Ivana - Diary Of Difference

Hi, I am Ivana and I blog at www.diaryofdifference.com

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories - Charlotte Perkins Gilman Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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I haven’t read much classic reads this year, and a few days before the end of 2018, I decided to go for a classic short story, and I chose The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

This classic has been written by a woman in the 19th century. A time when women weren’t treated the same way as today. A difficult time, where women couldn’t express their opinion as they wished, but they were suppressed by the male authority in the family.

When The Yellow Wallpaper came out, it was considered a Gothic Horror Tale. It is hard to believe for me, knowing the world we live in today, and how we, as women can express our opinions openly. But back in the days, this is how it was. It wasn’t easy for the woman, and I am glad we have a lot of brave women from that time, that gathered the courage to tell stories for the next generations.

This is a story about a woman, who seems to suffer of post-partum depression (a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth). She has been forced by her husband and doctor to stay in her room until she is ”mentally capable” again to take care of her baby. I am not a mother, but I can imagine the pain and suffering of not being allowed to see and hold your unborn child. And people thought this was okay?

The woman is constantly staring at the yellow wallpaper and the window, constantly reassuring herself that this is all happening for her own good, and that the husband and doctor know best, until a point where we are not actually sure if she is in her right mind anymore.

She starts to see a woman inside the wallpaper, and believes the woman is struggling to break free. I loved the metaphor used, as her subconscious knows she is trapped, and the end is so painful to read, but oh, so powerful.

Even though such a short read, The Yellow Wallpaper is an impressive view on cultural traditions, and the position of women in the family. A classic and a must-have for every woman!

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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We all are, or have once been wallflowers. The shy creatures of the universe, strangled in a problematic world where everything is so confusing and hard. We have all once swam in those deep waters, where the finish line is the act of growing up, and we all coped with it in different ways.

Charlie is struggling with the same things we were, when in high school. The friendships, or lack of them, the crushes, the secret thoughts, the exams, the pressure, the misunderstandings with our parents, our goals, hopes and dreams, our visions of what we will become.

It is an emotional, but very realistic story, about one kid, and all the things he learns while growing up. By learning things the hard way, by listening, by watching things happen to his friends and family, by just being a wallflower.

The author has written this book in a way where Charlie is writing letters to his secret friend, telling him about his daily adventures. I loved this way, because the letters give a sense of confidentiality, of honesty, or pure thoughts with nothing to hide.

Charlie is a shy guy, who has trouble making friends, socialising, and lacks a lot of common sense. To me, this game me vibes of an autistic kid, or an anxious child suffering from PTSD, which hits all the marks, but I don’t know whether or not this was the author’s purpose. It was written in 1998, so I can assume these subjects might have been taboo, as people weren’t as open minded as today.

To me, Charlie was a relatable character. Even though clearly going through a lot more than just a normal kid, in this book, he copes with problems we have all coped. And the part I loved about Charlie the most is – he is honest, so brutally honest, and doesn’t try to hide things he understands or trying to understand. He sees things we don’t tend to see, and he feels things in a way I would want to feel them.

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”

He suddenly meets a group of friends, that accept him as he is, and he can be as weird and crazy as he wants, no one bothers. These friendships – my dear reader – are something we all wish for, and some of us are so lucky to have them.

I truly believe that this book is definitely something I would give to my kid to read, or to my small siblings. I wish I had read this 10 years ago, when I would relate more, and when all the high-school topics were relevant. But even now, I can still remember the exact way Charlie felt in some situations, and I wish I had read the book and acted differently on some of mine.

”Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.”

Charlie will teach us a lot about high school little traumas, high-school crushes and true love, friendships and betrayals, seeing the family in a different way, and acting on things instead of doing nothing. With Charlie, I went back to high-school, and remembered all the good things and the bad, and I ALMOST shed a few tears for all the memories and times I will never have. Now, I raise a glass, and say cheers for all the good memories and friendships made.

