T5W 7/22/15 ; Side Characters That Deserve Their Own Books

7/22/15 - Side Characters That Deserve Their Own Books

5. The Commandant 

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The Commandant doesn't necessarily deserve her own book as much as I want one. Yet, I feel like a book having the Commandant as the lead character would be so interesting. We could follow her through her childhood and young-adult life, and see everything that made her the way she is currently. While it might not be an easy read, based on the things we know about her already, I still feel like it would give us the much needed insight that we didn't get in An Ember In The Ashes.

 4. Count Olaf

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Again, another villain. With Count Olaf, I loved how we did get to learn some of his motives behind his actions. But again, we still don't know much about how he first got to know the children's family and how they are linked at all. (Or maybe we did and I'm just forgetting.) Anyways, I would really enjoy a book from Olaf's POV, despite how twisted it might be. I'd really just love to be able to get inside of his head. 

3. Jalal

The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Andieh

My reasons for this one are pretty simple. The first being that Jalal is a hilarious and beautiful character and I generally just want more of his interactions with all the other characters in the series. The second is that Jalal knew Khalid when he was younger. I want to know everything about Khalid as a child and teenager. I want every detail. Even though we got tons of explanation about his actions, I just want to see him as a person and how him and Jalal grew up together. I think it would be cute. But then tragic. But overall, cute!

2. Liraz

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

Liraz is freaking awesome. And it would be even more awesome if we got an entire book/series devoted to her. Liraz's character has had one of the biggest character growths I've ever read and to get a continuation to her story, or even a prequel would be amazing. She was left in a good place at the end of the series, but there were still so many questions I had that needed answers. Most of them were regarding either Akiva or Liraz. I just need more of this badass angel in my life. 

1. The Marauders

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I have a feeling these guys are on almost everyone's list. And for good reason too. Ever since the Marauders were first mentioned, I wanted to know everything about them. Not only was my favorite character, Sirius Black, in them, but all the wonderful old wizards we heard so much about throughout the series. A series following them in their schooling and adventures would be amazing, almost as amazing as Harry Potter's, I dare say. While we know the fates of all the Marauders, I still want a 7 book series about them. Or at least a TV show. (HBO, looking at you!)

Top 5 Wednesday is is a weekly meme/topic discussion hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey.

Feel free to share your opinions down below as well! 

The Summer I Turned Pretty ; Series Review

The Summer I Turned Pretty Series: Books #1-3
By Jenny Han
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars 





So, all in all, I really enjoyed this series. I ended up reading the entire trilogy while I myself was at the beach this summer, and it was very fun!

The Summer I Turned Pretty: 
What I was looking for in this book was a fun summer contemporary, and that's exactly what I got. The setting and story were very enjoyable and added that sense of fun to the story. I enjoyed the characters, for the most part. They all had their flaws, but I just couldn't get over Belly and how childish she was. I understand that she's only 15-16 in the first book, but her decisions and her manner of speaking to the other characters is so immature. Although, I could understand most of Belly's annoying decisions regarding to Conrad, due to the flashbacks. The flashbacks added a lot of the story as well, and I enjoyed reading them and finding out what happened in past summers. Overall, a very fun summer read!

It's Not Summer Without You: 
The first book ended off on such a good note, and I was disappointed when within a few pages of this second installment, most of the good things from the previous book when away. Especially with the breakup and death in the family. Despite these things though, the story still continues pretty well. Belly still has to deal with these things in the past coming up now, but for the most part, her annoying nature didn't come up much. There was even more drama in this second book than the first one, with Conrad running away and Belly having only Jeremiah to talk to anymore. While I found the first two books pretty equal in how much I liked them, there was much more story given in this one. Although I didn't agree with the ending of this one very much, it was still very good!

We'll Always Have Summer: 
Hands down, this was the best book out of the entire trilogy for me. I read it in a sitting because I honestly could not put it down. This book picks up two years from the end of It's Not Summer Without You. It picks up very quickly and we are already launched into the drama within the first 50 pages. Throughout the entire last book, we have already seen these characters grow up so much, and now we see them handling adult issues and going to college. I think Jenny Han doesn't a great job of portraying positive adult role models throughout this whole series, as well, my favorite being Laurel. Rather than this story becoming a typical new adult romance and having these collage kids totally blow off their parents, that's not what this story becomes. I felt like the whole thing was executed very well. I enjoyed this entire trilogy as a whole, and it was just what I needed for summer. As well, I hope everyone enjoyed the ending of this last book as much as I did. 

