Gretel and the Dark | Historical Fiction Fairytale Retelling Book Review

Gretel and the Dark
Eliza Granville
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: 6th February 2014
Number of Pages: 368
Source: Netgalley

Add to your TBR shelf:    
Gretel and the Dark Goodreads Page

Gretel and the Dark is Eliza Granville's dazzling novel of darkness, evil - and hope.Vienna, 1899.

Josef Breuer - celebrated psychoanalyst - is about to encounter his strangest case yet. Found by the lunatic asylum, thin, head shaved, she claims to have no name, no feelings - to be, in fact, not even human. Intrigued, Breuer determines to fathom the roots of her disturbance.

Years later, in Germany, we meet Krysta. Krysta's Papa is busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people', so little Krysta plays alone, lost in the stories of Hansel and Gretel, the Pied Piper, and more. And when everything changes and the real world around her becomes as frightening as any fairy tale, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could have ever guessed . . .

Eliza Granville was born in Worcestershire and currently lives in Bath. She has had a life-long fascination with the enduring quality of fairytales and their symbolism, and the idea for Gretel and the Dark was sparked when she became interested in the emphasis placed on these stories during the Third Reich. Gretel and the Dark is her first novel to be published by a major publisher.


Gretel and the Dark tackles the dark and horrific subject of Jewish discrimination across Europe through a Young Adult perspective and using fairy-tale references. Although this book has a Young Adult narrative, I would categorise it as an Adult story due to the writing style and content.

Eliza Granville’s use of dark and descriptive vocabulary was addictive and spellbinding to read however I constantly found myself falling in and out of appreciation for this story. At times I was hooked to the story development for both main female characters, Krysta and Lilie, but then at other times I felt the story was stagnant for a series of chapters.

This story came into its own though at around 70% when the two narratives and time periods started to parallel in content and the plot twist that links to two together is revealed. It is this plot twist which has made this review so hard to write as my reservations and dislikes within the first 70% of the book are reasoned and almost void with the understanding gained from the last 30%.

I was certainly glad I continued reading this book, after almost putting it down 2-3 times. If you’re not used to adult descriptive writing and vague characters descriptions then you might find this book isn’t right for you. However, for those looking for an adult version of The Book Thief with a darker tone, then Gretel and the Dark might be the book for you!

My TBR Shame | Dare to share yours?

As book bloggers/booktubers/book lovers we all like to collect and read books but exactly how many unread books do you have on your TBR shelf?
I've shown you my TBR Shame! Dare to share yours too?

Sarah Churchill's TBR Shame:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMnzi1t71A4
Josh's TBR Shame (24hoursayear):- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrMCCg2ESV0


Vampire Academy Graphic Novels Review and Booktalk | Vampire Academy & Frostbite

Vampire Academy
VA Graphic Novel #1
Richelle Mead, Emma Vieceli & 
Leigh Dragoon
Genres: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Publication Date: 23rd August 2011
Number of Pages: 144
Source: Borrowed from the Library

Add to your TBR shelf:    
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel Goodreads Page Buy from Amazon UK

After two years on the run, best friends Rose and Lissa are caught and returned to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a private high school for vampires and half-bloods. It’s filled with intrigue, danger—and even romance.
Enter their dark, fascinating world through a new series of 144-page full-color graphic novels. The entire first Vampire Academy novel has been adapted for book one by Leigh Dragoon and overseen by Richelle Mead, while the beautiful art of acclaimed British illustrator Emma Vieceli brings the story to life.

Frostbite
VA Graphic Novel #2
Richelle Mead, Emma Vieceli & 
Leigh Dragoon
Genres: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Publication Date: 24th May 2012
Number of Pages: 144
Source: Borrowed from the Library

Add to your TBR shelf:    

Frostbite Vampire Academy Graphic Novel Goodreads Page

WHEN LOVE AND JEALOUSY COLLIDE ON THE SLOPES. WINTER BREAK TURNS DEADLY. 
A Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy whisks its students away on a mandatory Holiday ski trip. But the glittering winter landscape and posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back at the Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose - and her heart - are in more danger than she could have imagined.



