Legend by Marie Lu Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- Legend
Author- Marie Lu
Series- Legend Trilogy/Series
Published- 2011
Page Count- 295 (UK Paperback)
Publishing House- Penguin Books
Rating- 4/5 Stars

About the Author

Marie Lu (born Xiwei Lu) is an American young adult author. She is best known for the Legend trilogy, novels set in a dystopian and militarized future. The novels form the basis of a film to be produced by Lionsgate.

Taken from Marie's Wikipedia Page.

Plot

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbours. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Taken from Goodreads.

Opinions  

After reading two three star books in a row, I was fully expecting this to be another let down. Truth be told, I knew next to nothing about this series before reading it. I knew that it was considered to be a YA Classic and that I had bought them as a box set from the Works for a bout £5 a few years ago. 

I think going into it not knowing much and having not seen as much hype around them as other books meant that I actually enjoyed them more than I thought I would. I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I didn't love it and wouldn't consider it a favourite, but I enjoyed my time reading it. So much so that I've started the second book already. I don't remember the last time I binged a series. 

I've found it very easy to read. It falls into that writing style that is easy to fly through yet still remains enjoyable. The characters were interesting too. One thing I will say is that they are both fifteen and to me they read as much older. Maybe it's because I'm nearly twenty, but I find it hard to see characters as that young. I've noticed that a lot of books where characters are said to be fourteen-fifteen, to me they'll read as my age. I must be getting old. 

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book. I really wanted to find out what happened to Metias. I didn't believe that Day had killed him as I didn't get that vibe from him. It was interesting to see June's journey from loyal soldier to renegade. She had to most intriguing character arc of all the characters. Day didn't have quite the same arc, but he was still a solid character. I found June's relationship with Thomas a bit strange and it made me uncomfortable at times. 

Something I didn't mind as much as I normally would was the romance element. It was obvious, as is the tendency with YA, that the characters would fall in love. It did become a bit cliche the way they were describing each other. I let it slide as when you're fifteen, things are a bit cliched. I found their relationship to be really compelling and actually believable for once. I look forward to seeing what happens to them in the other books.

I don't have anything to say that is overtly negative. I didn't give it five stars as it didn't blow me away and is nowhere near being a favourite of mine. I think this is a series I am going to fly through and then part ways with. It was fun, but it isn't one I'll treasure forever. It's just a good, solid series.

Carenza :) x   

Book Haul 2016| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So while I was on holiday over the Christmas Break, there were lots of sales in lots of book shops and this means I spent more money on more books. Its got to the point were I have had to ban myself from buying any new books for a while because my bookshelf is full. This is going to be so hard as there are loads of new books coming out that I am going to have to get myself, but anyway I bought too many books and I thought I'd share it with you.

The first series I picked up is the Percy Jackson series which consists of 5 books but as I already had the first book I plan to give the brand new copy to a charity shop at some point. I loved the first book and have had it for about 2 years. The series follows a boy called Percy Jackson who has had a troubled upbringing. When his maths teacher attacks him and turns into a strange creature it is revealed that he is the son of Poseidon Greek God of the Sea. The series follows his various adventures and dangers he encounters with his friends. This set should have cost me £34.95 from the Works but in their sale it cost me £10.00!   

The next series I picked up from the Works is a series I had never heard of but it had a sticker on saying perfect for fans of Divergent and the Hunger Games. It is the Legend series by Marie Lu, the series follows a boy called Day and a girl called June. Day is 15 years old and is the country's most wanted criminal and June is a prodigy who scored a perfect 1500 on the Trial to see who can enter the army. June's first mission is to track down Day after he killed her brother. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal at the Works.

The next Series I picked up was The Maze Runner series, now if you have read my Birthday Book Haul, which you can read here, you will know that I already have the first book in this series but when I saw that the series had been reduced from £31.96 to £9.99 I couldn't resist. Now many of you will probably have seen the movies but this is what I have gathered the series is about. The series follows a boy called Thomas who wakes up in a mysterious place called The Glade with no memory other than his name, he then meets some other people in this mysterious place and they have to try and escape. I want to read the series before I see the movies so this series is very high on my growing TBR pile.

The next series I got was The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by by Maggie Stiefvater. The series follows two people. a human girl called Grace and a wolf boy called Sam. After Sam saves Grace from the Wolves, Grace begins to watch out for "Her Wolf". One day Sam turns up at Grace's house after being shot. Grace nurses him back to health and allows him to stay in her room. The two soon fall in love and begin to search for a cure for Sam. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal along with the Legend Series from the Works.

The next two books I got are Harry Potter themed. I saw both of these in WH Smiths and bought one and waited to get the other.

The first book I got was the official Harry Potter Colouring Book. After seeing this book all over Bookstagram, I knew I had to pick it up. You guys know I love Harry Potter so this book was a self explanatory purchase.

The other book I got was the new Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Holy crap, these illustrations are amazing. I posted on my Instagram that I love this book and included a snippet of some of the images. I got this on Amazon after seeing that it would cost half the amount that they were selling it in WH Smiths.

The next two books were books that I got for Christmas from my parents.

The first book I got was called Street Photography Now. If you haven't read my Best of Bits'n'Bobs 2015, which you can read here, then you won't know that I have been loving Photography. I have been enjoying picking this up and flicking through it. I love taking quirky photos and this has really opened my eye.

The next book I got is a book I have got every year for the last 10 years, and this is the Doctor Who annual. I come from a family of Doctor Who lovers and am not gonna deny that I love the show. I have a huge section of my bookshelves but to be honest I don't mind as I love the show so much. My favourite Doctor (from the revival) is David Tennant and my favourite companion is Catherine Tate who played Donna Noble.

Finally the last two books I got are from the Throne of Glass Series.

The first book is the 4th book in the series and is called Queen of Shadows. As I plan to review the series in my new feature called Book Review Monday, I will not be going in to detail about the series. My Throne of Glass Review should be going up on the 22nd January, so keep your eyes peeled.

The next book is the prequel to the series and is a series of novellas. It is called The Assassins Blade and features 5 stories pre- Throne of Glass. I am really looking forward to it and have been informed that I will cry while reading it. I love the cover for this series and can't wait for the other two books to come out.

I would also like to add that I got Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and I posted a photo of it on my Instagram, but when I was getting it down to move some books near it I damaged it. It isn't major but it is annoying as I have only had it for 5 days. But hey ho, I can still read it. If you would like me to review it please let me know.

So those were the books I got at the end of last year/ the beginning of this year. If you enjoyed this post, let me know by leaving me a comment. In case you hadn't noticed I am moving away from beauty blogging to book blogging. I will still be posting beauty related posts but from now on expect more book themed posts. Don't forget to follow my blog by clicking the follow button and you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram @itscarenzab. If you have any post requests or business based questions, please feel free to email me at itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x