It has been an awfully long time since I picked up a Daphne du Maurier book. The last time and first time was when I read Rebecca as part of my Sixth form Literature course and there I fell in love with her gothic settings and writing style. Finally, about 4 years later, I finally got around to picking up another of her books and it did not disappoint at all.

Jamaica Inn is sent in the Cornish moors. The Inn itself is a described as a foreboding, gloomy location, surrounding my nothingness. It certainly gives a spectacular creepy and gothic feel. Personally I am a huge fan of gothic style literature. I don't like to be frightened, but gothic literature (the good kind) usually comes from 18th/19th century and the old world feel only adds to my love of the age and the mood of the novel.

Loved, loved loved this book! Du Maurier is an incredible author. Not quite as good as Rebecca, but so much love for this novel. Du Maurier just writes gothic, creepy literature so well with a little bit of romance and lots of mystery thrown in!

I definitely recommend!

The Lightning Thief was a very fun book, and one I should have picked up a long time ago. I've had the book sitting on my shelf for quite a few years. Another reason I should have picked it up long ago, is that I should have read it before I watched the film. It always annoys me reading through a book when I know things are going to happen, and then they happen in a different way and the characters are not how you imagined them. Especially because here Percy Jackson is like 12, and in the film he looks more like a 17 year old boy. The 'LITTLE' details always get me. Although, personally, I think Percy Jackson works better in the film as a 17 year old guy, it just works more for the feel of the film, rather than children running around whacking off magical creatures, ya know?

Anyway, the actual plot line of this was far more developed than the film, obviously. Again, because of all the little added details. I liked all the different strands of Greek Mythology and how they were upgraded to modern day, and the concept that Western Civilisation is followed around by the Greek Gods. Although, America, really, do you think you're the epitome of western civilisation? What about Europe... Just saying. We're still ahead in things. Anyway, my prejudices aside, the whole Greek mythology thing was really well done.

The characters, I liked, they had personality and Percy had serious sass. I liked his rebel attitude, his fearlessness and his courage to do the right thing. I thought he was really well played. Annabeth had the potential to be a fantastic character, but I just didn't get enough from her. I definitely need more character develop to quench my thirst for strong female characters, as she just seemed a bit too sidelined at times for a main character. So overall, I felt that whilst there was clear character development, I just wasn't invested in the rest of them as much as I wanted to be. So I hope for a little more depth and exploration of the characters in the next few books as too much in the first one was just not revealed because they couldn't talk about things or they didn't want to talk about things.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Lightning Thief and I'm positive that had I been 10 years younger, this book would have been a sure winner for a 5 star mark. Being that little bit older, I find I'm slightly harder to please. This book is still a fantastic read for whatever age-range, its easy and fun, and really drags you into the world of Greek gods and monsters, which is exactly what I want when I'm sat bored at home.

Oh what an ending! This just got intense. Can't wait to read more of this series!

The Titan's Curse is the third instalment in the Percy Jackson series and it definitely takes the adventure to a new step. These books are lots of fun, they are full of adventure and battles. I definitely feel that if I had been slightly younger these books would have easily gotten 5 stars. However, I still think they're really worth the read whatever your age. Especially for me, they are an easier read than my normal history textbooks or 'high-brow' literature. I really escaped into the Percy Jackson world.

The aspect I liked most about this book was the introduction of new characters, The Hunters and their leader Artemis. Artemis came across as such a minor individual to begin with, but actually she's a Greek God with impressive powers. I really appreciated the introduction of some new Gods in this instalment and the fact that they interacted with Percy in news ways. I also really liked the dream sequences and the connections they had to unveiling the plot. Especially the part with Zoe Nightshade, who was a character that I did not especially like until near the end. Although I am almost certain that is how we're supposed to feel. I do enjoy when you get a great character arc and you come to feel warmth and affection for a character you previously disliked.

In terms of the plot, the 'adventure' wasn't quite as dramatic or as perilous I felt as some of the other missions in the last two books. Despite this, there was lots of new strands introduced and a hell of a plot twist at the end (although I did kind of expect it). And I'd accidentally spoiled slightly the end of this book by reading the first forty pages of The Battle of the Labyrinth by accident.

The other aspect that I especially like about the Percy Jackson books are the prophecies and the cryptic foreshadowing of events to come, that you have to try and guess who it refers to. They certainly make the read more interesting and are usually quite correct.

I will definitely be picking up the next book soon, especially since I already read the first forty pages yesterday. I know most of you will have probably already read Percy Jackson, but if you haven't, 10/10 would recommend as a fun afternoon escapade.

Well it took me long enough, but I finally finished this trilogy and it was not what I was expecting at all with that ending. I did quite like it, but it also broke my heart a little bit.
Thoroughly enjoyed the experience of these books and definitely recommend!!

The Battle of the Labyrinth what a fantastic fourth instalment to this series! I had thought the third book was lagging a little, and was a little same-y, but Rick Riordan really picked up the pace here again.

There were multiple plot twists, lots of drama, some fantastic witty lines and lots of fun!

Our favourite gang all came back together with Percy, Tyson, Annabeth, Grover and a new addition, Rachel Dare! That one was a bit of table turner, but I enjoyed her presence. I'm interested to see where the next book will go with the character of Rachel and relationship with the demi-God gang. The one aspect in this book I didn't like is Annabeth, usually she's full of spunk and friendliness, but in this one she was petty, catty and all-around a bit mopey and a drama queen. I understand she's a teenage girl, but I think I expected better of a child of Athena, who spouts all the jargon about being wise.