BookTuber/Book Blogger Interview with BethJune327 (Interview #10)

Hi fellow readers and welcome back for another booktuber/blogger interview.

This fortnight's booktuber/blogger is the bubbly Beth from BethJune327. Beth was amongst some of the first booktubers I came across and I instantly subscribed to her channel. She uploads some of the funniest videos and it always makes my day when there's one sat in my subscription feed waiting to be watched. Here's Beth's answers to the BookTuber/Blogger Interview Questions. Enjoy.



Please describe your channel and the type of books which you enjoy reading.
My channel is 90 percent book related and a 10 percent of randomness! Sharing the love I have for books with other people is truly one of the best things. Tag videos are one of my favorite videos to film and share with you guys. You can learn so much about people in tag videos, from what their favorite books are to what their favorite color is. Another type of video that you will see A LOT of on my channel are haul videos, like I've said many times before, I have a problem. Young Adult fiction is my main obsession, tho if I had to chose, I'd say dystopian and contemporary are my favorite genres. What can I say, I'm a sucker for love!

What made you decide to start your channel and what are the main reasons you keep making videos?
I don't have many 'real life' friends who love to read books and obsess over them as much as I do, so when I came across booktube, I knew I was going to be sucked in. In the beginning I would spend hours marathoning book related videos, stalking people's reviews on Goodreads, (before booktube, I had no idea Goodreads existed!) and following countless blogs. Blogging is where I tried to start out at, but I just couldn't get all my feels out that way, so I just decided to nose dive into booktube. BEST DECISION EVER! Being able to share my love and passion for books is such an amazing privilege. I've not only discovered most of my favorite books from the booktube community, but best of all, I've made some amazing friends, and that is something that I am truly thankful for each and every day.

What is your favourite book?
And the award for 'Hardest Question Ever' goes to...
I actually get this question A LOT, and being that I've read many books in my day, you would think I would have found my all time favorite book by now. Nope. I've read some amazing books in my day, and I would feel guilty if I had to chose one over the other. Now I do have a book that I wouldn't say is my all-time favorite, but it is extremely close to my heart and I would forever cherish it- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. This is the book that started it all, it sucked me into it's pages and got me highly addicted to reading. I believe this book has made a huge impact on the reading world, and it breaks my heart to see people bash it now, when they loved it once too.

If you could read one genre for the rest of your life, which genre would you choose?
I would chose the dystopian genre within Young Adult. I've read quite a bit of dystopian, and most of my well loved books are dystopian. I love that the world is different than the one we live in today, but not so much different that it could be hard to follow. Another aspect about a book that I love are strong, kick butt characters, and you definitely get that in the dystopian genre.

If you could live in any book world created, which would you choose?
Hogwarts, hands down. From the mythical creatures to the spell casting to the dining hall, Hogwarts has it all! 

What has been your best/favourite booktubing moment so far and why?
I'm going to go with the time I received an email saying that Jessethereader had subscribed to my channel, I'm pretty sure I died that night. I've watched Jesse's videos from the moment I found booktube, and he is one of the booktubers I look up to. I remember running into the living room and telling my husband about it, tho he didn't know who in the world I was talking about, he sat there and let me fangirl about it!

Where do you store/show-off your books and how many do you own in total?
In my woman cave of course! We have a spare room that I morphed into my office/library, and I absolutely love it! I have three bookshelves in total, two tall and one short. I've recently started stacking books on the very top due to lack of room. Physical books, I own 521. eBooks, I own 137. Still not enough, to be honest. :D

Where is your usual place to read and what would your dream reading place look like?
Majority of the time I read in bed, tho I have been trying to get into the habit of reading at my desk due to bed reading always puts me to sleep. Now if I could have my very own book sanctuary, I would want a room that has bookshelves instead of walls! Staircases that lead you to more books, ladders that move, a crackling fireplace and a comfy place for reading! I'm thinking along the lines of Beauty and The Beast, if you catch my drift! Oh, the excitement of dreaming. 
Lastly, which blogs/channels can we usually find you stalking when you're not creating content for your own channel?
There are so many amazing booktubers out there, and I find myself finding new ones every day! A few of my favorite (because there really are too many to list!) are Jesse from JessetheReader, Heather from Bookables, Jessica from PriceisWong, Jamie and Jeff from Ermahgerd Berks, Kassidy from Kassidy Voinche, Regan from PeruseProject, and MANY MANY MANY MORE!