Also, just to add to this review, Jenny Han's writing style is so enjoyable and fun. It literally makes you fly through these novels. Definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for some fun summer contemporaries, that still deal with some darker issues.

T5W 7/15/15 ; Anticipated Pre-Orders for the Rest of the Year

7/15/15- Top 5 Most Anticipated Pre-Orders for the Rest of the Year

5. Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray 

Everyone has been waiting for this book forever. Thankfully, I didn't read the Diviners until last year, therefore I didn't suffer from as much withdrawal as most did. But I am still so excited for this book to come out! We finally have a set publication date and it even has a cover! Cannot wait to see where this series goes in this next book!

4. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

I will forever love Rick Riordan and his books. I grew up reading Percy Jackson, and then continued on into my teenage years reading Heroes of Olympus. Now, I cannot wait for this new series! It finally has a cover as well! Although some people argue that these series are childish and aren't meant for people above the age of 12, but I disagree. While these books may be geared towards children and preteens, that doesn't mean they aren't amazing!

3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Again, so many people have been raving about their excitement for this book! I am one of them! I really loved the Grisha trilogy, and when I found out Leigh Bardugo was writing a new book in the same world, I immediately knew I had to pick it up! The premise sounds so amazing as well, so I cannot wait to pick this one up!

2. Winter by Marissa Meyer

The conclusion to one of my favorite series is coming soon! Despite how sad I will be when this amazing series is over, I am insanely excited to find out what's gonna go down in this last book. I have been waiting for what feels like forever! Fairest just wasn't enough to keep my excitement at bay! I know the conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles will be epic, and I need it now! 

1. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Do I even need to give an explanation for this one?? The Throne of Glass series is my favorite series of all time. (Next to Mara Dyer, of course.) I cannot wait for this book and it's only the fourth book in the series! We still possibly have 2 to go! I'm so excited and anxious for this continuation of the series and even if my ship doesn't sail, I know I'll still love! I honestly can not wait! (celaena&chaolforevernothingcanchangemymind)

Something Strange & Deadly ; Review

Something Strange & Deadly
by Susan Dennard
Rating: 4/5 stars 

Susan Dennard, you did not disappoint!
I had originally heard very mixed reviews about this trilogy. Some people really loved it and found it very action-packed and enjoyable, while others were bored by the book and didn't enjoy it at all. Despite the various reviews, I really ended up liking this novel!

The story was very intriguing from the start, and it was very fast-paced. Our heroine, Eleanor, was very spunky and didn't let people talk down to her. Her interactions with all the other characters were wonderful to read. The other main/side characters in the novel were very interesting as well, and I was never bored reading about any of them either. It was very refreshing to see a very diverse cast of characters throughout the novel. Not only did things like ranking in society and ethnicity set them apart, but they all had very varying personalities as well. 

Now to focus more on the storyline itself. I really enjoyed the plot and the setting of the novel. Even though I love the 1800s steampunk setting in novels, I haven't read many of them. The various gadgets and machines we learn about throughout the book are described well, as we get a good image of what they look like and how they are used. The plot was developed very well too, and wasn't hard to follow at all. While the descriptions of how the dead came about are vague at first, we soon learn when they first showed up, and how they believe they came to be. There was a lot action throughout the novel, and it dominated most of the book. I was expecting a very angsty and cliche romance, but the romance was very light and slow burning and didn't really start to develop until the end of the novel. Our main character, Eleanor, being very stubborn and headstrong, wasn't really focused on the romance as much as she was on finding her brother and stopping the dead. 

In addition, the writing flowed very well and was well balanced between descriptions and dialogue. Susan Dennard still took time to develop her characters thoroughly, as we got to know some characters very well from the beginning, while some we understood more as the story went along. Nothing about her writing was confusing and while it wasn't mind blowing, I still enjoyed it very much!

The only reason I did give this book 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the pace. The overall pace of the novel was good, but in almost all of the action scenes, I felt like everything was being resolved rather quickly. The scenes would only last for a few pages (end battle excluded), and many important things would happen in a very short span of time. While it was still easy to follow, I just found it unbelievable that the issue could be solved so quickly. I just really wished we would have gotten more in-depth with the majority of the action scenes. 