There were a few moments where I have to say my interest waned and the plot seemed to skip around in my head since it was quite quick and the labyrinth was a maze. However, overall, the book was light, easy-to-read and lots of fun.

I think this is a must read for fans of greek-mythology and young-adult fiction. The books are easily accessible to people of all ages. I know most people probably jumped on this band-wagon a long time ago, but I'm glad I finally delved into the world of Percy Jackson. Looking forward to the final instalment!

Initial Response
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING?!?

GILLIAN FLYNN YOU ARE A WICKED, WICKED WOMAN.

So many plot twists. Although, admittedly, this plot was quite disturbing.

Second book of the year, how are the rest going to compete after two cracking reads?

Review
Gone Girl is a book I have heard about for a long time, I witnessed the hype of the release, the hype of the film, and still did not pick it up. Weirdly, I managed to avoid any kind of spoilers (I seem to have a good knack for that), which I definitely think boosted my enjoyment. However, I have come to weird conclusion, that this is not the kind of book you can enjoy. It's fantastically written, engaging, the characters are warped beyond belief, and it's definitely something you should read. But, to say I enjoyed this book may be to admit I'm a little disturbed because by the end, this book had honestly disturbed me. It was unnerving that somebody could create such a tale and make the people seem so normal and relate-able, that this was a stereotypical family. This is not the crime series CSI you watch on TV that quite often seems far from realistic, this was home grown, home plotted crime.

Still, Gone Girl is a fantastic read, mainly because of the characters and the depth they are explored in. There are so many dimensions to their characters and at many points I felt myself liking them and rooting for them. However, Flynn always had another twist round the corner to throw in and make you change your mind about them. So I had a very love-hate relationship with both Amy and Nick. I began the novel liking both of them, neither of them, admittedly, were perfect, but I liked them. By the end of the novel I could not really like either of them. They both unsettled me. The characters also directly interact with the reader with their narrative which made it even more unsettling because it felt like they were addressing you throughout the entire novel.

The plot of Gone Girl seems spectacularly simple to begin with, it follows simply the journey of a woman who has gone missing, Amy, or possibly been even murdered. And whilst the novel is not particularly fast-paced, it's gripping and well-thought out. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't read it, but Gillian Flynn is really a master with her writing style.

Overall, I can definitely understand why Gone Girl has such a high profile. On one hand, it's entirely deserved, on the other, why do people actually enjoy it? Still, give it a read, you might discover something about yourself, and probably unsettle yourself in the process! ;)

I on the other hand, will be finding time to further my 'interest' with this book and watch the film and see how well it matches up to the novel. Although, I do expect to be disappointed, because books are always better!

The Last Olympian is the final instalment in the Percy Jackson series, and it has been a very fun journey. The end was also a very satisfying journey, with all the minor plot details being wrapped up and tied neatly in a bow. However, there was certainly the opportunity for more books to be written including different characters in the future, but I think that this book for me is the end of my journey with this world. It has been a lot of fun, but I think the strength lay in the original series.

Probably like a few people, this book was not actually my favourite book in the series. I always tend to find that final books are a tad disappointing to me in some way, because everything seems to become 'happy ever after', which I know would break my heart if it didn't, but it is all a little predictable. My favourite book in the series was actually the fourth instalment, The Battle of the Labyrinth was actually my favourite. This is because it was a little less predictable.

Overall, this is a very strong, fun series that delves into greek-mythology in a light way. It certainly makes me want to pick up more greek-mythology books because I look everything to do with the gods. If anybody has any good Greek-mythology book recommendations, please let me know, I'd love to hear them!

The Goldfinch was an entirely unexpected book, in so many ways. By the end, it had touched me deeply and provoked so many different lines of thought about who we are as people, and how one event in our lives can impact on so much.

The Goldfinch is not a happy book, but I would not say that it ended on a despairing tone that left me broken-hearted, quite like I expected. It is also incredibly long, and quite slow. However, that is where it achieves. I am absolutely the worst person in the world for abandoning a book by accident, because it is long and I have very little time. The wonder of The Goldfinch for me, was that I was always brought back into the story. The slow pace should not be a factor that puts you off, because it is so beautifully written (again, something I rarely care for). The pace had purpose, it was still incredibly exciting and enthralling and especially the last 200 pages, I just could not keep away from the book.

I will not argue this book is perfect and say I loved every second, even though I felt that overall it was a beautiful book, with a deep message, and I would say it is one of my favourites. However, I still reserve the five star rating because there were moments I did not engage, where I was conscious of things I didn't like, and I was frustrated by the actions of poor Theodore Decker. However, for me this made up the whole journey, and did result in my eventual enjoyment. Especially because I had hoped for more of a Dutch setting to make-up for my post study-abroad blues and missing the beautiful land of the Dutch. Nevertheless, I think the 4 star rating sums up my experience overall.

Another thing this book made me really want to do, was go to look at more art. The way Theo describes the art and talked about his love of art, it made be consider paintings in a way I had not thought about before. It was quite revealing. I liked that a lot.

There are so many beautiful quotes I would love to take from this book and share with you all, but I think you need to read it to experience the true wonder that it is. However, the one that felt most raw and open and what this book is all about, was towards the very end: "life is a catastrophe".

Thoroughly recommend for individuals wanting to contemplate life, mental health, well-being, direction and art.