Fluttering Pages

Top Ten Series I Need to Finish in 2017

2017-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s topic is a Freebie, so I’m doing “Top Ten series I want to finish in 2017”

The fact that I so easily came up with ten series I haven’t finished is something I’m not very proud of. However, let’s take a stroll through some of the many series I’ve started and still haven’t resumed despite the fact it’s now years later. (and to add to my shame, most of these series I own the rest of the books to, so they just sit on my shelf mocking my laziness)

The Grisha trilogy

This is a series that I only started last year. I loved it and flew through the first two books and then lost steam by the time I got to the third. This frustrates me greatly because I got SO CLOSE.

The Young Elites series

The Young Elites was one of my favorite books of 2015, and I read it back when it first came out. I had a minor fit when I realized I’d have to wait two years for the rest of the books. It’s two years later and the series is finished. Do you think I’ve finished it yet? Of course not.

The Winner’s Trilogy

I read the first book of this series almost exactly two years ago. I bought the rest of the series intending to finish it. I even started The Winner’s Crime, but as you can see from my Goodreads it’s been on my “currently reading” for 6+ months. I got 50% through. Why did I stop? I waited too long and kind of forgot why I was supposed to ship Kestrel and Arin, which is kind of the motivating factor behind this series. So, the second book wasn’t much fun for me. I hope to try again, even if I need to reread the 1^st book.

The Lunar Chronicles

This is one of my favorite series of all time. However, I still haven’t yet finished it. I think it’s a case of me not wanting it to be over yet, despite the fact that Winter came out quite a long time ago now. Really, it’s shameful.

Splintered series

I must’ve started this two years ago now, too. I loved the first book but never moved onto the second one, and now there’s four books in this series I think.

Starbound Trilogy

These books have been sitting on my shelf for so long it’s not even funny. I have all of them. I read the first book way back in 2014. This series has been over for so long that these authors are now in the middle of/wrapping up other series. (that I’m also not caught up on)

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology

This was one of my favorite books of 2015. I had absolutely no excuse for not reading the second book the minute it came out. Especially considering this series is only a duology and I pre-ordered the second book on Amazon, so it’s literally been sitting on my shelf since the day it came out. Again, I’ve waited so long this author has already written another book that's getting published in like less than six months.

The Ascendance Trilogy

The first book in this series, The False Prince was fantastic. However, do you think I’ve picked up the rest of the books yet? No. Want to know how long it’s been? I read The False Prince with my high school book club back in my Sophomore year. I’ve graduated school now. That’s how ridiculous this is. Even my mom finished this series before me.

The 5th wave series

I read The 5^th Wave back in 2015. This series is now over. Heck, they’ve even made it into a movie by now. And the movie is like a year old (bought it at Target ages ago, still haven’t watched it). Again, my mom has actually read the second book already so she’s ahead of me.

The Book of Ivy series

Again, it’s been two years for this one. The first book was amazing and left on such a cliffhanger. I have the second book and it would be such a quick read, especially because this is only a duology. And while we’re on the subject, yes, my mom has also finished this series before me.

Well, that’s the end of my long list of shame! This list so easily could have been Top 15, and that’s actually pathetic. Also, how is my mom better at finishing my book series than I am? Not to mention she’s also finished The Selection series (which I have not), although that’s super low on my priorities list.

Anyways, there’s no telling how many of these series I’ll finally be able to tackle this year, but I’m hoping to try my best. Is anyone else super bad at finishing series? Let me know if you’re in the same boat as I am, and I hope that you’re able to conquer some of your unfinished series this year!

Olivia

Review: The Haters by Jesse Andrews

2016-04-15T09:44:00.000-04:00

The Haters by Jesse Andrews

Published: 2016

Genres: Contemporary, Humor

From Jesse Andrews, author of the New York Times bestselling Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and screenwriter of the Sundance award–winning motion picture of the same name, comes a groundbreaking young adult novel about music, love, friendship, and freedom as three young musicians follow a quest to escape the law long enough to play the amazing show they hope (but also doubt) they have in them.
Inspired by the years he spent playing bass in a band himself, The Haters is Jesse Andrews’s road trip adventure about a trio of jazz-camp escapees who, against every realistic expectation, become a band.

For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It’s pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It’s three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they’re in Ash’s SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.
In his second novel, Andrews again brings his brilliant and distinctive voice to YA, in the perfect book for music lovers, fans of The Commitments and High Fidelity, or anyone who has ever loved—and hated—a song or a band. This witty, funny coming-of-age novel is contemporary fiction at its best.

