100 Books In A Year Challenge!

So I've decided to take part in a challenge this year! The 100 Books In A Year challenge, hosted by Book Chick City!

 I usually don't read this many books in a year, so here's hoping I do this year!

Top 5 Reads of 2010

Hey guys! So it's that time of the year again where I present the best 5 books that I have read this year!

5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I was looking forward to reading this after reading the Mortal Instruments series. I enjoyed it very much, looking forward to the sequel!



   4. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

This is probably by favourite Sarah Dessen book of all time. Classic Sarah Dessen, love it!

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green

This was my first John Green book and I really, really liked it. Looking forward to reading more John Green in the future!

2. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

This was amazing, I loved it. It was definitely one of those WOW books for me. Can't wait to read Delirium next year!

1. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Words can't describe this book. It was such a powerful, emotive novel.AMAZING.

REVIEW: Matched by Ally Condie

Sorry I haven't updated in ages, been very busy with school! I'll hope to be posting more frequently in the coming weeks. Anyway, here's the review:

Matched is Ally Condie's first major novel, a dystopian novel, set in a civilisation where at the age of 17 you are 'Matched' with another person. It's setting is in a futuristic society where your choices, actions and moves are controlled by government 'Officials' in order to maintain a perfect society. It is based around a girl called Cassia who is 'matched', however, she finds herself falling in love with someone else...

I was drawn to reading this book (and its cover) the moment I heard of

it, I've always loved dystopian novel (i.e. Uglies, The Hunger Games, Brave New World) and this sounded right up my street! Unfortunately, I was quite dissapointed with this novel, which surprised me. I found that the pace of the story was quite slow, it wasn't hard to put down. I thought it would get better throughout the novel but that didn't really happen. There were no high tension or action scenes which you would expect from a dystopian novel. I know that you don't want action all the time but I felt that was lacking in Matched.

As for the main character, Cassia, I felt there was development from her from the start to the end but the romance between her and Ky didn't feel realistic enough. She didn't seem to be in love with Ky. Furthermore, I didn't feel there was much emotion emitted from the character, I didn't feel any of the raw emotions that I usually feel in romance novels. This may be due to the writing style the author used which was quite plain - first person, short, simple sentences.

However, I found still find the idea very interesting. The idea of society being that way, everything being controlled - what you eat, what you wear, how many children you have, when you die etc. It makes you think what things would really be like if you couldn't make choices in life. The author presented this picture to the audience well.

As for the ending, I thought it was interesting. It didn't necessarily leave me craving for more but I am intrigued to know what will happen in the next part (Crossed - out Nov 2011) of the trilogy.

Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Ending: 3.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Cover (love it!) : 5/5

Overall: 3/5

Lies by Michael Grant - Trailer

As I just finished reading this book, I thought I would post the official trailer for it. It's kinda scary (lol)! Anyway, here it is:

REVIEW: Private by Kate Brian

Private is about a girl called Reed Brennan who gains a scholarship to the privileged boarding school Easton Academy, where she meets a group of girls called the 'Billings Girls'. It's the first book in the popular 'Private' series.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, it strangely reminded me of the Gossip Girl books (i <3 gossip girl!), as it is based around similar characters. So I was hoping it would be as good. And I was not dissapointed!

Firstly, I liked the narrative style the writer used as it was in first person and I really did get a good insight into the character's mind and thoughts. It was also quite engaging from the beginning and I immediately got interested in the story.

The Billings Girls seemed like such strong, individuals and they each had different personalities and traits even though they weren't described that much. There was Taylor - the smart one, Noelle - seen as the 'leader' of the Billings Girls, Ariana - the modest one. And regards to the main character, Reed, my first impression was that she kind of follows others and she wasn't really going to Easton for a particular reason but as you learn more about her family background, you understand her more and I could actually relate to her in a kind of way.

The 'Billings' Girls also reminded me of 'Mean' girls but not as mean (lol)

Anyway, it was a great start to a series and it was definitely one of those books that left me wanting more! The next book is called 'Invitation Only'.



Old cover

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Cover(there's 2 covers, this is the rating for the one I read (as pictured <--)): 3/5


Overall: 5/5

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen!

The new Sarah Dessen book, What Happened to Goodbye, cover has been revealed!!

What Happened to Goodbye is about a high school senior who, after her parents’ divorce, has taken up the practice of assuming a new identity in each of the four towns she’s lived in

Although, the cover will probably look different in the UK. Probably something similar to this:

Anyway, this is coming out in May 2011 (so excited!!). Definitely will be posting a review to this new book.

The Versatile Blogger Award

I recently discovered that I received the Versatile Blogger Award from Kate @ Literary Explorations (thanks so much!!!).

For the people that won the award, here are some things that you need to do:

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award

2. Write 7 things about yourself
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked to let them know about the award


Here are the bloggers that I picked for the award:

Elena's Book Cafe
Persnickety Snark
Reading Vacation
Mindful Musings
The Sweet Bonjour
What's Cracking Coops?
Call Me Crazy
Wondrous Reads
A Flight Of Minds
Books Are Life
The Crazy Bookworm
The Naughty Book Kitties
The Bookette

Steph Su Reads

Here are seven things about me:

1. I live in London, England

2. I play the piano

3. I want to go to university/college abroad

4. I love Amazon.com for not just books but loads of other stuff too!

5. I'm learning Spanish at the moment

6. I love watching US dramas such as; Gossip Girl, Glee, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and 90210!

7. I'm a Cancerian, born in July