“And I thought about how many people have loved those songs. And how many people got through a lot of bad times because of those songs. And how many people enjoyed good times with those songs. And how much those songs really mean. I think it would be great to have written one of those songs. I bet if I wrote one of them, I would be very proud. I hope the people who wrote those songs are happy. I hope they feel it’s enough. I really do because they’ve made me happy. And I’m only one person.”

Spend a little time, and pick up this book. It is a short and sweet read, and it is a book that everyone should have on their shelves.

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Warcross

Warcross - Marie Lu Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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A fantasy of a virtual world, and a game that brings people together. A story of a girl that struggles to pay her rent, and her ability to hack the most important game of the year - Warcross. And when the creator of Warcross hires her, needing her help - she begins her adventure.

From the first moment that I read the synopsis of Warcross, I knew I wanted to have this book on my shelf and read it immediately. A couple of reasons stand behind this story:

* A girl is a main character, and a fierce one. As boring it might seem, I love a book with brave characters, especially if it’s a teen girl. I think when girls are featured as brave and fearless in books, it gives encouragement to a lot of girls reading the book, that are struggling through their teenage years.

* I am a vivid video games player. I play a lot of games, and this is something you might not have known about me. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments. I love the gaming community, and I believe that if it weren’t for the video games, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

* If you haven’t read it, you have all probably heard about Ready Player One. I absolutely loved it, and watched the movie, and I am still in love with it. And when book reviewers started comparing Warcross to Ready Player One, I had to see if this was true. I just had to check for myself.


And then, I got this book as a birthday gift from my boyfriend. So here we are, a few reasons after, me having read this book and telling you all what I thought.

Firstly, I feel like I need to say this - Warcross is nothing like Ready Player One.

Yes, we have a virtual world, and (surprise) virtual characters in the world. And yes, there is a game and the creator of the game is involved. But the whole plot and story are so much different in so many ways.

The descriptions of the virtual world, the story lines, the dialogues, the way the story flows, the romance - it is all unique and original.

And for you out there that compare this to Ready Player One - it is as if you are comparing Romeo and Juliet and Tristan and Isolde, only because they both have a plot of romance and forbidden love. It is ridiculous, let me tell you.

Even though the Warcross game as its own was brilliantly explained and described, I felt like we didn’t see much of the rest of the virtual world. I loved the way Marie Lu would talk about the world - so much passion in each chapter.

The discussion opens on virtual reality and the worlds that could be created. It is not a matter of whether it will happen, but when? I keep thinking I might be alive when we will live in a world of ''virtuality''. Would we be happier? Would we be smarter? Or would this just be another tool for people to get richer, by using its users? Is the future scary? Should it be?

Emika is a character I think many girls will relate to. Brave and fierce, even though she is afraid inside. A strong, young woman, that stands for what she believes in, even when this might mean losing the people she loves the most.

The story flows so quickly, and each end of the chapter begs you to start another one, and before you know it, it’s 4am and you keep reading, unable to stop. This book has some strange power right there!

The twists were interesting, even though some of them were predictable. Even with the knowledge of this, I would always miss something amazing, and even knowing what will happen, the experience was always pleasant.

I am so glad I got to read this book, and I am so excited to read Wildcard soon as well. I am definitely recommending this to all of you - I am sure you will enjoy it.

If you have read it, let me know what you think in the comments - I would love to discuss it!

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Untitled

Untitled - Marie Lu #1 Warcross - ★★★★★

After reading and loving Warcross, how not to read this one?

No Fourth River. A Novel Based on a True Story. A profoundly moving read about a woman's fight for survival.

No Fourth River. A Novel Based on a True Story. A profoundly moving read about a woman's fight for survival. - Christine Clayfield Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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No Fourth River is a very powerful story about swimming up to surface, when the world is against you. A story about child abuse unlike anything else, and one very determined woman.
This is the second Audiobook I have listened to, with the first being Ready Player One. Two completely different experiences. It was disturbing listening to such a painful story for a while, and it took me a long time to finish it.