Thoughts

The Haters by Jesse Andrews promised a band and a road trip. And, well…it did deliver on both of those things, though not without some frustrations along the way.

I am a fan of Jesse Andrews, though his books often leave me feeling very torn. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is one of the only books that I’ve read and actually thought was hilariously funny. However, it did reach a point where it felt like too much. What was funny at first just became frustrating and repetitive eventually. And I feel like this is what happened with The Haters.

At the start, I was laughing and having a great time. But, as it goes on, you realize that it really is never going to stop. His characters are sarcastic and self-depreciating and it starts out as funny. But, it’s in such a high concentration that you can only take it in small doses. The characters’ personalities are all amplified by 1000%. By the end, I’m left feeling that it’s just too much.

I liked the musical aspect of The Haters. I feel like there aren’t a lot of YA books that center around music or bands and I loved that. I also loved the road trip aspect. Road trips are just amazing, guys. I really appreciate what he was trying to do with this book and I really loved the main subject and plot.

I think a big part of this was that I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. The MC was a teenage boy and I’m sorry, I just couldn’t relate. Not that teenage boys can’t sometimes be relatable, but in this context and these boys? Nope. There just wasn't anything I could connect to, relate to or understand about them. Him and his best friend made dirty jokes and talked about their dicks all the time and it was just too much. Even Ash, the girl character, I felt really could have used some more development, because I felt like we still didn't know much about her or her personality. You would expect that through the experiences these characters share and all the time they spend together, you'd really get a feel for who they are. However, I didn't feel that and I don't really think that the characters really ended up growing closer and knowing much more about each other.

Also, for being a band their communication was terrible. They never talked much about their music. They didn’t practice. Their goal was just to drive around and randomly ask around in hopes of being able to play a show somewhere. Because that’s surely how you become a successful band, right? And sometimes I wonder if that’s part of the joke. If the point is that they’re young and stupid and doing everything wrong. Being in a band isn’t just like “it’s okay if we suck, if we play in enough places, we’ll just get good.” No. You need to be able to play together and contribute creatively to songs that you write together. It’s not just you deciding to play a bunch of random crap with two other people and saying “Okay. We’re a band!”

I liked the adventures and all of the stupid things that happened to them. I liked all of the dumb places they played and all of the people they met. I enjoyed that part of the book so much. Where this book got really…not fun was all the stupid drama. I didn’t like the drama of both Wes and Corey wanting to hook up with Ash. Just because she’s a girl they have to both instantly want her? Throughout the book, you have to deal with them bickering and arguing and just not communicating properly. And it’s made even worse when something happens with Corey and Ash that causes Wes to act jealous and aggravating for the rest of the book. I just felt like they should have grown much closer through their trip and worked things out, but I feel like things in that department never moved forward.

I wanted to be able to enjoy the music and the road trip, but was left feeling frustrated by all of the unnecessary drama. They felt like a bunch of children who were always throwing tantrums about something. Mix in the a) dumb decisions b) constant unjustified pining/jealousy for Ash c) drug highs and d) drunk teenagers, and you begin to understand why I got frustrated with The Haters.

Even through all of this, I was satisfied by the ending. I feel like finally at the end, the characters got some of the things that I wanted them to realize and appreciate. They understood the process of making music and what it meant to be a "band". They were somewhat more matured and could look back and think "We actually didn't sound that great together. What were we doing?" And they were finally on a path towards writing and creating their own music that they could be proud of. So, I won't say that the chracters didn't change or learn at all from their experience. Because they did. However, you just don't really get to see that until the end.

Despite some of the negative points of The Haters, Jesse Andrews is still one of the only authors who can make me laugh out loud. I was reading his website earlier today and cracking up. He's just that hilarious. There were parts in the book where they actually "hate" on stuff. Like bands, songs, or potential band names. And I loved those parts. But, I feel like he makes his book humor super dirty and teenagery when he’s hilarious already. I’m not going to say that I don’t recommend this book. Because there were parts that I really like and aspects I enjoyed. I love Jesse Andrews' writing and his books are so easy to fly through. I did, however, have a lot more negatives with this one than I expected. All in all, If the premise intrigues you or you're a previous fan of Jesse Andrews, give this one a shot.

Rating

Back To Blogging

2016-04-08T09:10:00.000-04:00

Life. It’s wonderful, but sometimes certain aspects of it get in the way of us doing things we like to do. Work, School, or Family can keep you so busy that it’s hard to have time for anything else. And unfortunately for me, when that happens, other things in my life get cut out.