Find Beth on all these social media sites:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCskEiNx6NIghrqF2Hy0dd6w
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7091489-beth-toups
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethjune327
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks Beth for taking part in my BookTuber/Book Blogger series.
Don't forget to follow Cold Tea and Crumbs to read another BookTuber/Blogger Interview in 2 weeks. See you all then. x

Missed an interview, see all interviewees on the BookTuber/Book Blogger Interview Archive Page

Days of Blood and Starlight | Audiobook Review

Days of Blood and Starlight - Audiobook Version
Laini Taylor (Narranted by Khristine Hvam)
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Publication Date: September 27th 2011
Number of Pages: 424
Source: Audible

Add to your TBR shelf:
Days of Blood and Starlight Goodreads Page


It began with the breathtaking Daughter of Smoke and Bone... The story continues in the astounding sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight. 
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living - one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers' arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.
Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.
This was not that world.



After listening to Daughter of Smoke and Bone back in the summer of 2013, I decided to carry on with the series in audiobook form and got my copy of Days of Blood and Starlight from Audible.com. Although I’d somewhat enjoyed the first book, I wasn’t a huge fan of the world and characters but I wanted to give the series another chance and continue to discover more of Karou and Akiva’s relationship.

As soon as I started to listen to Days of Blood and Starlight though, I was confused, lost, bored and generally uninterested. I will pre-empt this review by saying that the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series may be not be the best series to listen in audiobook form purely because of the fantasy elements which I think had I of read in book form, I may have been able to think about more and imagine the world in my mind. This was especially true for the second book though as the story constantly jumps between about 5 or 6 characters, about half of which are new in Days of Blood and Starlight and aren’t introduced in other chapters before we are thrown into their POV. This was the major aspect to my confusion whilst listening to this story!

Overall I am just not invested in this story, I don’t think I’ll be continuing on with the series as I just want to use my time towards series that I am enjoying. This doesn’t reflect my overall view of audiobooks though as I actually have enjoyed listening to books during my drives to and from work. I won’t say I’ll never finish the series, because there is only one book left and it would be nice to say I had finished it, but I certainly won’t be rushing out to purchase Dreams of Gods and Monsters.


Must Read Book Tag

What influences what you read?
Do you read books because they've won an award?
Tagged by journeyofadreamer:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coA3jnZ3aKk
Original by TheBibliophile:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU99nFKUWDk



Questions:- 
1) Name the main ways you discover books to read. (i.e. youtubers, hype, best of lists, etc.) Show some books that you discovered this way.
2) Do literary awards influence whether you will read a book, or not?
3) Do you feel pressure to read books that are considered important works of literature?
4) Does the average star rating of a book on goodreads influence whether you decide to read a book, or not?
 5) Show some books that you think are under-hyped, or have low star ratings, but which you enjoyed and would recommend to others!
6) Show some books on your TBR that have been influenced by either hype, awards or other ways.

Cover Reveal | THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS


Today is the day! The cover of Gena Showalter's THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS is here! I'm so excited to be able to share this with you as it joins an already stunning set! Ready to see it? Not quite yet lets take a look a the first two covers in the series!

First there was ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND...

     Then came THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS...




Now get ready to EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!



On-sale date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Add it to your TBR!  Goodreads

Pre-order your copy! AmazonBarnes & Noble
        

I have a plan. 
We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us. 
Either way, only one of us is walking away. 
In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun. 
As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.




Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, the Angels of the Dark, the Lords of the Underworld, and the Otherworld Assassins series.  In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.  She lives in Oklahoma with her family and menagerie of dogs, and truly believes love conquers all.








1 complete set of The White Rabbit Chronicles (first 2 sent as soon as the giveaway is over and the winner will get the first hardcover of book 3 when it's available!) US/Canada Only




a Rafflecopter giveaway

#FridayReads 7th February 2014

It's Friday. Time for a Friday Reads video.
What are you reading this weekend?


BookTuber/Book Blogger Interview with Katie from Kitkatscanread (Interview #9)

Hi fellow readers and welcome back for another booktuber/blogger interview.

This fortnight's booktuber/blogger is the lovely Katie from kitkatscanread. I had the pleasure to meet Katie at the Book Lover Meet Up in December and since then we have messaged and rang each other which has been lovely. I am very envious of her book cupboard! Here's Katie's answers to the BookTuber/Blogger Interview Questions. Enjoy.



Please describe your channel and the type of books which you enjoy reading.
Hello, my name is Katie from the channel Kitkatscanread. I try to make my channel individual by containing various different videos from: Top 10's, Top 5's, book hauls, tags, reviews, discussions and just generally talking about books. I have an obsession with Young Adult books, but I do also read some New Adult. I don't think I'll ever be able to grow out of YA; I love it too much! Haha xD

What made you decide to start your channel and what are the main reasons you keep making videos?
I started my channel a year ago mainly because I wanted to join in the community and it seemed like great fun. And honest to God I'm SO glad that I did because it's just been an amazing experience and I've met so many fantastic people. My BookTuber friends and subscribers are the ones that help me keep going, as well as the lovely comments that are left. I just have SO much fun dong videos, and I don't think I'll end up giving up any time soon!

What is your favourite book?

This is such a hard question because I love SO many books. Here are some of my faves: Unremembered by Jessica Brody, Pivot Point by Kasie West, The Edge of Never by J. A. Redmerski, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.


If you could read one genre for the rest of your life, which genre would you choose?
The YA genre no doubt about it! Haha



If you could live in any book world created, which would you choose?
I would love to dive into the Mortal Instruments world. It just seems so fascinating and I'd love to encounter everything that's inside it.

What has been your best/favourite booktubing moment so far and why?
Meeting BookTubers in London! What an ace day! Met so many fantastic people =D

Where do you store/show-off your books and how many do you own in total?
HAHAHAHAHA. Well....I have a small bookshelf in my room....and the rest is in my book cupboard =P

Where is your usual place to read and what would your dream reading place look like?

Lately I've been reading on and in my bed a lot as it's Winter. In the Summer, I love reading outside
And my ideal reading place is the library from Beauty & the Beast!!


Lastly, which blogs/channels can we usually find you stalking when you're not creating content for your own channel?
Yours, Sam ;) Haha I watch a lot of people's videos. I love Kassidy Voinche, Little Book Owl, and I love watching normal YouTubers as well like Carrie Fletcher @ Itswaypastmybedtime and her brother Tom Fletcher =)

Thank you so much for having me, Sam ^_^

~xXx~


Find Katie on all these social media sites:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Kitkatscanread
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15227331-katie-halliday
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kitkatscanread
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks Katie for taking part in my BookTuber/Book Blogger series.
Don't forget to follow Cold Tea and Crumbs to read another BookTuber/Blogger Interview in 2 weeks. See you all then. x

Missed an interview, see all interviewees on the BookTuber/Book Blogger Interview Archive Page

February TBR + Viewers' Choice

I've got some exciting books lined up to read during February. There's also 3 that you can vote for, the winning one will be read and reviewed then by the end of the month. Voting closes 14th February (midnight) - leave your comment with your vote.

More information for the readathons:-
Harry Potter #AYEARATHON
Throne of Glass #READTOG

January Reading Wrap Up

I've had such a great start to my reading in 2014. Here's a wrap up of the 8 books that I read so far with mini reviews for each.
Stay tuned for my TBR to follow with 3 books for you to choose from for me to read and review the winner during February.

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