Coming up in the new year...

Happy New Years Eve!!

I just thought I'd do a quick blog before I went out tonight (because as per usual I'm waiting for my late friend.) I'm not going to do a whole book review but just books I'm looking forward to reading or reviewing in 2015. So it's kind of like a 'what's coming up in the new year' post. In fact... that's a rather nice title, hang on. 

To review:

I'm very excited to review a lot of YA that I think lots of you will enjoy. I'm especially excited to review 'The Mortal Instrument' series by Cassandra Clare as it's one of my long standing favourite set of books. I will definitely reread them quickly before I review them but that shouldn't take long counting the amount of times I've already reread them.
 
Carrying on with YA, I will probably do some reviews of books like 'The Hunger Games' & 'Divergent' because I must say I do love a good young adult and I really like reading other people's thoughts on them as well as expressing my own.
 
You may also be able to tell that I like mystery/crime and I've got some really amazing crime/mystery that are not too gory but just captivating to read. Including 'Death comes to Penbely', a spin of off Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice.' Another favourite and something that I am looking forward to reviewing a lot.  
 
I've always wanted to review a Harry Potter book but I'm a bit worried I'll be too bias? (As I am a full on Potterhead!) But I am quite tempted to review 'The Deathly Hallows' as its kind of the finale, newest and I have some different opinions on it. Nevertheless, if you do want reviews of the other Harry Potter's just let me know because trust me, I have a lot to say :)
 
I'm obviously going to be reviewing quite a lot of less known books because I think it's really good to try new stuff rather than just stick to the stuff you know.

To read:

The  book I'm most looking forward to reading in the new year is 'Casual Vacancy' by JK Rowling. I think this book will combine my most loved genre with the amazing writing of JK Rowling which always enraptures the audience delightfully. You can expect a review of that shortly...
 
I also desperately need to read 'The Maze Runner' and the others in the trilogy. People have gone on about them so much, I think it's finally time. Funnily enough, I started reading the first one last night, but I'm a bit annoyed because I've already seen the movie and I ALWAYS prefer to read the book first.
 
Oooh I obviously need to read the rest of Cassandra Clare's work. For some reason I've never read 'The Infernal Devices' trilogy, and that is a must. Especially because lots of people suggest reading that trilogy before reading 'Heavenly Fire' (the last Mortal Instruments book.) However, it's a bit late for that now!
 
Other books I'm planning to read include: 'Gone girl' by Gillian Flynn, 'The Photographer's Wife' by Nick Alexander and 'The State we're in' by Adele Parks.
 
Hope you have got some books ready for the new year, but if not make sure to come back and get some suggestions of my lists or reviews! See you next time and have a fabby New Year!
 
Laura Stone x

A Game of Proof (The trials of Sarah Newby #1)

Author: Tim Vicary       Genre: Mystery/Crime       Pages: 458       Published: 2011 

Rating: 4/5 - A mesmerizing and intriguing British courtroom mystery! 



I bought this book on a whim, not expecting too much of it. It was free on the kindle at the time so I was apprehending a rather dry crime read;  Tim Vicary dispelled this prejudice very quickly indeed. A Game of Proof is a compelling courtroom drama, expertly telling the story of Sarah Newby: a resilient, hard working barrister who not only has to cunningly defend a potential rapist but ultimately ends up defending her own son. At the same time as juggling rather prominent family issues which seem to stem from her very underprivileged childhood. Set in York, this is a perfect mystery crime novel which keeps the reader guessing until the end and skilfully guides the reader through the complex British legal system.

What kept me captivated by this book, despite it's urgent need of proofreading, complex storyline and characters that Tim Vicary had created. Although the book follows a 'protagonist' (Sarah Newby) throughout, she is not the perfect, flawless yet colourless character that you would expect. She is well rounded, with major flaws, which in a way help teach the reader the struggles of life balance. She is harder to sympathise with than some of the others but her complex character makes the book a lot more interesting to read. Similarly, most of the major characters have been well developed which really helped me get fully engrossed in the diverse range of different yet believable characters. Nevertheless, I did feel some of the fairly major 'bad guys' had been put in only to hinder the 'good guys' which got a bit irritating. And I'm not talking about just the criminals.

As well as the well rounded characters, it was the fast paced plot that kept me immersed in the book. With every page there was a new clue, suspicion or revelation that kept me hooked throughout... constantly trying to predict who this murderer will be. The intense pace meant that although I empathized with the characters, often feeling on edge, there was no time to break. I read it nearly non stop (this could be due to the long boring journey I was on at the time, but I like to think its the book!) However, if you are someone who enjoys very thorough, descriptive writing, this might not be the book for you. With such emphasis on the action and storyline, there is not much time for intense description of the atmosphere and senses that some people like.

 Overall I thought A Game of Proof was a tremendous debut for the Sarah Newby trilogies. It was gritty, intriguing and a delight to read such a well written British courtroom drama. I highly recommend it to any crime/mystery lovers or anyone even interested in that kind of genre because I think it's a perfect book if you're just trying out courtroom dramas as well. I am going to be reading the 2 follow up books in the Sarah Newby trilogy so if I have anything to say about them, expect a follow up review!

Keep reading...

Laura Stone

Buy 'The Game of Proof' on amazon here


*Thank you so much for reading my first book review, I really hope you enjoyed! As you can tell, I love a good crime mystery but I will be reviewing plenty of different genres so keep reading! If you have any suggestions of books to review, just let me know! Twitter: @TurningPages_ *

Welcome!

Hi everyone,
I'm Laura Stone and I've just started this blog... and here you are, reading it!

Welcome

So what am I going to natter on about here?
Well, I love a good book so there will be plenty of reviews of books. But not just books,
if I see a good (or awful film), or a remarkable product, I will let you all know about it.

Hmm, what else?
I'm also going to be doing posts about fashion, as well as advice and talking about being a
student. I also thought I'd talk about other things that interest me, for example news that is actually relevant and engaging. But I'll talk about that when I get to it.

For now, all you need to know is that I am a book, travel and fashion enthusiast, and this is my new blog: Turning Pages.

What else do you need to know?

- I absolutely love cheesecake and I am in search for the perfect NY Cheesecake
- I think skiing is fabby, and I've been skiing since I was a lil girl.
- I love writing but I am literally the worst texter ever. Trust me
- I know the words to most of the Harry Potter movies... don't ask

If you're are a fellow book & film enthusiast or just want to see what I'm about,

follow my twitter: @TurningPages_

I will talk to anyone listening again soon,
but for now thanks for reading and see you next time!

Laura Stone :)