I’m in my last couple months of high school and life has been absolutely crazy for me. And it’s not only blogging that suffered. I’ve really been thinking lately and I realized that so many things I used to do have fallen to the wayside. It got to the point where I spent -zero- free time doing anything like reading or blogging, or even any hobbies in general. My reading has dropped drastically, and some months, I was barely reading at all. For someone like me, that’s a big deal.

So, why did the things that I loved -like reading and blogging- fall to the wayside? Because life. Unfortunately, the things that we must do come before everything else and sadly, sometimes it pushes other things out of the way. And reflecting on this lately, it just makes me realize that I need to make more time for the things that I love.

Blogging is something that I love and want to continue doing into the future.

Lately, I’ve made a sort of personal resolve. I really need to start doing more things that I love again. I love writing posts. I love blogging in general. And I love reading. Yet, those things that made me so happy got cut out. Well, I’m putting them back in. Life is stressful sometimes, but I’m not going to let those things that bring me joy leave my life.

I just wanted to put this out there and say that this is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It’s something that I’ve noticed has happened in my life and it’s not good and I don’t like it. So, I’m going to change it. This blog isn’t just a place for me to review books, but it’s somewhere that I can express myself.

Has anyone else found that this is happening or has happened to them?

Olivia

PS: I’m going to shoot for a post every Friday, until I can really take off with it again. And hopefully I can finally learn how to schedule blog posts instead of doing everything last minute. J

Review: Into The Dim by Janet B. Taylor

2016-02-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

Into The Dim by Janet B. Taylor

To Be Published on March 1st, 2016

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery

*I’ve received an E-ARC from Netgalley and HMH Books For Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to both!*

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing. Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens.

One of my favorite things to read about in books is time travel. So, I was beyond excited when I heard about Into The Dim. Historical Fiction used to be my favorite genre, so it always feels especially amazing when I get to follow characters back into time. The blend of fantasy elements with historical fiction is just one of the most exciting things for me. Into the Dim made me feel like I too had traveled back in time. It sucked me back into the world of 12^th century London and absorbed me into the story.

Into The Dim starts out as Hope Walton, our protagonist is mourning the death of her mother. Hope's mother supposedly died in an earthquake, though she thinks otherwise. Hope agrees to visit her aunt in Scotland and there she unravels a family secret that just may explain the truth of her mother’s whereabouts. There she is thrust into a world of secret societies and time travel, as she learns that she must go back in time to save her mother who is trapped in the past. The premise of the book is what really hooked me and made me want to read Into The Dim. I was very intrigued by the idea of a book set in Scotland, and Hope having to go back in time to save her mother who is “trapped” in a different time.

As this book starts out, the reader is just as clueless as Hope in regards to how the whole time travel thing works in this world. Normally, I find myself racing through the beginning to get to the part where the protagonist finally discovers this whole legacy that she’s a part of. However, I thought the book was engaging right from the beginning and really enjoyed how the author exposed all of the secrets to the protagonist.

At times, I felt like Hope stumbled across things a little too easily. Like, in the beginning, happening to stumble across the whole underground accidentally. And how in the world was it THAT easy to get an audience with the queen? Really? Does she help everyone find their wayward family members? And it was extremely convenient for Hope to have a photographic memory, though that’s all explained nicely later.

Despite that, I really loved the characters of Into The Dim. I think Hope had just the right mix between hesitant and bold, which kept her from flinging herself into trouble too often. Not that it doesn’t happen, because the other two characters travelling with Hope, Collum and Phoebe get in their fair share of trouble. I really like both Collum and Phoebe and enjoyed that we got to see a brother and sister time travelling duo. Collum is the strong, silent type, but at the same time, really does care deeply for everyone and completely freaks out when something goes wrong. Phoebe is awesome and I loved her vibrant personality and kick-butt skills. I really genuinely liked all of the characters, even those we didn’t see much, like Lucinda, Moira, Mac, and Doug. Even the people they meet back in time, like Rachel, were really likeable characters and actually helped the protagonist instead of being in the way.

And, of course, the inevitable love interest. When Bran is first introduced, I wasn’t interested at all. I was ready to cast him aside and tell Hope that she absolutely did not need to get tangled up with anyone. I was just mentally groaning at the introduction of this “normal” boy in the midst of her crazy life. The author really did a 180 on Bran and completely surprised me. I don’t want to say too much, but I really love ambiguous characters and sometimes the ones that you aren’t sure you can trust are the best. Bran popped up when you least expected and turned out to play more of a part than I thought he would. I really grew to love Bran and admired his loyalty in the decision he had to make in regards to his brother.

