P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

 

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

 

This sequel to 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' was cute, light, fun and just plain old lovely.

The book started off where the first book left us - Lara Jean and Peter realising their relationship is way more than pretend, and their reality is just beginning. It's cute, it's exciting, and it's everything we've wanted since the first book. It had me all giddy and bubbly, the way LJ and Peter got together! That porch scene was perf.  

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

 

 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

 

 The first time I heard about Jenny Han was from Christine (polandbananasbooks on Youtube) and all I remember is her saying over and over how funny Jenny Han's books were. It's true because I was chuckling the whole way through. But the other reason I loved this book was because the MC was just so darn real to me. I could relate to Lara Jean hard. So many times I'd catch myself thinking, yep that is exactly what I'd do, yup, I'd have thought the same way.

If you don't know the premise yet, go read it here on Goodreads. It in itself is tragic and hilarious - a combo of two things I love to be entertained by. The story is great, the characters are so well-written, it all just makes for a really spectacular contemporary YA novel. The title might suggest a romance-heavy theme, but really I'd attest that it's relationship-heavy instead. Lara Jean's relationships with her parents and especially her sister are particularly pivotal. I'm really excited to read the next book in this series (P.S. I Still Love You). I could do it right now if I wanted to, the book is sitting right here on my shelf. Hmmmmmm. :)

 

My Rating: 4.5 stars

The Taming of the Tights by Louise Rennison

 

The Taming of the Tights
(a.k.a. "Wild Girls, Wild Boys, Wild Tights" for those hamburger-a-gogo folk)

[The Misadventures of Tallulah Casey #3]

by Louise Rennison

 

 When I heard the news of Louise Rennison's death, I was shocked and saddened. She is one of my favourite authors, and I thought she'd be around for way, way longer, writing books that would keep me laughing for the rest of my life. But unfortunately, that was not the case.

All I have left, and all the world has left of her, are the books she was able to get published in her lifetime - which, I know I'm making out to be not much (which it is! It is much! I can only dream to leave behind 13 published novels before I die) - but I'm just still reeling over the fact that I have just read her last novel, and now the only thing I can do is reread all of her books. Of course I'll still enjoy rereading the Georgia Nicolson series from beginning to end, but there will never again be something new for me to read from Louise Rennison, that wonderful, hilarious, fun-tastic, crazy humourous writer that brought so many joyous, teary-eyed-and-stomach-pained-from-laughing-so-hard memories to my childhood (and who am I kidding, adulthood too).

Okokok. It's probably time I talk about this book already, huh? Ok.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

This is first YA from Sophie Kinsella and it was pretty wonderful. I always have faith in a SK novel to deliver quality writing and characters, and that's what she's done. Finding Audrey was hilarious, hysterical, relatable and real. 

The story is about a girl who's been through an ordeal at school, something intense and bad and inexplicable. It's literally never explained what exactly happened. But it's left Audrey with a pretty awful case of anxiety, so much so that she needs therapy and wears sunglasses 24/7, in order to avoid eye contact with people, even her immediate family. Audrey never leaves the house and spends her days in a dark den with black-out curtains drawn.

It was so easy slipping into Audrey's shoes. Her story is incredibly relatable to me and as I read the book I felt almost UNeasy because I was empathising with Audrey so much. One of the things I loved most about this book is the family dynamic. Audrey has such an awesome family, and her mum provides a lot of the hysteria. Frank, Audrey's big brother, was hilarious and Felix, her baby bro, was so so sooo cute. I love them all so much but not just because of who they are (or how well their characters were written) but because of how they loved each other. 

There's a cute romance that sparks between Audrey and Lionel (Frank's friend). Lionel helps draw Audrey out of her dark place and back into the world. There were so many sweet moments between them, like the note-writing with Felix as their messenger, or when Lionel knew Audrey couldn't manage eye contact so he'd challenge her with things like shoe contact or thumb contact or knee contact. :) 

I'd rec Finding Audrey for anyone who likes Sophie Kinsella, teen reads and laughing, 

Rating: 4 stars

The Heart & the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

This book is like a golden nugget. 