The story of Christine is so sad and so unique. She is being molested by her father in ways you could never imagine. She goes to boarding school and she is being bullied even by the nurses. She wets her bed every single day. And bad things keep happening, one after another, after another, until she is in her thirties and almost dies being beaten to almost-death by her husband.

And then she decides to change her life and to be the most successful woman.

At first, when I read the synopsis, the thing that thrilled me was the ill mother that suffered from dementia. I thought this book will revolve and focus on this point, but it didn’t. And I was very disappointed.

Then I manned up, and decided to continue listening, despite my unhappiness. It was a decent story, a powerful, motivational one, but not realistic. And it hurts me saying this, because this book is autobiography. Of course these terrible things happened. But I didn’t felt for the woman. Not in a way I usually would.

The writing was just about average, or maybe the woman reading in the audiobook was to blame. I will leave that up to you, who have listened to the audiobook, or choose to do so.

The character of this woman was honest, but I still can’t imagine how and why a person would stick to people that keep hurting her, despite everything. Even if love, even if forever after, I would not stay one more day with a person if he, for one moment, loses control and raises a hand over me. I would be out of the house in a minute, never returning back. A man would never hurt a woman. No matter what she could do, or couldn’t do. I can argue for hours, and I can admit being wrong, and I can cope with being yelled at, because I have done something stupid. But the moment the line is crosses, I would be out – FOREVER.

If you guys are looking for a story that will keep you thinking about whether you’ve made right decisions, this is a great book for you. A powerful success story of a woman that was brave enough to say NO (after a few years, that is) and brave enough to start building a new life. I recommend it, even though I personally did not really enjoy it a lot.

I have won this Audiobook as a giveaway from LibraryThing, and all my opinions are honest and completely unbiased.

Uglies

Uglies  - Scott Westerfeld Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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A world where you are an ugly until your sixteenth birthday. And then, you undergo a surgery and you become pretty. And life is perfect. Except, maybe it isn’t.

This is one of those books where you visualise a world in so many details, and feel like you’ve lived there all your life. Also a book that captures society for what really is. A very pleasant and enjoyable read.

I received this book as a birthday gift. Have a look at my birthday book haul on my blog.

Uglies is the first book from the series by Scott Westerfeld. A dystopian world about ”uglies” and ”pretties”. A world in which society is split between beauty. A place where the ”uglies” are separated from the real world until they do a surgery and become pretties. Then, they grow up and join the world of pretties, where they are allowed to do everything they weren’t allowed before. They attend parties and have fun, and they don’t worry about anything.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait to become pretty. All her friends have already turned pretty before her, and she is excited to join them in this marvellous world. But just weeks before her birthday, she becomes friends with Shay, who is not so sure whether she wants to become a pretty.

When her friend runs away and escapes the operation, Tally has a choice: find Shay and bring her back, or never turn pretty at all. And when Tally goes after Shay, she discovers that the world she believed in, might not be the real one…

I absolutely loved this book with all my heart. A beautiful world forming, an interesting scenario, great plot and interesting characters. I enjoyed reading about the world, how the author put the society together, and how it all worked out.

The characters were not as engaging as I would hope them to be. Even though you felt for them, you couldn’t connect a lot. Just a little bit, enough to make you wonder what will happen next. It was enough for me to keep turning page after page in the middle of the night.

The world the author created and the way the society works in this book is incredible. The ”uglies” and ”pretties” subject will always be matter of a discussion. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if your face has imperfections. It doesn’t matter how you look like. People love other people for who they are inside out, for the friendships, for the moments spent together, and for how they make them feel.

Another thing I loved was the subject of protecting the nature. I loved the little moments and theories of destroying a certain plant for a better tomorrow for all the rest of the plants.

‘’Nature, at least, didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.’’

An amazing book, a world where you can visualise every single detail, even though you’ve never been there. A dystopian society and a battle between brains and beauty. I enjoyed it so much and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

I strongly recommend it to all of you, my friends!