The secrets and mystery lingering really build up throughout the book, and leave you racing to get to the end. I wanted to know the truth, but at the same time, I also didn’t want the book to end. I can say that I didn’t predict the twist at the end of the book and was really surprised. I’m really glad that the author wove that extra little thread in there and how she kept hinting at something throughout. Into The Dim took a turn that I certainly didn’t expect.

It was amazing travelling through time with Hope, Collum, and Phoebe. I loved every minute of Into The Dim, even despite the faults it may have had. At the end of the day, I read to go on adventures and to have fun, and Into The Dim turned out to be an adventure that I never wanted to end. If you like adventures through time, and want a book that you can just get lost in – I recommend Into The Dim 100%. It’s my favorite time travel book that I’ve read so far and I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel. I had an absolute blast reading Into The Dim – and I hope you do too!

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly Review

2016-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

These Shallow Grave by Jennifer Donnelly

Published: 2015

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.

Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.

The more Jo uncovers about her father’s death, the more her suspicions grow. There are too many secrets. And they all seem to be buried in plain sight. Then she meets Eddie—a young, brash, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. Only now it might be too late to stop.

The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

These Shallow Graves was the perfect blend of historical fiction and mystery.

The main character, Josephine, gets thrown into a world of secrets when she begins investigating her father’s death. She believes there’s more to it than anyone’s letting on. And so, through her determination and wit, she beings uncovering the truth about her father’s death little by little.

I really loved Jo. This book takes place in 1890, and so in that time young women like Jo weren’t supposed to be investigating and running around the city. Especially as Jo comes from a well-off family, what she is expected to focus on is her impending marriage to Bram Aldrich and producing heirs.

She had such a determined and spunky personality. Especially this being set in a different time period, her thinking was very forward to women of that day. Jo aspires to become a journalist and write about important issues – things that she feels are important and need to be heard about. She writes articles on things like "the abuse of girl laborers at Fenton's Textile Mill" and seeing as she’s a woman, this is especially forward.

I really admired Jo – she comes across so many obstacles in her quest to find the truth. However, she doesn’t give up, even when everyone is against her. The one thing she really wants is the one thing she can’t have – independence. I enjoyed so much seeing Jo experience and learn things and especially loved her eager personality. She was always having to sneak out of her house and make up stories in order to be able to go anywhere by herself.

Jo allies with a reporter named Eddie, and together they begin an investigation into her father’s death. Again, for this time period, a woman (especially of Jo's standing) would never be allowed to be alone with a man, especially someone like Eddie. I loved seeing her relationship with Eddie grow and change, and with Eddie, there’s definitely more than meets the eye. Though previously, Jo had lived a sheltered life, she learns so much and really becomes street smart through her adventures. I loved the mystery in this book and was always on the edge of my seat. Just when you’d think that you figured things out there was another crazy twist.

Even though this is primarily a mystery book, the characters are faced with many other things that really make them relatable – and give These Shallow Graves a deeper quality. While in a different time period, Jo struggles with many things that are still relatable. She longs for independence and a career as a writer, though she knows that for someone like her, in that time, it isn’t really possible. She develops feelings for Eddie, yet she knows that they can never really be together. Her family is pushing her towards marriage with someone else – who she’s practically always known she’d marry. In that time, Marriage was about business, especially coming from a rich family, and Josephine didn’t really have any control over that. Her family is rather unsupportive and always underestimate her. They won’t talk to Jo about anything, thinking that she can’t handle things because she’s a woman. The thing that I love about Jo is that despite the challenges that she faces and the impossible situations, she never really gives up hope that somehow her dreams will come true.

Jo is a strong, independent woman, who’s personality and forward thinking really belonged in a different time. I highly recommend These Shallow Graves for anyone who enjoys mystery, historical fiction, and a strong female protagonist. I really adored this book and definitely look forward to reading more things by Jennifer Donnelly in the future.

2015 End Of Year Book Survey

2016-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is the 2015 end of year book survey, created by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner. Credits go to her for the questions and graphics. I love this survey and am so excited to be able to look back on my wonderful year of reading! Also, I'm going to try to not use the same book for more than one category. So, we'll see how that goes!

Number Of Books You Read: 111

Number of Re-Reads: 2?

This is a bit tricky. I used to LOVE rereading, however, in the past couple of years have tried to turn my attention to reading new books. There’s so many great book to read, and so little time. So, lately, I’ve dedicated by time to discovering new stories. I haven’t been rereading much at all.