I read it the first time, thought it was good, thought it was nice. Read it the second time and though, yeah, it's still pretty good. Then I read it the third time. Wow. OK. For a book with so little words, it sure does pack a punch. 

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

Between the Lines 
by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

OK. Where do I start with this one? Hmmm.
I was really hoping for a lot with this book, but it ended up being a hit and miss for me.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty

Wow. BLL has been sitting on my desk next to my laptop for months! Months and months. This post is so overdue. Woops! Sorry to anyone who was waiting for this.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Liane Moriarty is, as you probably already know, one of my favourite authors in the world. AND she's Australian.

Her books are hilarious and intelligent, her characters are authentic and believable, her stories are out-of-this-world entertaining, and her writing is unmatchable in quality and execution. I got to see her at the Perth Writers Festival this year, which was amaaazzzinnggg.

Big Little Lies is her latest release (she's written quite a number of novels, and I haven't read all of them yet but I WILL!) and it has a murder mystery! Someone has been killed, and at a primary school quiz night, no less! The characters are so captivating, the plot can't help but entice, and the writing delivers the whole package together so brilliantly.

There are some heavy things some of the characters go through that are pretty serious and challenging, such as domestic violence, but Liane touched upon them with finesse and grounded authenticity. I absolutely love the way Liz Byrski worded it when she talked about this at the Perth Writers Festival in a panel along with Liane. Liz described them as "dark, contentious issues dealt with very lightly and never trivially".

I'm really excited for this book to be adapted to the screen - especially with Reese Witherspoon playing Madeline and Nicole Kidman playing Celeste.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Allegiance by Wanda Wiltshire

Allegiance - Wanda Wiltshire

After reading Betrothed and posting its very first review back in 2013, I was excited to receive Allegiance last year shortly after its release date. Wanda personally requested a print copy for me, which I adore her for! But to be honest, I adore her anyway, just for creating such a beautifully fantastical world and story.

It's taken me a long time to finally finish the book (I haven't been reading anything at all, apart from some children's books here & there). But I really want to start getting back into it. I have a few books I'm excited to read, which is something I didn't have for a long time. Anyway, I wanted to start off with finishing Allegiance first. 

Allegiance is a wonderful continuation from Betrothed in that the tone of the story hasn't changed a lot, although many, many things are different. Marla's human friends live in Faera now, which is great, and we see so much more of the world of faeries, but there's still one foot in the real world (the human world). I've always loved the combination of worlds - the world-building is done very well, Wanda paints a gorgeous picture of Faera and I just want to escape to that world all the time. 

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (Pictures by Oliver Jeffers)

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT
By Drew Daywalt
Pictures by Oliver Jeffers

I absolutely love this book.
The Day the Crayons Quit is a picture book filled with wonderful and colourful crayon drawings and letters hand-written with crayons (there are a few photographs and printed words too). So, Duncan has a box of crayons and they've decided to each writer letters to him, spilling their woes, etc, etc. Some of the letters were a heartwarming reminder of how I used to treat different colours when I was little, and the whole idea of the book, the writing and the execution was clever, hilarious and ever so endearing.

I adore how the crayons have hand-written their letters (but I mean, they certainly couldn't have typed them out on a computer... that just seems unlikely!) and I can't go on enough about how much I love the pictures illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. They're child-like, but universal somehow as well, as if any person young, old, amateur, professional - would look at these drawings and smile. And they bring me back to a sweet place of nostalgia, and makes me want to create, create, create.

This brilliant little book has warranted its #1 NYT Best Selling status because any reader of any age will enjoy this cute story. I heard recently there will be a sequel coming out soon, and I'm so excited!

My Rating: 5 stars! Duh :)

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

I’ve recently been dipping my toes in a lot more children’s fiction, mainly because I want to write it. I think I saw Stuck on the front page of The Book Depository one day and that was the beginning of my great admiration for Oliver Jeffers.