A question for you all – Would you do the pretty surgery or not?

What I Loved

What I Loved - Siri Hustvedt Received as a Birthday Gift. *sighs*
Excited!

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen, Lisbeth Zwerger, Anthea Bell Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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I grew up with Disney movies and my favourite one was the one with the mermaid that has long red hair, and I loved her love story, and also enjoyed watching the rest of the movie series that followed years later.

And while loving Ariel for so long, I have never actually read the original story. So a few weeks ago, I decided to cherish it properly, as a true childhood love deserves to be cherished.

And I was left with my jaw dropped and my mouth open, unable to sleep. I can’t say this book crushed my childhood love, but it definitely shook me quite hard.

If you are expecting to read about the little mermaid, and her adventures in the water, and how she would give anything to see how people live on Earth, and fall in love with a prince – you will get all that. In fact – the book description is far better compared to the movie. Incomparable, actually. The book glows with bright colourful descriptions of the world under the sea, and it is so vividly enchantingly explained.

But if you are expecting to read about the adorable love story of Ariel and the prince, and their happily ever after – that is not happening. Because things go wrong. Horribly wrong. With a crushing, terrible end, that will torture you in your dreams.

It wasn’t my intention to make this review so dark. The story is still wonderful, and full of life. However, there is no happy ending, and that, for me, was crucial to not enjoy it.

And I am not usually upset with unhappy endings. It happens so often. But this one was so brutal and cruel, that it felt so disturbing. Maybe, because it is my favorite childhood movie. Maybe, because I knew this to be a happy story. Maybe, because I didn’t expect this at all.

Hans Christian Andersen is an amazing writer. I have read many of his stories, and enjoyed them greatly. I honestly don’t know what was going on in his life when he was writing this, but wow. Just wow.

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Carrie

Carrie - Stephen King Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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I'm probably one of the last people on Earth that hasn’t read a Stephen King book. Carrie is the first book I decided to read. People have been suggesting it to me for a while, and it seemed like a nice short bit of introduction to Stephen’s horror world.

Also, a special thank you to my friend Dave, for constantly recommending Stephen King books to me, until I finally decided to listen to him. He seemed to be right! Don’t forget to go and follow him - he is amazing!

Now - Carrie.

A book about a girl that lives with her crazy religious mother in a creepy house. A girl who is being bullied at school all the time. A story about a girl that has the ability to move objects as she wishes. And a prom night, where everything escalates.

Carrie is a sixteen year old girl. And she has been raised by her mother, who is a religious person in a - not healthy way. When Carrie misbehaves, she is sent to a closet to pray for the whole day. Even though Carrie doesn’t share her mother’s beliefs, she can’t really stand up and fight for herself.

The plot gets a grip when Carrie has her first period at the age of sixteen. She thinks she will bleed to death. And all her classmates are laughing at her, because she is stupid. And throw tampons her way. And as I am reading this, I keep thinking - what kind of mother won’t tell her child about menstruation, and puberty, and all the normal teenage phases a kid has to go through while growing up?

This moment, in the school bathroom, is the moment Carrie finds out about her powers.
And a few weeks later, a terrible thing happens.

This is a horror story, but the horror doesn’t lie in what Carrie did, but what led her to do that. Who it is to blame, and why things escalated the way they did.

Stephen King described bullying in its most painful and real way, and the consequences it can lead to. And it does happen, in every school, to a lot of children all over the world each day. A sometimes, most of the times, they are bullied only because they are different, not because they are bad.

This is a story that silently stands up to bullying, and by doing that raises such a strong voice in every corner of the world.

And remember - if you are the bully - think twice before you say things. Words can hurt, and they can result in bad things happening. Think twice about why you say what you say. The classmate of yours might have a talent you don’t know of.

And if you are the bullied child - also remember - you are kind and beautiful, no matter what everyone says. You shouldn’t let people bring you down. And we have all been bullied while growing up. Once you reach a certain age, people stop caring, and you stop caring what people think, and then, finally, you can be comfortable and happy with who you are!

