Book Review: The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank

Edition: Paperback, 340 pages
Published by: Puffin, 5th June 1997
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Classics, Historical
Completed by: 25th June 2020
My Rating: 5⭐️

Anne Frank’s extraordinary diary, written in the Amsterdam attic where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years, has become a world classic and a timeless testament to the human spirit. Now, in a new edition enriched by many passages originally withheld by her father, we meet an Anne more real, more human, and more vital than ever. Here she is first and foremost a teenage girl—stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life. She imparts her deeply secret world of soul-searching and hungering for affection, rebellious clashes with her mother, romance and newly discovered sexuality, and wry, candid observations of her companions. Facing hunger, fear of discovery and death, and the petty frustrations of such confined quarters, Anne writes with adult wisdom and views beyond her years. Her story is that of every teenager, lived out in conditions few teenagers have ever known.

---

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

When I was 12 I read the Anne Frank Story by Carol Ann Lee, which was a short biography based on Anne’s life and I think that was the first book that kind of got me into reading. As I loved it so much, my mum had gotten me the diary but for whatever reason, I was unable to get into the the story! I vaguely remember I folded a corner on page 312 intending to come back to it when I was in a mood but… I never did until now!

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Edition: Hardcover, 442 pages
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Classics, Fiction, Romance
Completed: 6th June 2020
My Rating: 3 stars

“You and Papa, and my sisters, must come down and see us. We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I dare say there will be some balls, and I will take care to get good partners for them all.” – Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited. Darcy finds himself indifferent to Elizabeth Bennet’s good looks and lively mind. And later when Elizabeth discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she dislikes him more than ever. In the comedy of misdirected manners that follows, Jane Austen shows readers the error of judging by first impressions.

---

I steered way from reading Jane Austen because I felt like her books might be too romantic for me (I don’t like romance novels unless its combined in a fantasy), however Pride and Prejudice seems to be her best book and I felt like it’s classic I need to read!

Wanderings: South London’s Old English Garden

When it was announced that you could meet up with another person outside of your household, my friend and I decided to meet up (keeping our 2metre distance) and go for a run at the park. I was so excited to finally meet another human! Two years ago I came across the most beautiful garden at Streatham Common park called the Rookery Garden and I really wanted to revisit it before going for the run. It’s a hidden treasure! It’s like a mix of Alice in Wonderland and a fairytale. Gardens are my happy place, I find it so relaxing and good for well-being.

Following the opening of the Rookery, it has become fashionable to stroll in the gardens on a Sunday afternoon. Ladies would parade here in their fine clothes and bonnets and gentlemen would wear smart suits and either straw boaters or bowler hats.
– From an article in the Lambeth Press.

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Edition: Paperback, 535 pages
Published by: Orion Books, 4th May 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Completed: 27th May 2020
My Rating: 4 stars

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets – a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

---

Whoa! Saints, this book was absolutely insane, crazzzzzzy and I loved it! Six of Crows was the starter but Crooked Kingdom was the main course.

Wanderings: London’s Hampstead Heath

This is a non-bookish post about places I’ve visited. I will still continue to waffle and gush about books on this blog but I want to combine some things I love as well, such as minimalism, travel and photography. I did have a separate blog for that, but its not inactive at the moment and it’s just easier to post everything on one blog.

Before lockdown, my friend and I both had a free day and we arranged a day to visit Hampstead Heath. I am on a mission in finding all the hidden gems in London because it is one of the best cities in the world and there’s more to London than just Oxford Circus. Once you leave the tube station, it’s like a little village (an affluent at that) and you have to do lots of walking around to come across little boutique shops and houses.

What I’ve Read in Quarantine

Hello bookish friends,

I have not properly blogged in so long and I’ve kind of missed it! I posted a review here and there but haven’t properly gotten back into the swing of blogging. I’ve just got so busy with life and didn’t have time for it anymore until now. During these uncertain times with what’s happening in the world, being in quarantine and being stuck at home, a lot of people have more free time to do all the things you don’t usually have time for like reading. I’ve been more creative with drawing than I’ve ever been, which is weird! And recently I’ve spent a lot of time reading and I think I’ve fallen back in love with the joy of reading! I wanted to share some of what I’ve enjoyed reading during quarantine:

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I first read this trilogy back in 2013 as ebooks but as I loved it so much, I asked for it for my birthday and plus a reread was overdue. I binged this trilogy and enjoyed rereading this so much! Cassandra Clare’s writing improved so much since the Mortal Instruments and it was obvious that she’s done a lot of research on London in the Victorian era. The writing is beautifully written and sets the scene and tone of the books. The characters are wonderful and so memorable, I loved them all especially Will! Sighs. But I have to say the side characters were more interesting than Tessa!

Book Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Edition: Paperback, 495 pages
Published by: Orion Books, 12th July 2016
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Completed: 19th May 2020
Rating: 4 stars

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

---

The Six of Crows duology is probably one of the most overhyped books out there. I initially wanted to read it when it was first released, due to the hype. I got the ebook on my phone ready to read but at the time, I don’t know why I wasn’t in the mood to read it and could barely get pass the first chapter! But having come across it again on Bookstagram, so many fans have raved about how amazing this duology is and I thought it was high time I jumped on the bandwagon and give it another go, and here I am finished with the book!

Book Review: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Edition: Hardback, 590 pages
Published by: Walker Books, March 2020
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Completed: 18th March 2020
Rating: 4 stars

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

---

Review may contain spoilers!
(It’s so hard to review Shadowhunter books without going into the spoilers)

Book Review: City of Bones by Cassanda Clare

Edition: Paperback, 442 pages
Published by: Walker Books, July 2007
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 23rd October 2019 (2nd reread)

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

---

The first time I read City of Bones was back in 2009; it was after I read Twilight, so I was in need of a new series to get back into reading and the Mortal Instruments was just the perfect series. I really enjoyed it. It has a good combination of adventure, fantasy and romance. It’s been a very long time since I read this series and the Infernal Devices, so I thought it was overdue for a reread!

Book Review: Daisy Jones & The Six by Tayor Jenkins Reid

Edition: Hardcover, 368 pages
Published by: Hutchinson, March 2019
Genre: Fiction, Historic-Fiction, Music, 60s, 70s
Rating: 5 stars
Completed: 31st August 2019

For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split. Nobody ever knew why. Until now. They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn’t believe their luck, until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently. The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot onstage at the Whisky, their lives were irrevocably changed. Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.

---

LOVED.
Why didn’t I find out about this book when it was first published?! I guess better late than never.

When it comes to music and fashion, the 60s and 70s is my favourite era and when I heard about Daisy Jones & The Six, it just sounded right up my street and what a rollercoaster of a read this was! It literally had me finding every opportunity possible to sit down and read this book, devouring it in less than a week. Needless to say, I’m in denial that this is fiction! I want to listen to the Aurora album so bad! This is my first Taylor Jenkins Reid and I was not disappointed.

Set in the sixties in LA, the story follows the rise and fall of Daisy Jones & The Six, which is led by Billy, a talented frontman and they were on the brink of success but when they met Daisy, they became even bigger than they ever could imagine and thus making a masterpiece of an album called Aurora. They were at the peak of their fame becoming one of the most iconic bands in the 70s before their sudden infamous split in 1979 after their performance at the Chicago Stadium.