Book Review: Fuse by Julianna Baggot

Hello my fellow bookworms!

Guess what?! I finished another book! Actually, I finished this one about a week ago and I've been kinda too busy to write up a review until now :( Anyways, as the title of this post states, the book in question is Fuse by Julianna Baggot. Fuse is actually the sequel to Pure which is probably one of the most creative Sci-Fi book I've read in a very long time.

The basic premise of Pure is that years ago, there were nuclear bomb detonations all over the world but these bombs were engineered to alter every living creatures DNA so that you would literally become fused with what ever was closest to you. The main character Pressia Belze is a 16 year old girl with a doll head attached to her left hand. Pressia lives in a world that has grown harsh and dangerous. Not only does she struggle to survive but she lives in constant fear that she will be found by the militia to either be trained as a soldier or be used as a live target. But there were also people who were protected from the detonations. These people survived by hiding in the Dome; a structure built to withstand the DNA warping explosions, but only those of important positions and their families were permitted a place in the Dome, these people now called Pures. Our second main character is Partridge whose father is the single most influential men in the Dome. Why? Because he built it. Partridge is plagued with a need to know about the outside world and to find what became of his mother who didn't make it into the Dome in time. He escapes the Dome and meets Pressia Belze and together they go on an adventure to uncover the truth about the world they now live in.

Fuse, is essentially the continuation of Pressia and Partridges adventure. At this point it's hard to say ANYTHING about the book without giving huge spoilers about Pure, which if you haven't read it, I don't want to ruin it for you :(

I guess the simplest way for me to review this book then is to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters developed in a very fascinating and natural way as well as the events seemed well planned and intriguing. The book left me wanting even more but not in the way that I thought the book could be improved on, but in the way that I want to know what happens next. I suppose I'll just have to wait though. There is supposedly a third book in the works but I haven't heard any release dates that are set in stone.

Anyways, that's all for now guys!

Cheers,

Danielle

OOTD: Work Ready

Hey Guys and Dolls!

So I realized it's been a really long time since I've done any fashion related posts and at the same time, I haven't done a 'Going to Work' outfit of the day. So without further ado, this is what I will be wearing to work today!

I work in a women's clothing store and although it isn't necessarily a casual work environment (no jeans, message t-shirts or exposed shoulders), it also isn't a super corporate workspace where I have to wear a suit or all black. In this photo I'm wearing a pair of super thick and comfortable black leggings, a loose knit cream sweater and a cobalt blue scarf which is my favorite colour EVER (it's also the colour of my birthstone!). Also, all of these pieces were from my store. It isn't a hard and fast rule that you need to wear clothing from the store but we get a pretty sweet discount so I say why not?

I like to keep my jewelry and make-up relatively simple but today I thought I'd jazz my look up a bit with a pair of statement earrings. I kept all the emphasis at my eyes by doing a slightly smokey bronze look with black eyeliner and a soft pink lip.

What do you guys wear to work? Do you have a dress code?

Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Hey guys!

So after this book review I'll be all caught up (Yay!) This book I had already started before I left for Hawaii and I took it with me thinking it would keep me occupied on the plane rides there and back.....
I was half right. I finished the book before we landed in Honolulu but holy crap was it a good one!

The book I'm referencing is Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd.

In this book we are introduced to Juliet Moreau, the daughter of a doctor who was hailed for his medical knowledge until he was accused of vivisection (dissection of living creatures) and he disappeared from society and thought dead. Juliet and her mother continued to live in London in somewhat high society thanks to her mother becoming a mistress but after her mother dies, Juliet is turned out into the streets to find honest work cleaning at a medical university. When she runs into her father's assistant and her childhood friend Montgomery, Juliet learns that her father is in fact alive and living on an island around Australia. She demands for Montgomery to take her to her father and she is reunited with him after more than 3 years of thinking him dead. Along the way they pick up a castaway, the mysterious Edward Prince whom is instantly smitten with Juliet though she doesn't seem to feel the same way.

Through the story, Juliet learns that the people she thinks she knows are not who she thinks they are and that the island holds dark secrets about everyone, including herself.