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Child of a Dream

Child of a Dream - Iain Halliday, Valerio Massimo Manfredi Being born in Macedonia - this is one character from my childhood, a hero I keep looking up to.
A book that I simply cannot miss, even though I have read thousands of pages about Alexander the Great from Macedonia.

The Wicked King

The Wicked King - Holly Black Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

1) The Cruel Prince - ★★★★★
2) The Wicked King - ???

After reading The Cruel Prince, this sequel is a must for me! I can't be more excited to read this!!!

Geekerella

Geekerella - Ashley Poston Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

1) Geekerella - ★★★★

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When the typical Cinderella story meets a geeky girl, a comic con and an actor instead of a prince, you get Geekerella. A story unlike any other Cinderella like stories, full with wittiness, geekiness and style.

We have Elle, who is our Cinderella. Her father passed away and left her with her stepmom and her two stepsisters. Elle is also a vivid lover of Starfield, sci-fi series similar to Star Trek and Star Wars. She is also a blogger, where she writes all things Starfield.

On the other side, we have Darien, who is an actor and just got the main character role for the new remake of Starfield. While he deeply loves Starfield, he is not allowed to show those emotions and let everyone knows he is a fan, because it will ruin his reputation. And that is the sole reason why fans don’t like him - he is just another guy that goes for the money and ruins their favourite fan fiction (we have all been there though, haven’t we?).

When fate somehow connects Elle and Darien together, under unknown circumstances they start texting to each other, without revealing who they really are. And that is when everything changes.

A story about love and friendship, but most importantly - a story that teaches you to “Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite.” A story that reminds you to keep believing in who you are and why you are doing what you love. This is an amazing reminder to all of you - to be the people you want to be, because once you are comfortable with who you are and what you love to do - nothing can stop you in being great! And most importantly - HAPPY!

While there were bits and pieces that I could not resist but to cringe on, such as the falling in love through texting, or not being able to say no to your step sisters, or being afraid to tell your fans that you are a fan, while they keep accusing you that you don’t care. (How could this ruin a reputation? It could only make it better)...

While there were things that bothered me, this story was still a great revolution to the Cinderella retelling. No other story has shown a girl to fight for what she loves as strongly as this, without the help of magic or a pumpkin - even though her best friend Sage was really the fairy in this situation.

If you haven’t read it already, please do! It is worth reading it, as it has a powerful message inside of it. I recommend it to all of you out there!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books, for providing me with an ARC of this book.

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Geek Girl

Geek Girl - Holly Smale Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

1) Geek Girl - ★★★★

Even though I kept hearing great things about Geek Girl, I never really happened to read it. A month ago, my teen sister borrowed the whole Geek Girl series and told me this is something I must check off my list. And here I am one month later - loving the first book!

Geek Girl tells the story of a young teen Harriet, who is a geek and gets bullied at her school. She might know all the science answers, but she has no clue why people are laughing at her when she goes outside with a cartoon hoodie.

But when Harriet gets discovered by a modelling agency,she realises how things can get different, and she has to choose whether she wants to risk losing everything by changing who she really is.

A very funny and geeky read, where I couldn’t stop but giggle a few times. One moment really got me though:

‘’If somebody offers to shave your legs,’’ she snaps, ‘’let them.’’

Harriet is a typical geeky high-school character, and you can’t help but love her weirdness, her silliness and the ways she believes in.

The read was somewhat predictable from the very beginning, and there wasn’t any big plot twist or cliff-hanger, but I believe that this book didn’t really want to achieve that anyways.

This was a perfect read for me to relax and enjoy reading - reminded me of my high-school days and made me remember a lot of similar moments.

I am recommending it to all of you out there - that love being different and aren't afraid to stand up for yourselves, no matter how much people laugh at you.
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1) The Cruel Prince - ★★★★★

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I asked you guys on a Goodreads poll to decide what should be my next read. And a huge number of you have decided that The Cruel Prince should be the one! And here I am, one week later, saying THANK YOU, for giving me a reason to read this book now.