Overall, I really liked this novel, and ended up finishing it in about two sittings. I defiantly recommend it if you are looking for something a little different than a normal steampunk novel.

Book Tag ; Unpopular Opinions

I was tagged by the amazing Steph over at A Blog of Books and Novels to do the Unpopular Opinions Books Tag! This tag was originally created by The Book Archer . I usually am good about not sharing opinions I think might offend people online, so I tend not to. But now, I have an excuse!

1. A popular book or series that I didn't like

The Selection is very popular, especially now with the Heir coming out. I have seen it talked about everywhere and personally when I read this series, I was not wowed at all. I mean, they were fun books to read and I thought the plot would be entertaining, which it was for the most part. But America Singer. I literally cannot stand her, she's possibly one of the most annoying character perspectives I've read from in a while. She'd be okay sometimes, but most of the time her decisions and thought process in general annoyed me.




2. A popular book or series that I love but everyone else hates

Um, yeah. The Twilight Saga is what initially got me into reading YA, and while my tastes have improved, Twilight still holds a place in my heart for this reason. Without Twilight, I don't think I would have been motivated to venture into more YA novels and discover what genres I enjoy the most and which ones I'm not so fond of. I know everyone pretty much dislikes Twilight because of the insane hype it used to get, but it was my gateway to where I am now, so yes, I still love Twilight, despite the hate it now gets.

3. A canon ship that I don't agree with

So sorry to all the Jessa fans out there, but I honestly have a hard time accepting this ship. Maybe its just because my love for William Herondale is so intense, but honestly, this canon ship just irks me. I don't hate it, but I strongly dislike it. I love both Jem and Tessa as their own characters, but together, I really just don't see it. Love triangles in general irritate me, and maybe the fact that this was actually a successful love triangle bothers me. I don't know what it is, but Tessa and Jem just aren't a ship that I support. This also has a lot to do with what I just personally believe about love and heartbreak and all that jazz.

4. A popular book genre that I hardly reach for

Ah yes, dystopian. I kind of went through a phase about 2 years ago where all I really read was a ton of dystopian novels. (I just used a picture of The Hunger Games as it was the first that came to mind, don't get me wrong, I love THG.) And while reading these novels, I just became really bored with them once I started reading more genres. So many of them are literally the exact same novels but a different world, where some other bad guy/girl has built a society that can no longer be lived in. Cue teenage girl/guy feeling like they need to put a stop to this single handed and add in an unnecessary angsty romance. No thanks.

5. A popular or beloved character that I do not like

Tris from Divergent was the first character that came to mind. I really wasn't bothered by Tris in Divergent, I thought she was fine for the most part. But as the series progressed, I just couldn't stand her. I know she is a symbol of strength and selflessness to many, but for me, she was just someone who didn't make good decisions. Not saying that all the choices she made were bad, because that's not true. She would do almost anything for her family, and I admire that, but the rest of her qualities were just something I couldn't really get over.

6. A popular author that I can't get into

Now this might be a little weird. So, I really enjoyed TFIOS. I really did. Since the hype has died down, I finally remember how much I loved the book. TFIOS is the only exception. While I think John Green's writing is great, his characters are where I just can't. For me, the majority of them all fell very flat and weren't easy to relate to. All of his older novels, at least for me, follow the story line of "boy meets girl who is adventurous and wild. boy is shy and awkward." I guess that just isn't my thing, as all of his books that I have read have felt this way, except for TFIOS.

7. A popular book troupe that I am tired of seeing

Ironic one of my least favorite books is on this list. This book has one of the character troupes I despise the most in novels. The whole "best friend is secretly in love with main character, but knows she'd never go for him". This annoys me so much it is unreal. I can live with love triangles, but love triangles where one of the males/females are the best friend of the main character bother me soso much. It can actually bring me to hate a character. I feel like this character troupe only serves the purpose of adding unneeded drama.

8. A popular book series that you have no interest in reading

This is actually a series I'm currently just not interested in continuing. I read the first book in this series over a year ago, and I thought it was okay, but had potential. Then I was spoiled for the next books and saw it following the lines of the angsty teenage romance with a paranormal aspect and I just wasn't feeling it. I'm still not sure if I'm going to leave this series unfinished, but at the moment, I'm just not into it. Maybe one day, but right now, there are just so many more books that I want to read.

