Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Publisher: Vintage Books
Release Date: 31st January 2013
Genre: Horror, Romance, Young Adult

Summary: 
R, or so he calls himself, is a zombie. He has no memories of his former life, just the fact that he thinks his name begins with the letter 'R.' However, unlike his fellow zombie comrades in his colony, R has dreams. He still eats humans though. However, when he saves the life of Julie, one of the few remaining humans, everything changes.

Breaking the rules of logic and zombie-kind, R shows that all is not lost when you start to decay and have no pulse or functioning brain.

Review:
If you think this is going to be some gory story about a zombie apocalypse; you will be bitterly disappointed. I was. I mean, I knew that it was going to involve a dysfunctional and impractical love story, but I was expecting there to be a bit more gore and action! Not the scariest zombies, in my opinion. However, I think the fact that the book goes against and, in places, mocks the genre, is what makes it so special and cute. Yes, it is cheesy. Yes, it is just a modern and gory take on Romeo and Juliet (hence the names of the characters). And yes, the zombies are more like cuddly creatures than killing machines. But it works.

Waiting to Die by Christopher Kenworthy

Title: Waiting to Die

Author: Christopher Kenworthy

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Release Date: 13th November 2013

Genre: Crime

Summary:
There is a murderer disturbing the small town of Cunsey Nab; a village where everybody knows everyone and outsiders are treated with suspicion. The murders seem random and greedy; but what does the murderer want? Things, however, take a dramatic turn for the worst when the murderer starts to target the owners of the locals' favourite bar, Peter and Polly Miller.

With numerous attempts on his life, and the lives of his family, will Peter be able to help the police find the murderer and restore peace to Cunsey Nab, or will the murderer succeed in his greedy conquest?

Review:
I have to admit it took me a while to get into this book, but once I did get into it; it was a nice way to pass a couple of hours, which I would have otherwise spent procrastinating from university work!

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

As mentioned in my review of Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (which can be found here); I am a big lover of the foreign horror genre. One of my favourite authors within this genre is Jo Nesbo and his Harry Hole series. Even though this is the fifth book in the series, it was the first one I read, and has remained my favourite for many years, so I thought I would give it a review and explain why it is so much better than all the others.

Title: The Snowman

Author: Jo Nesbo (translated by Don Bartlett)

Publisher: Vintage Books

Release Date: 19th August 2010

Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller, Nordic Noir

Summary:

As the first snow falls in Oslo, Norway; a serial killer is on the loose leaving a snowman in the snow for all to see. The killings seem random and unprovoked, but are they? Is there some connection to these pointless murders? Harry Hole, a workaholic (and slightly alcoholic) policeman, is however on the case after receiving a threatening letter from the so called, Snowman. Pushing himself to the limit to catch his horrendous and evil murderer, it is obvious that Harry cannot trust anyone.

Review:

Jo Nesbo is a bit like marmite; you either love him or you hate him. I, unlike marmite, love him. If not for his ability to create complex and clever storylines but for his sheer imagination and unbelievabley gory writing style. I love gore and horror filled stories so this aspect was a big hit for me! I may have read the book some years ago but there is one particularly haunting scene in the book which has stuck with me made me partially scared of snowmen and going into woods...disgusting...

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Title: Let The Right One In
Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist (translated by Ebba Segerberg)
Publisher: Quercus
Release Date: 22nd January 2009
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy

Summary:
Oskar is 12. He is a wimp. He has no friends, dad or courage and is constantly lonely.

Eli is 12 and has been for sometime. She has no friends and only ventures out to the playground at night.

Review:
I have to admit, I read this book a while ago so it is not a recent read; but, I have always loved this book and it started my addiction to foreign horror and crime- so I thought I would give it a quick review.

My favourite aspect of book, is the gory horror which is present throughout. Whilst some writers shy away from the details, writers such as Ajvide Lindqvist present things how they are in such a twisted, scary, disgusting but nonetheless fascinating way. These details make this book a staple of the genre and a must for all horror fans (another prime example of this is Jo Nesbo, and his Harry Hole series; he, however, deserves a post all of his own here...).

