely affecting how quickly I read and that saddens me :(

A day after her mom’s funeral, Limpet goes on a road trip with her best friends, Steffan and Jared. The journey will change their lives, as secrets unfold and grief gets the better of them.

Although this book is set in Wales, there isn’t much mention or detail of destinations, which I would have liked to see. I could have pictured places and scenes better that way, since I used to visit Wales a lot.

The Mile Long Bookshelf - who I love - described this book as ‘a sparkling debut with one of the best slow-burning romances on the YA scene’ and I couldn’t agree more. The romance was subtle, never overshadowing the plot, and by the end I was rooting for the characters to be together.

This book is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking, I only wish that the Welsh element had been played on a bit more. Buy this book! ★★★★

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Top Ten Tuesday! - Ten Hyped Books I’ve Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and this is my first post! Although I blog about YA, I’ve decided to include some adult hyped books in here as they were the easiest to think of!

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

This is probably the most hyped book(s) of the decade, but I always have and always will refuse to read it. It may be popular, but it’s not my type of book.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I actually own this book, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet - and I also haven’t watched the film. I don’t know if I’m going to like it so I’m putting off reading it.

3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I own this book as well, but I am more excited to read this one - preferably in time to read Go Set A Watchman.

4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I don’t read a lot of dystopian novels, so I’m not sure whether I would like this. If you’ve read it, please let me know what you thought of it.

5. The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

I tried to watch the television adaptation of this and didn’t enjoy it, so I don’t think I will be reading this.

6. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

I know I should have read this, or at least watched the film, but I’ve just never got around to doing either - but I’m sure I will! 

7. Holes by Louis Sachar

I’m pretty sure I watched the film as a child, but I can’t remember if I liked it so I’m not sure whether to read the book.

8. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

This book has recently been made into a film, and I’ve seen a lot of people talking about Kody’s latest book. I just haven’t been drawn to read this yet.

9. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

Again, this is a series of books that hasn’t really appealed to me, even though I liked what I’ve read of The Mortal Instruments.

10. The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I’ve heard this is a book for Game of Thrones fans, so even though I haven’t read it yet, I will read it in the future!

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