Stuck is about a boy named Floyd who gets his kite stuck in a tree and his efforts to get it unstuck. Basically, Floyd has one philosophy and one philosophy only – the only way he can get his kite unstuck from the tree is to throw things at the kite to knock it down. The concept is wonderful, not because everything he throws up there gets stuck with the kite, but because (spoiler alert) Floyd’s logic works.

What I appreciate the most is the illustrations. Oliver Jeffers’ style is indescribably enjoyable in my book. I absolutely love his art in every way – from the tree, to buildings, animals, and the facial expressions of people (e.g. Floyd’s sticky out tongue face and eyebrows) – it’s brilliant and simple and perfect. Another charming aspect is all of the words of the story are hand-written by Jeffers. It has this air of childish sophistication that looks like it’s been written by an 11 year old boy who’s been learning cursive for maybe a month or two (but forgets after every couple of letters what cursive is).

It’s cute, it’s funny, it’s beautiful and it’s perfect for adults and children alike. Definitely deserving of 5 stars. 

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

The Last Anniversaryby Liane Moriarty

When I flipped through the Perth Writers Festival brochure I was shocked and excited to see one of my favourite author’s names. Liane Moriarty, in PERTH?!?! my mind exclaimed. I was in a year-long reading slump and decided I’d had enough. A few of Liane’s pre-Husband’s Secret novels were sitting unread on my bookshelf so I picked up the one I knew the least about (I had started reading Three Wishes a while back but I wanted to dive into something completely afresh). That book happened to be The Last Anniversary.

It all happened because of a mystery. The Munro Baby Mystery, to be specific. A baby was found in its home, the parents nowhere to be found. Alice and Jack Munro disappeared into thin air, leaving the kettle boiling for tea and a freshly baked marble cake ready for frosting. The neighbours, two teenage girls, Connie and Rose, came by to visit them and found the baby.

This mystery is the basis of every plotline and character in the novel. Connie and Rose took the baby home and looked after her as their own. They called the baby Enigma, and Enigma went and had kids, and then her two kids went and had three kids. All the kids are adults now, the youngest is in their late thirties. Suffice to say, there are a lot of characters in this book. It took me a little while to figure out who was whose daughter, who were siblings, who were cousins, etc. But obviously it was worth it to take the time to get to know the characters, because it’s Liane Moriarty and duh, the book is gonna be awesome. And it was. Awesome characters, awesome writing, awesome storyIine, awesome everything. I rated it 4.5 stars, so..

The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty

The Cracks in the Kingdom (#2 The Colours of Madeleine) by Jaclyn Moriarty

This book is stunningly wonderful. 

And I'm not saying that just so that I have something to say, I'm saying it from the bottom of my heart, with my whole heart and being. It's not an embellished description or me trying to use filler adjectives to puff out a review (I have to admit to doing that sometimes for a few of my lower star reviews) ... those are factual words that you might not believe if you haven't already read this book. 

It's magical and marvellous. 

It's incredibly well thought out and I've read nothing like this before, outside this series. 

The fantasy world I dive into is indescribable. I was literally sitting here for a good while trying to find a word more fitting than 'indescribable' but I simply cannot think of any words that could even come close to accurately describing this combined contemporary/fantasy setting. It is so imaginative (I guess this is one measly word to describe it!) and I had such a pleasant time delving into this world of cracks, colours and kingdoms. 

It's almost 4am and I need to sleep so I'm going to finish this post when I wake up!

Cracked by Clare Strahan

Cracked by Clare Strahan

Click here for more info & synopsis

Thanks to Allen & Uwin, I got to read Cracked! It is an Australian YA debut novel by Melbourne writer Clare Strahan, which is due to be released in June, so only a couple of months away! It's about a girl named Clover Jones and all the happenings in her life - school life, family life, friends and fitting in, and trying to find out her place in the world through the creative outlet of vandalism (hehe). The characters were very relatable and realistic, and I think a lot of readers will really connect to Clover in many ways. She's the heart and soul of Cracked, and I think everyone could relate to her some way through the relationships she has with all the people around her - her mum, her teachers, the mean girl at school, the footy player crush, the best friend, the pet dog Lucille. 