Hopelessly Devoted by Margaret Blake

Title: Hopelessly Devoted
Author: Margaret Blake
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Release Date: 4th December 2013
Genre: Romance, Thriller, Crime

Summary:
All is not well in paradise. After moving to New Zealand to start a new life; Bronwen's life is soon turned upside-down when her husband, Jack, disappears along with her money, boat and her heart. Has the appearance of her estranged cousin, Marged, got anything to do with disappearances or is it all a coincidence?

Bronwen does all she can to reunite with her husband, but little does she know; someone has a price on her head.

Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this book as the plot was fast-faced (a little too fast at times, in my opinion) and interesting, although being somewhat predictable. It was pretty obvious from the start who did it. However, even though it was predictable I kept turning the pages and reading on as like other books from this publisher; it was a nice, easy read that was enjoyable and short.

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

Title: Broken Homes
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Publisher: Gollancz, Orion Publishing Group
Release Date: 25th July 2013
Genre: Fantasy, Crime, Young Adult 

Summary:
Peter Grant is back in the fourth installment in the Rivers of London series, in which we find our heroic, magical Policeman venturing South of the River to Elephant and Castle.

With an already hectic caseload, the last thing Grant wants is trouble on a housing estate with the work of the Faceless Man all-over-it. It is then Grant's duty to make sure nothing explosive happens...

Review:
When I originally posted my review of the first installment of the series, Rivers of London, (you can find my review here) I had no intention of writing any for the subsequent books, as I felt it was such a good series. However, even though the series started with such optimism; I really struggled with this installment and felt it was necessary to write a follow-up.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Penguin

Release Date: 3rd January 2013

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Summary: 

Hazel Grace is a terminally ill teenager, who has suffered from cancer for many years. She is lonely; but likes it that way. It reduces the casualties. Hazels' world is, however, turned upside down when she meets Augustus Waters, the gorgeous ex-basketball player who is desperate to be remembered, at her weekly support group.

Review:

The Fault in Our Stars, has been on my 'to read' list for ages as I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about. After reading it in two days straight, amidst doing important university stuff, I can honestly say all the hype surrounding this book is justified! I loved it!

5 Reasons Why Harry Potter is the Best Children's Series of All Time

Today my best friend and I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour for the third (yes, third) time.

As you can probably tell I am a huge Harry Potter fan, specifically of the books. I have loads of memorabilia (including an iPhone case, travel mug and Gryffindor scarf) have ridden on a broomstick three times, have drunk Butterbear in two different continents and have been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.

My recent visit down Harry Potter memory lane got me thinking about why generations across the World have fallen in love with this series and inspired so many. The following are the reasons I have come up with (there's probably many, many more...).

1) An amazing book makes a great film

I am a huge fan of the films and, like many, I watched the films before I read the books. However, when I did read the books; I realised that the films do not do them justice. Much of Rowling's creativity, spark and imagination is lost, like many book to film productions, as the scale and detail of the world she created is not done justice in the films. For example, did you know that when translated into Aramaic, the killing curse, Avada Kedavra means "I will destroy as I speak"?! That is absolute genius. Why would you cut any of that creativity? After reading the books, I therefore felt somewhat at a loss and could not get over the amount that was changed and left out of the films.

One Day by David Nicholls

Title: One Day
Author: David Nicholls
Publisher: Hodder
Release Date: 4th February 2010
Genre: Romance, Coming of Age

Summary:
On the night of their graduation, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew meet for the first time. Is it a one-night stand or something more? They do not know, but it is something. With their whole lives ahead of them, and the possibility of never meeting again, they vow to keep in contact somehow. Life, however, throws hurdles in their way.

Will they realise that the answer to all their problems is standing right in-front of them, or carry on blissfully unaware?

Review:
Usually I am not a fan of the typical romantic, boy-meets-girl novels which are often found at the top of the charts. However, surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book and found it really hard to put down!