Now, before I say anything else, I want you to know that I don’t have much experience living and reading about the Faerie world. I know fairies exist, and I know about that world, but I wasn’t too involved when I grabbed this book.

And I am glad for that, because…

The Cruel Prince is a great book to start your experience in this magical world. It starts with a great statement that there won’t be any fish sticks, or ketchup or TV Shows (believe me, that is Chapter 1), and it gives you a wonderful introduction to what turns out to be a beautiful place.

We follow the story through Jude’s eyes. Jude and her two sisters witness the murder of their parents. And not just that, but they also get dragged into the Faerie world because the person that kills their parents is the father of Jude’s oldest sister.

And living in the Faerie world as a human is not easy at all. At school, Jude and her sister Taryn are constantly being bullied, and the biggest bully of them all is Cardan. He is the prince, the last son of the king, and he is so evil and self-assured. *gasps* And I love him!!!

‘’The odd thing about ambition is this: You can acquire it like a fever, but it is not so easy to shed.’’

While Taryn is calm and tries to avoid trouble, Jude is restless and keeps talking back to Cardan. She won’t let him win, and she won’t let him humiliate her. And that brings her a hell of a trouble.

And one day, she had enough. She decides to be even more fierceless and brutal, because that is the only way of survival…

‘’If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.’’

I love Jude, with all my heart. I loved her bravery and the way she never gives up, and keeps going for what she wants, even if people think she is being silly. I strongly agree with Jude - we should all strive towards our goals, no matter how difficult or ridiculous they may seem.

I also love Cardan. He is not a mean person,even though he is really cruel, but the background story is so harsh, and the reasons behind it are so strong. I could understand where he came from, but I am not in any way encouraging his bullying. I think that’s not acceptable under any circumstances. He was amazingly described, and there is the fight between good and evil going inside him.

‘’Love is a noble cause. How can anything done in the service of a noble cause be wrong?’’

The love and hate between Jude and Cardan is something you need to read about. Only Holly Black is able to describe the way they are towards each other. But this is the best love-hate game I have read in a while.

When we enter this world, we also see it from the eyes of her sisters Taryn and Vivi, and what I loved was that we get told the pro’s and con’s of the world, and why Taryn would decide to marry a faerie and get her place in the Court, or why Vivi would leave and go back to the human world. And sometimes, when you are a human in a world so beautiful, but so cruel, you realise that you can’t live with it (all that have read the book will know exactly to which scene I am referring to…).

If you haven’t picked up this book yet, please do so. I could not recommend it enough! It is filled with a lovely scenery of an amazing world, great adventure, great characters and stories around them. I read it in almost one go, as I could n0t put it down!

A masterpiece, where faeries would give up their immortality to have this on their bookshelves, I am sure!

‘’And no matter how eager you are for it, you cannot make the moon set nor rise any faster.’’

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City of Bones

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

#1 City of Bones - ★★★★★

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I have already read this book back in 2014. This time, I decided to go with the whole series, as I stopped reading them for some reason.

City of Bones is the first book from The Mortal Instrument Series by Cassandra Clare. This is a book that is really distinctive for the fact that it takes you to a whole new world instantly, and you immediately feel comfortable with it.

The story starts when Clary and her friend Simon are in a night club, and a boy is being attacked. When Clary calls out for help, it seems that only she can see the attackers. And immediately, within a few pages, we are introduced to a paranormal world that is not visible to mundanes, and we discover all sorts of creatures: angels, demons, fae, vampires, werewolves…

And when Clary discovers that her mother, who used to be a part of a society, and kept it all hidden from her goes missing - she is determined to find her, save her, and find out about her past.

I liked the fact that we have a world so wonderfully constructed, and so thoughtfully created, that drags you in immediately. I usually am the person that struggles with new worlds and incredible amounts of creatures, but this was a great exception.

