Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (53)

BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme hosted by Braine and Debbie @ Talk Supe where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, on going events and book movie or television news and The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news; a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. As you can see I've decided to link on another weekly haul/wrap up meme because I'd like to start visiting some new blogs on the atmosphere and I find meme's are the best way to do so!

-Bagged-
Reap by Christina Channelle and Burn Out by Ruthi Kight
I got both of these for book tours and I'm excited!



This fortnight on Northern Plunder:
Wishlist Wednesday
Books Creating Art
Review: Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling


Upcoming on Northern Plunder:
Review: The Wizard Tales by Red Tash + Giveaway
Wishlist Wednesday
Kinetic Book Blast
By Blood and Moon Child Reviews + Giveaways
Cover Reveal: RecruitZ


Lauren's Progress:
Read in 2013: 56 / 60
Moon Child by Tracy E Banghart
No One's Angel by Kelly Walker

Currently Reading:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (50%)
My Ex From Hell by Tellulah Darling (14)
The Walking Dead Compendium by Robert Kirkman (6%)
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (5%)
Later with Myself by Sheryl Sorrentino (3%)


News from Lauren:
Hey guys, well these past two weeks have been pretty empty on the blog and very busy in real life. I move out a week yesterday and I turn 20 next week too. I'm very scared at this new chapter of my life and its left me a bit frazzled with my blog lately but luckily I have been able to plan a few things for it over the next few weeks. I hope everyones fortnight has been kinder to them than mine!
I also started up vlogging again! If you'd be as kind to subscribe that'd be really great.

Review by Nia: Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

Review: Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling.

Published: 1st September 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company.

Genre: Adult Fiction/ Contemporary/ Mystery

Page Count: 503

Synopsis: When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems. 

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? 

Review. 

4 / 5 stars. 

I got this book for my birthday way back in October and put of reading it for well months, so instead I took the hulking great hardback on holiday with me. It almost pushed me over the hand luggage limit but it was worth it.

Casual Vacancy is nothing like Harry Potter. Its a completely different book which definitely has much more Adult themes (and when I say adult I do mean adult). It was a little bit weird reading an adult book by my all time favourite childhood author, whose books I've read over and over but Casual Vacancy is still well worth a look.

The book did take me awhile to get into. The constantly changing perspectives are confusing at times, especially in the beginning when you are just getting to know the characters, but once the book drew me in I just couldn't stop reading.

As I was saying about four sentences above the themes are quite adult theres rape, drugs, underage sex and many others included in this book. So if that sort of stuff isn't your cup of tea then the book is probably not for you. Theres also a lot of plotting and infighting between the families living in Pagford which can get a little tiring at times. Shirley and Barry Mollison are the worst for this and when I was reading from either perspective I found myself feeling ashamed for them. Although to be quite honest I didn't like many of the characters, but I feel like that is what this book is meant to do. Its strips the characters bare and reveals all of their secrets, and by the end the only character that I liked was Krystal Weedon who I started off really disliking.

This book is definitely worth reading. Although I found it a hard read in the beginning once the book had drawn me in it became unputdownable. The one thing I would advise against is picking it up because its a J.K. Rowling book, instead pick it up because you like the blurb and you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Goodreads | Amazon

J.K. Rowling: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Nia

Wishlist Wednesday (57)

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted by Pen to Paper where we share and post about a book that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added, that we can't wait to get off the wishlist.

Conjure by Jennifer Snyder is the sequel to Catalyst which I recently read and I really can't wait to read what happens next and learn more about our mysterious Theor, Geek Girl: Model Misfit by Holly Smale is the sequel to Geek Girl and again another series I need to know what happens, I hope Holly has learnt from her mistakes and her modelling career goes smoothly!

Conjure Synopsis: Sometimes to understand the present you have to conjure up the past... 

The last thing Addison Harmon needed was to become tethered to the broody, often seemingly cold, Theo Van Rooyen, but that's exactly what happened. Forced to partner up with Theo to figure out a way to break the tether, Addison soon realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Geek Girl: Model Misfit Synopsis: “My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.”

Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this. What Harriet doesn't know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives. With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes. Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like. Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good?

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (52)

BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme hosted by Braine and Debbie @ Talk Supe where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, on going events and book movie or television news and The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news; a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. As you can see I've decided to link on another weekly haul/wrap up meme because I'd like to start visiting some new blogs on the atmosphere and I find meme's are the best way to do so!

-Bagged-
Anywhere by J Meyers
I got an early review copy from Jen herself and oh my god I really loved it and the review is already up haha


Chasing Justice by Danielle Stewart and Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington
Both of these were amazon freebies, not sure if they're still free but could be worth checking out.


Illicit Love by Jane Lark (plus swag) and Now or Never by by A.J. Bennett
I won a signed physical copy of Illicit Love plus a mug, tote bag, pen, book marks and a keyring thanks to Kindred Dreamhearts Fashion Week, and an eCopy of Now or Never from What's Beyond Forks?




This fortnight on Northern Plunder:
Bout of Books Day 1: Challenges
Wishlist Wednesday
Tears of Tess - Book Blast
Bout of Books Wrap Up
The Companions - DNF Review
Monster Review-a-thon
Through Glass - Cover Reveal
Anywhere - 5 Star Review
Catalyst - 4.5 Star Review
August Wrap Up


Upcoming on Northern Plunder:
Wishlist Wednesday
The Wizard Tales by Red Tash - Reviews
Books Creating Art
Casual Vacancy Review



Lauren's Progress:
Read in 2013: 54 / 60
The Companions by R.A. Salvatore
The Wizard Takes the Cake by Red Tash
Lucians First Trick and A Laurents Country Landfill Christmas by Red Tash
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collns
Anywhere by J Meyers
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Currently Reading:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Moon Child by Tracy E Banghart
Later with Myself by Sheryl Sorrentino
The Raven Bys by Maggie Stiefvater


News from Lauren:
Hey guys, this past two weeks seems to have zoomed past! I've been concentrating on getting a lot of reviews typed up because I'm pretty behind and hopefully I'll slow down on my reading a little so I don't keep stacking this pile even higher. I recently finished watching Orphan Black too and I loved it, I so can't wait for the next season. Also, new blog layout ;) How freaking lovely is it?!