9. A movie/T.V. adaptation that is better than the book

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Hobbit as a book. I thought it was interesting, set up a good storyline for the Lord of the Rings, and was straight and to the point. But in the book, there just wasn't enough of it to be able to get attached to any of the characters, which is a completely different story in the movies. The book was split up into three movies which gave room for plot development, extra scenes and characters, and also gave us 3 years worth of getting attached to these characters. So while the book is amazing, the movies are personally, a lot better.

Midwinterblood ; Review

Midwinterblood 
by Marcus Sedgwick
Rating: 5/5 stars

This novel was devastatingly beautiful. It was utterly extraordinary. 
I first picked up this book randomly, having heard good things from various people. I'll admit, when I first started to read it, I was confused. I wasn't sure where the story was going from the beginning, and while that irritated me, it's what kept me reading. It was refreshing to see a story that didn't set up everything in the first few chapters, it really was a slow burning build up. 
The story as a whole follows seven individual story lines throughout several different time periods. The characters in each of the stories are very different from each other, even though they follow a somewhat similar character arch. They were all very interesting to read from, and I never found myself getting bored. 
Moving on, the writing in this novel is another thing that really sold it for me. The way Marcus Sedgwick writes is very lyrical, almost poetic. It really made this novel a beautiful piece of work. His descriptions of the various scenes and time periods of the island make you feel like you could actually be there.
The overall story was a stunning piece of art that I really really enjoyed. While I was confused in the beginning of the novel, it all starts to slowly make sense. You don't get all the pieces of the story until the very last page. While it doesn't make sense in some parts, you can still appreciate the story for what it is until you get the information you need. 
In the end, I was thoroughly surprised by the novel and everything in it. I do believe that this novel leans more to the adult side than it does YA, but that takes nothing away from the story/stories. I really recommended this book to anyone who wants to pick it up. 

T5W 7/1/15 ; Favorite Chapter Headings

7/1/15- Top 5 Favorite Chapter Headings

5. The Diviners by Libba Bray

The chapter headings for this book are gorgeous. They look so intricate, and they are very reminiscent of the cover. (This cover, not the new covers.) The design looks almost like clockwork pieces falling from the stars, figuratively of course. I don't know if they'll have headings like these in the newest book in the series, due to the cover change, but I am hoping that they will! Also, Libba Bray's writing is fantastic as well, so I recommend this book series regardless. 

4. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

These books have a certain style of chapter headings, because they actually don't have them. In Miss Peregrine's, the chapters are separated by an individual page that says 'Chapter 8', for instance. On these pages, there are different and unique designs that add to the creepy feel of the novel. The pages go well with the old black and white pictures that are seen throughout the novel. I'm a sucker for things that look antique, or just have the overall old wear and tear feel to them. 

3. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

While I find basically everything in this book to be absolutely beautiful, the chapter headings are definitely ones that stand out. They are very simple, and have the regular 'Chapter 1' thing going on, but on the chapter pages, there are rose bush (?) stems coming from the side of the page. I assume they are rose bush stems because 1. roses is in the title and 2. they are covered in thorns, which is again in the title. It adds to the feel of the novel, and they just look really beautiful in my opinion. 

2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab 

The chapter headings for Vicious are super cool. They are very simplistic, because it's basically just a black rectangle with a roman numeral inside of it. Underneath the heading, it is also stated where that specific scene is taking place. While this novel is far from simplistic, the headings always looked really cool to me for some reason. The roman numerals where different, because I've only read a handful of books that use them. 

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

This entire series uses the same headings for the chapters and they are stunning. If you've read Throne of Glass, you've seen them. To me, they look like someone look a really high definition picture of some ice, blurred it, and then used it as the heading. For whatever reason, I just find these chapter headings really pretty, and when I was deciding my top five for this list, Throne of Glass was the first that popped into mind. It's really hard to elaborate on why you like the chapter headings of a novel so much, so this might just sound like the same sentence rephrased over and over again. But seriously, Throne of Glass has beautiful chapter headings. 

Wrap Up: June 2015

June was such a great reading month for me! I read way more books than I had originally expected I would! I was very pleased with all the books I read this month, as I gave the majority of them high ratings! Without further ado, here is my June Wrap Up!