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The characters were well-developed, and I was impressed by how the author managed to present some of today’s taboo topics in this novel. I find it really courageous. I straight-out don’t like Simon. Like, at all… He is a wonderful friend, and Clary means a lot to him, but he was just so dull the whole book.

I liked Clary, and I loved how she slowly discovered everything, but I wasn’t really that involved with her.

On the other side, I loved Jace. He is such a hottie. Sarcastic little cutsie thing! I also adored his honesty. It is something that not everyone has these days…

‘’He’s not a liar at all. Not about important things. He’ll tell you horrible truths, but he won’t lie.’’ She paused before she added quietly, ‘’That’s why it’s certainly better not to ask him anything unless you know you can stand to hear the answer.’’

I liked Luke’s story, and he had an amazing cliff-hanger around the end of the book. But Magnus is one of the people I wanted to see more of, and I wish there two places were swapped.

Isabelle and Alec - I really loved them. We didn’t get to see too much of them, but they were both really important in some of the crucial moments in this book.

All in all, I really loved the story. And I am a bit sad that the couple I was shipping for can’t be together, but it is what it is. I'm going to put a Lannister reference here, and if you have read the book, you will understand: ‘’Oh, the things we do for love.’’

‘’To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed.’’

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A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones  - George R.R. Martin Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

#1 A Game of Thrones - ★★★★★

This book will shake and break your heart! This book will make you realise that life is anything but gentle. But this book will also bring you the greatest adventure you have yet to see.

I have bought my whole book collection back in 2014. I have been procrastinating with this series for four years. And today, while writing this review, I thank the old gods and the new, for convincing me to read the first book.

I am probably one of the last people that have reviewed this book, and I assume you all already know a lot about the Game of Thrones series.

It is a book about one Iron Throne, and all the wars, fights, betrayals are about who will be sitting on that throne, and who will be in charge of all kingdoms.

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Now, starting off, I am still not sure why people would send armies and armies of soldiers in order to win the throne, when it seems that no matter who becomes a king, that person gets instantly killed. And no kingdom respects each other, and kings and lords keep fighting off and wasting resources for a lost purpose, so there’s that as well.

We have many houses, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Tully, Arryn, Targaryen, Tyrell, Greyjoy, Martell, etc - and they all feature with something unique to their house. Most importantly, they all either want the throne, want revenge or want them both.

But just to clarify - I loved the book!

George R.R. Martin is a genius! He has created this amazing world, and characters that are so alive that make you either hate them or love them, but with all your heart. He has created relationships so tangled and stories so well written, that he puts other authors to shame.

The book is written from a third person perspective, and each chapter features a character. And with each chapter, George moves the time gradually, so we are not stuck in a loop of time pause. I enjoyed this method quite a lot! It kept the story line going very smoothly.

‘’Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.’’

There were so many characters I admired. But my connection with these characters in this book is unlike any other connection I have made. I usually either love or hate a character. But here, I judged actions, and relationships, and things people said and did!

I liked Eddard Stark’s bravery, and his manliness, but I didn’t like the fact that he was too honest for his own good.

‘’Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?
‘’That’s the only time a man an be brave’’.


I loved Arya’s fierceness, but I didn’t like her stubbornness.

‘’For the second time today Arya reflected that life was not fair.’’

I liked Sansa’s politeness, and girlishness. She had all the perfect manners, but she also would betray family for love.

I loved Jon Snow’s story, and how he overcame his past, and learned to live with it.


‘’Let me give you some counsel, bastard.‘’ Lannister said. ‘’Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.’’


I loved many other characters for things they did, and hated many others, but I cherished the difference in each and every character, and that was the beauty in it - that even though an author can create so many characters, he can make them so different from each other.

In this book, you will encounter everything: mostly mean people, ready to kill everyone and anyone standing in the way of their plans. You will read about a story of a family that falls apart, a kingdom that vanishes, a fight between kings, how a little girl will learn life in one day, how a mother will watch her children disappear, one by one...

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