Guys, I enjoyed this book so much! It was gripping and high energy all the way till the ending. I never once felt bored while reading and I thought that the characters were solidly written and incredibly strong. I find that the majority of the books I enjoy are books that have a strong build of action running all the way through with a bit of romance mixed in. If the romance becomes the main focal point, I get annoyed and a little bit bored, but if it's all action and adventure all the way through and there are two characters with amazing chemistry and NOTHING happens between them, I get very frustrated. This book was a very good example of the right balance of action and romance :)

I also felt that this book has such strong imagery, there is quite a bit of potential for a movie adaptation to be made (and when I say movie adaptation, I mean a 5-6 hour long movie that doesn't cut anything from the book lol). I highly recommend this book to all those action/horror/romance lovers out there and if you end up reading it, let me know what you think about it!

That's it for now!

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Hey Friends!

It's time for another book review! As I stated in my last one, I've gotten behind in my reviewing so this one I actually finished about 2 and a half weeks ago.

This book is Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.

Most people that I know have read at least one of her books even if it was only in school. I remember reading The Giver and Number the Stars during elementary school and I actually really enjoyed them even at a young age.

Lois Lowry is incredibly talented at creating alternate societies and worlds complete with traditions, hierarchy and history. In The Giver she gave us a glimpse of a world literally without colour or music with it's own secrets and darkness and Gathering Blue is much the same (according to Goodreads it's actually the sequel to The Giver even though it has none of the same characters).

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Kira, a young woman with a crippled leg that she's had since birth. Her mother has just died and she is now embarking into a world that scorns people with defects or injuries so much that as soon as someone is found to be crippled or hurt in such a way that they're medicine cannot heal it (i.e. broken bones), these people are put out into "the field" to be taken away by beasts.

The world in which Kira lives is incredibly archaic and even a bit barbaric but this society has arisen sometime in the distant future from now.

I really enjoyed reading this book but I found the ending a bit abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying. It leaves a lot of things unresolved and frankly, I found it disappointing. I think this is one of those books that could have benefited from being longer even though the short length was a nice change from lengthy novels. I feel that if Lowry had made the book a bit longer, she could have tied a few things together a bit better and had a bit more solid of an ending to leave the readers with....but that's just my opinion :P

Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Hey Guys!

I'm back from my family trip to Hawaii! It was super nice to finally relax (I never realize how long I go without any time off until I finally take a break lol) but it's also good to be back home and sleeping in my own bed :) I've gotten really behind in reviewing the books I've been reading so the next few posts will mainly reviews. So let's just jump right in, shall we?

About a month (ish) ago, I finished a book called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

 I remember being really excited to read this book because it appeared to focus quite a bit on alchemy as well as witchcraft. At first the book started off really strong. The main character is Diana Bishop, a witch from a very powerful and illustrious bloodline but based on a childhood experience, she has rejected her magic and sees it more as a curse than a gift. She meets the mysterious vampire, Matthew Clairmont, a scholarly man with an interest in genetics. Unfortunately, this was where my enjoyment of the book fizzled out.

Diana and Matthews relationship doesn't so much grow into a romance but more jumps off a cliff into an ocean of cliche. Not to start any controversy, but their relationship reminded me of Bella and Edward from Twilight (I don't like that book series, I'll leave it at that for now, if you want to here my rant about it I could probably write a post about it if people want...). The relationship is similar in that Matthew (Edward character) is controlling and thinks that he knows what's best for Diana (Bella) and is always focused on protecting her, and Diana is almost an exact copy of Bella (in respect to her obsession of Matthew/Edward) except that she is a witch and isn't as clumsy as Bella (What? Bella is afraid to run from rapists because she knows she'll trip on her own feet. It's an actual part of the book).

I dunno guys, I finished the book more as a matter of principle than that I actually wanted to. I will admitf that the last few chapters were much stronger that the middle section but it still wasn't strong enough to redeem the book in my opinion.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you enjoyed reading Twilight, you will most likely enjoy this book, but if you didn't, it's probably a good idea to steer clear. But yeah, that's my two cents on that subject.

There are more book reviews to come so keep checking in guys! And if you want my opinion on a specific book, comment below and we'll start up a dialogue or something :)

But that's it for now guys,

Cheers,

Danielle