Red Queen by Christina Henry review *Spoiler Free*

Hello everyone!
As you all may know I now have a YouTube channel: Sofieeloves10. Please check it out and subscribe!!!

Today I will be reviewing Red Queen by Christina Henry which Titan Books very kindly sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

Firstly, I thought it was very different from Alice (the first instalment in The Chronicles of Alice). The plot basis is that Hatcher is trying to find his long lost daughter. Although, the book doesn't feel like a continuation but more of Alice building as a character. We get more information about the characters Alice and Hatcher's relationship, with more romance involved. However, Hatcher disappears half way through the book so the focus is definitely more on Alice. The book allows the reader to learn more about and her background Alice, especially her being a 'Magician'. Alice learns how to depend on herself and is shown to be the 'brains' to Hatcher's 'brawn's'.

Whilst reading the book I sometimes was confused between the Red Queen and the White Queen. I thought the Red Queen would have more involvement and she didn't seen like a very significant character. Sorry!

Christina's character description was wonderful as usual and I particularly liked the goblin character, 'as if the whole skull had been pressed between two blocks and then a child had pulled the nose out long and chin down to chest'...'composed of patches sewn together, and Alice thought some of the patches looked like human skin.' (Page 70). The fingers Creeped. Me. Out! Similarly, the trolls were interesting characters too with the focus on their story within the plot. Cheshire is also in this book- guiding Alice on her journey. I quite liked that he broke up the story with quirks and advice.

The ending was very good and Christina left the story open for another instalment so I don't know how many there will be. However, I will be reading the next book!

'Off with their heads!'
Sofiee

Independent Book Shop Week 2016!

Hello lovely people!

I have been busy putting content up on YouTube: Sofieeloves10. Check it out please!
I now have a ELCAF haul and my Tome Topple wrap up on there.

So on Saturday I went to Colchester to visit Red Lion Books. There had some special things happening for Independent Book week. Firstly, they had a Lucky Dip giving out ARCs. I received Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg and it looks super interesting!

The event that they were hosting was 'Book Therapy' by the lovely Eloise (shown below). Eloise asks you questions about what genres you enjoy, what books you read as a child and more. We had a lovely chat with coffee and cake. She suggested several books and gave me one, Not Forgetting The Whale by John Ironmonger. The other recommendations were: The Circle by Dave Eggers, Humans by Matt Haig, Golem and Djinni by Helen Wrecked, A Visit from Going Squad by Jennifer Egan and finally Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett.


Eloise does monthly book subscriptions and her information, if you wish to contact her, is...

Phone: 07769890607

Email: eloisebooksforyou@gmail.com


Later on that day we went to my local independent book shop, The Book Inn. My dad kindly bought me The Boy Who Sailed Across the Ocean in an Armchair by Lara Willianson which was nominated for #IBW awards.

Happy Independent Book Week!

Sofiee

Eloise's information

The cake and coffee!

I have a YouTube channel... and there's an ELCAF haul on it!

I am so very nervous right now.
I have wanted to redo my channel for years now and I have finally done it!
My channel is: Sofieeloves10

Please be nice! Damn I said 'nice' too many times in the video and 'urmm', sorry!

I still need an editing programme (as you can tell) so please let me know of any good ones :)

Much love,
Sofiee

#tometopple update

Hi all!
I hope your readathon is going well.
I have just finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It was 'The Trilogy of Four' copy and I really enjoyed it! I gave it four stars on Goodreads as I felt some parts didn't make sense in the slightest which made me lose track of the plot a little bit. But as a whole it was really a funny and engaging story.

Soo for the tasks completed:
I have read an adult book... tick
I have read a book in a series (well the book is four books in one)
And I have read 765 pages in one week :)

I might dip into a graphic novel now and start the next tome tomorrow.

Happy reading fellow bookworms :)

Sofiee

SERIES: Alice in Wonderland book adaptations. #1 Alice by Christina Henry

This is the first review of Alice in Wonderland boom adaptions. Alice by Christina Henry *NO SPOILERS*.

Firstly, I really enjoyed this book and I gave it five stars on Goodreads.

The story starts with Alice trapped in an mental asylum. She can't remember why she's kept there, only flash backs of a tea party with her friend and a rabbit. However, the result of the 'party' is her friend missing and Alice covered in blood.

The asylum that Alice now lives in is situated in 'Old City' a place full of criminals, juxtapositioning 'New City'. Alice has an interesting relationship with a character called Hatcher who was in the cell next to hers. Hatcher, who has a thing for axes and bloodlust, takes Alice on a journey...

The adaption is very different from others I have read. It is very dark and kept me on the edge of my seat...Literally! I read this book in two sittings. The characters are portrayed in interesting ways, for example, the Cheshire Cat is a title for a character. Cheshire is portrayed as human with some cat aspects to make the character more believable in a real life. We stay in 'Old City' so all the magical things happen in a run down suburbs, not Wonderland. The journey reminded me of America McGee's Alice video game. It is a warped and twisted version of Wonderland, made scarier as it's set in real life.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is into thrillers, murder mysteries and science fiction. There is some graphic content just to let you all know!

Stay tuned for another Alice in Wonderland adaptation review!

Sofiee

June TBR

Hello, it is Summer now?
(We maybe not in England!)

This month has been very productive reading wise. I've had a few days off of work and now my TBR pile is looking a lot smaller.

So far I have read/ finished within the month of June:
A Thousand Nights by E.K.Johnston
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (audio book)
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (loved!)
Alice by Christina Henry (review will be up soon hopefully)

I am currently reading The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente. I'm hoping to finish this by midnight of 5th so I can start #tometopple. (I have just posted my TBR!)

My audible pick for this month is Armada  read by Will Wheaton... I love his voice a little bit.

Then, on my ambitious June TBR there is also A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson and finally The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Eeeep! Soo many books!!!!
Stay tuned for some more posts soon,
Sofiee

#tometopple readathon

Hello!
I hope you all had a wonderful May and welcome to June!
I had a good reading month in May but June has been even better :) (see my June TBR for more info).

I will be taking part in #tometopple readathon starting 5th June midnight to June 19th 11:59pm. I wanted to take park in this readathon to get some of my bigger books read!

So here are the challenges:
1) Read more than one tome
2) Take a graphic novel break
3) Read a tome that is park of a series
3) Read over 500 pages in a week
4) Read an adult novel

The books that I have picked are:
-Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (part of a series)
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (adult novel)
- and my graphic novel is Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan
-if I'm super fast at reading I'll be picking up A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas... Excited!

"I like big books and I cannot lie!"
Happy reading,
Sofiee