Tales with Nicole

It's finally Christmas and I managed to pull in a couple great titles out from under the Christmas Tree this year.   Listed below are the books I received, as well as a link to it's goodreads page for a cover picture and synopsis:   *Note: some books are sequels and may contain spoilers.     Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer   Cress (The Lunas Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer Bliss: A Novel by Shay Mitchell & Michaela Blaney The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee Also: Books To Me, Love Me: Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer A Court of Thrones and Roses (A Court of Thornes and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines      

"Power is a dangerous game".   In a world where society is divided based on the colour of your blood, you're either an Elite Silver blessed with God-like powers, or a Red Slave. Mare Borrow, is a seventeen year old who has felt the poverty life struggles of being a Red commoner her whole life. She knows where her life is headed and there is nothing she can do to stop her destiny. Until, unexpected she finds herself working in the Silver Royal Palace. It is there, in front of many Silver Elites, Mare discover she has deadly powers of her own. A red with silver powers, that would destroy the silvers balance of power. The Royal Silvers try to hide the truth about Mare in plain sight, and if Mare steps out of place, it's not only her own life she jeopardized, but her family as well.   I first fell in love with this books cover, it is BEAUTIFUL. It took me a little while to get ahold of this book. Red Queen is such a different world, more fantasy, than I'...

Before starting this book, it was described to me as Cinderella meets Sailor Moon. After reading Cinder, I can definitely see references to both.    A deadly plague pollutes the streets of New Beijing, affecting thousands of people. A cyborg draft has been put in place to help find a curse, but no cyborg has survive the testing. Cinder is an adopted cyborg, and Beijing's best mechanic. When Prince Kaito seeks her out to fix his broken android that contains important information that just might be able to save the planet, how can Cinder say no? Unknowingly, Cinder put herself in the middle of every situation, and time is limited. Prince Kai is also struggling to keep the peace between New Beijing and the Moon's Lunar leader, Queen Levana. She is the definition of evil, and threatens war if she does not obtain what she desires. But Queen Levana's requests are high, and Prince Kai will have to decide what to sacrifice in order to save his people.   I wasn't e...

  An unknown female tells her story of how her life as a con artist quickly turned into something sinister. When Susan Burke visits her at work seeking help about a potential haunting, our protagonist believes this project will be like taking candy from a rich baby. But as she enters the women's house and witnesses what is happening, she has to make the decision to walk away or risk her life. What's happening is real, and not everything is as it seems. Do you believe in ghosts?   This short story is the first of Gillian Flynn's work I've read and I have to said it was definitely interesting. The unnamed female's lifestyle was unexpected, and it was hard to connect with a character when there was no name or description of them self given. I found it a little strange at the beginning but as I pushed through it picked up very quickly and kept my interest. It gave me goosebumps. As soon as I thought I had the storyline figured out, Flynn was constantly throwin...

"We're all mad here". While studying in a London park with her older sister and cat, a very bored Alice takes notice to a peculiar white rabbit. Following the white rabbit, Alice stumbles down a rabbit hole into the strange world of Wonderland where everyone is mad and nothing is ordinary. Along her journey to get back home she meets a lot of interesting characters and occasionally finds her curious self getting into trouble.   When I was little, I had a golden book of Alice in Wonderland that I loved, and was also one of my favourite Disney movies. When I found out it was an actual book I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough. I have read and reread it several times over the last decade and it is still my number one favourite book of all times. I also enjoy the original artwork in the story, it's a nice addition, especially after Alice mentions in the first chapter "what is the use of a book without pictures". Alice is such a curious troublemak...

Today (26 November 2015) is the 150th birthday of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It has been a beloved classic for years and personally my favourite book since I was a child.    I have recently decided to branch out and look for some retellings, these are a number of the most popular/interesting ones I found on goodreads.com:     Splintered by A. G. Howard Alice by Christina Henry Heartless by Marissa Meyer After Alice by Gregory Maguire Alice in Zombieland by Nickolas Cook & Lewis Carroll Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor Insanity by Cameron Jace Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes Once Upon A Zombie by Billy Phillips     These titles are in no special order. Also, I personally have not read all of these retellings but I plan to eventually.   If there are any other Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that you know of that is not on my list please fe...

*This review will have spoilers involving all three books/ four movies* As The Hungers Games Films come to an end with Mockingjay Part 2 officially hitting theatres tonight, I thought I would use this opportunity to give one mass review on all three books.   May the odds be ever in your favor.       The Hunger Games: In the country on Panem, there are 12 Districts surrounding the Capitol. In memory of the uproar that caused the loss of many lives and District 13, the districts offer one male and female between the ages of 12-18 every year in a fight to the death. 24 children will enter the games, but only one victor will be crowned. This annual event is what they call The Hunger Games. When 16 year old Katniss Everdeen finds herself in the centre of the 74th annual Hunger Games, she doubts her hunting skills are enough to keep her alive. In order to survive the games and where winning means being the last one alive, Katniss must put her trust i...