The Death Code (The Murder Complex #2)
by Lindsay Cummings

This book was the concluding novel to the Murder Complex duology. For me, it was a pretty strong conclusion, as everything that was promised in the first novel was delivered in this one. I did enjoy the first book more than this one, mainly for the reason of this novel being a little too fast for me. Everything was resolved with rapid pace and some things weren't really given enough explanation. Also, as in the first novel, I still felt like the romance wasn't really real.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3)
by Susan Ee

Such an amazing and strong conclusion to a brilliant series! The resolution we were giving was excellent, in my opinion! I hate that this series as come to an end, as it was so different from any book I had read before. The world Susan Ee created in this series was so interesting! We still continues to learn things about it as the series progressed! I highly recommend this series for anyone looking for something different to spice up their reading. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Full Review Here

An Ember In The Ashes (An Ember In The Ashes #1)
by Sabaa Tahir

This book kind of blew me away. It was such a strong debut novel! The world that was built in this novel was so interesting to read about. The characters were all so diverse and had such varying personalities. There were characters I loved very dearly and ones I hated so much. Sabaa Tahir's writing style is also so beautiful and descriptive. Several times I found myself so drawn into the world that I would have to take a second after I'd stopped reading. All in all, this novel was a fabulous debut and I'm so happy it is getting a sequel!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Scarlet (Scarlet #1)
by A.C. Gaughen

So, to be completely honest, I hadn't really heard of this book before. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I hadn't gone to one of the stops on the Boldly Bookish Tour. But I'm so happy I did. This book is a historical fiction retelling of Robin Hood and his entire gang. It follows Will Scarlet, who was believed to be Robin Hood's best friend. But the twist on this story is that Will Scarlet is actually a girl. The story goes on from there, and follows the gang trying to stop Prince John and end his cruelty. This book was a refreshing read, and a very pleasant surprise.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Lady Thief (Scarlet #2)
by A.C. Gaughen

While at the signing I spoke about in the review about, I ended up picking this book up as well. It was a very good continuation of the series! I enjoyed it even more than the first book! I don't want to say too much here, in fear of accidentally spoiling something. If you have picked up Scarlet though, and liked it but didn't love it, I really do recommend picking up the sequel, as I found it to be even better than the first book in the series. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Lion Heart (Scarlet #3)

by A.C. Gaughen 

Indeed, this month I did start and finish an entire trilogy. Now, while these books aren't that long, I'm still very happy that I managed to read all three of these in June. Once again, I won't say too much to insure that I don't spoil you guys. While I really did enjoy this series as a whole, this book was probably my least favorite in the trilogy. Yes, it was a fairly strong conclusion, but the ending just fell a little flat for me. I couldn't bring myself to give it lower than 4 stars, because the rest of the novel was just so good.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs (Author), Cassandra Jean (Illustrator)

I really love this series as a whole, so I randomly decided to read the graphic novel of the first book. I read it in one sitting, in about an hour. It was a great refresher of the events in the first book. While it did leave out some minor points of the overall story, it did bother me at all, as I had already read the first novel. The drawings and color schemes I ended up really loving, as I thought it was pretty cool how they were just sketches. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ ☆

The Start of Me and You
by Emery Lord

Ah contemporary novels. While I haven't read many, the ones I have read have all been very good. This one didn't disappoint. I enjoyed all the aspects of this novel! The main character wasn't frustrating to read from, and I actually enjoyed her narration. This novel dealt with topics such as family, friends, trying new things, and even death. It was definitely a coming of age/self discovery novel. The main character struggles with many things in her life, but she doesn't want them controlling her anymore. This novel was very refreshing, and while I didn't fall head over heels for it, I still found it very good!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ ☆

Full Review Here

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan & Maureen Johnson

Magnus, you never fail to make me love anything you are in. I really enjoyed this collection of stories/novellas from Magnus' past and more recent experiences. It was awesome to finally have a book solely focused on Magnus, even though we did get a lot of extra information about things such as why Magnus can't ever go back to Peru, his past relationships, and The Circle. Lots of characters from TID & TMI were also featured in this novel, and it was great getting to see how all of them used to be.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Full Review Here



So all in all, pretty great reading month for me! Let me know in the comments if you've read any of these, and your opinions on them! I'd love to know!
Also, feel free to add me on Goodreads!