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

click through to Goodreads

My rating: 5 stars! 

A Corner of White is the first book in the series "The Colours of Madeleine" (or "The Colors of Madeleine" if you're American) by Australian author Jaclyn Moriarty.

In case you are a new reader of Chimneys and Magic, you might know her as one of my all time favourite authors, whose writing, stories, characters, imagination and words I greatly admire. She wrote Finding Cassie Crazy (the first book of hers I read back in high school), The Betrayal of Bindy MacKenzie, Feeling Sorry for Celia and Dreaming of Amelia (most of these novels have various other titles in nations abroad), as well as a handful of other adult novels. Jaclyn Moriarty led me straight to her sister Liane Moriarty, who also fast become one of my favourite authors ever, especially due to What Alice Forgot (which was the first novel of hers I read). Anyway, enough babbling on about authors and such, there's so much I have to say about this book so let's get a-moving.

The Battle of the Labyrinth (#4 Percy Jackson & The Olympians) by Rick Riordan

The Battle of the Labyrinth (#4 Percy Jackson & the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

Woah. Okay, just let me pause for a minute to gather my thoughts.

I can't believe this series is only five books long! I feel like there are just so many more adventures to be had. But I guess that's what the Heroes of Olympus series is for. Percy when he's older, right? I'm so looking forward to getting my hands on those books.
Anyway back to this book - it was all the fun and danger and action and heroic adventurous epic-ness that you would expect from Rick Riordan. I just love this story so much. Or rather, this whole series.

The Titan's Curse (#3 Percy Jackson & the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

The Titan's Curse (Book #3, Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

Wheeeheeheeeeee!
I am seriously loving this series. So much so, I'm going to start reading Book 4 as soon as I'm done writing this post. And I never read sequels consecutively, even when I have them on my shelf ready to be read!

The characters are awesome, as usual. We get to know Thalia a lot better in this story, and we also get introduced to some other really great characters too, like Artemis, Apollo, Zoe the Huntress, and a couple of new half-bloods, Bianca and Nico. Clarisse isn't really present in much of this book but that's alright because no one really likes her that much. Hehe.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I had a lot of fun writing Goodreads status updates for this one as I read through it. 

You can see them here.

This was a rather intense one. I know it's called The Husband's Secret so I should have expected some mystery and twists, but there's some heavy stuff that these characters deal with! For example: grief, guilt, betrayal, the blurred line between right and wrong, and murder. There were also lots of secrets and tragedies.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

I've just been sitting two metres away from my laptop just now, on the couch, reading the last pages of this book. Now I'm here. This little 'my thoughts on...' post will be a tad different, I'll be writing (and rating) in a more segmented fashion. Hope you don't mind. I'll give a rating out of 5 for each category and then at the end we'll see what the average turns out to be! But FYI, the rating I've given this novel on Goodreads is 4 stars. :)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

QUICK UPDATE WITH MOI: Sorry I've been a little AWOL these past several weeks. It was the worst month of the year! Not just because the seasons have changed and I've been sneezing and getting bitten by bugs like a maniac, but because I've had soo many assignments and an exam and we're just about ready to call it the end of my tertiary studies! But now all I have left is my practicum placement unit (interning at Westerly Magazine), so I'll have plenty more time for reading and reviewing and videos and hauls et cetera! 

~~~~~~~

STARDUST by NEIL GAIMAN

(a different sort of review. as usual, spoilers may lurk. beware: my thoughts are laconic tonight.)

Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Click here to read my Goodreads review.

A few weeks ago I had a new bookshelf added into my bedroom and as I re-organised books onto my new shelf (I was categorising all my chick lit novels together), I looked at Can you keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella and suddenly it dawned on me, the book was stiff - the spine wasn't bent at all, it still looked brand new and I said, "Have I not read this? I thought I'd read every single Sophie Kinsella book there is!" (not verbatim) But I hadn't. Somehow this little purple book flew under my radar (I must have had this book in my possession for a few years now) and I remedied the situation STAT.