I did a Throne of Glass reread (first two books) before reading The Assassin’s Blade and Heir of Fire. Other than that, i've only reread bits and pieces of things here and there.

Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary

In reality, I read the most from the “contemporary” genre, even though it is probably my least favorite. This year, I definitely read more Fantasy and Sci-fi books then I had in past years, Fantasy has become my favorite genre, though, it is not my “most read”.

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I was tempted to use multiple books for this question. But, I picked just one.

I feel like overall, this one was just spectacular. It's one of my favorite books ever and i'll definitely be rereading it into the future.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Darkest Minds, Fangirl, and Legend are all really well loved books. I did like all of them, and I would even recommend them. I just didn’t love them. Which really disappoints me. Where it went wrong with each of these, is the Main Character, or female protagonist. I couldn’t connect to Cath, Ruby or June and that really caused a problem. They made me angry and I couldn’t relate to them, so I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. I loved the stories of each of these, and the male protagonists. However, when I can’t connect to a main character it majorly affects how much I enjoy the book.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Something Real by Heather Demetrios. I didn’t expect anything more than a fun, light contemporary but it really surprised me. This book punched me right in the feels. Sometimes it was downright painful. I didn’t expect to connect to it as much as I did. This one really surprised me and it’s the reason I picked up more of her books and hope to keep doing so in the future.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I'm the student president of my school’s book club. So, I pick all of the books that we read. This is a great way to get people to read amazing books. For this one, I’ll say either All Fall Down by Ally Carter or Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Best Series Started: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Best Sequel: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Best Conclusion: Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

I talked a little about her above, but Heather Demetrious. Such a wonderful author! Her books always really hit you and there always so much more that I’m expecting. Usually, I’m not the biggest contemporary fan, but her contemporary books really stand out and make you feel something.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen. I don’t read non-fiction, so this was definitely a jump for me. However, it’s written in a way that doesn’t feel like boring nonfiction. Maya is such a wonderful girl and it was fantastic to read about her social experiment! I had such a great time discussing this with my book club.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Illuminae by Amy Kauffman and Jay Kristoff. The way this book was told, in multiple formats, and the plot. kept me on my feet the whole time.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Since I finished Night Film by Marisha Pessl, I’ve been wanting to go back and reread. It was a great book and I feel like I probably missed many details the first time around.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This is a beautiful cover, the design, the typography, and the little doodles. Plus, the actual hardcover has beautiful engravings.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

I absolutely adore The Young Elites by Marie Lu. And Adelina is one of my favorite characters. She's so complex, and I appreciate so much that The Young Elites is narrated by the villain.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. It’s one of my favorites of the year, hands down. The writing was just incredible and captivating.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. Can’t say much because of spoilers, but it’s definitely a must read!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?

Poison Study has been out since 2005! Where have I been? I absolutely loved Poison Study and discovered another amazing fantasy author to add to my favorites. If you’re a fan of the Throne of Glass series, Poison Study is a MUST read!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

ALL the poems in Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone.

And my favorite “passage” has to be the scene at the end of Heir of Fire with Dorian, Chaol, Aedion, and the King. I just love it so much. It has to be one of my favorite scenes ever (despite what happens).

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Longest: The Well of Ascesion by Brandon Sanderson at 784 Pages

Shortest: New Music by Paula Stokes at 31 Pages (as you can guess, this was a short story)

As for actual shortest book, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams at 107 or A Study in Scarlet By Arthur Conan Doyle at 108

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

PERCABETH. Wait. From this year?

Okay, then. Han Solo and Princess Leia from Star Wars A New Hope: The Princess, The Scoundrel and The Farm Boy. ;) (It totally counts!)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Chaol and Dorian from the Throne of Glass Series. Those two are my BrOTP.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. Her books were some of the first Young Adult books I’d read. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time and her latest novel did not disappoint.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I don’t venture into middle grade much anymore, so I would have never discovered this series if not for a recommendation from a friend. I’m SO GLAD that I picked it up because it was wonderful! It’s one of those series that I feel can be enjoyed no matter what age you are.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Liam from The Darkest Minds! I just finished this so Liam is definitely a NEW crush. But, I get it now! I love Liam so much.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I still can’t believe that Red Queen is a debut novel.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The world of the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

I just had a fantastic time reading this! I loved getting to delve into a new world and mythology, Riordan style. This book made me laugh out loud more than any Percy Jackson book. Reading this book was just a great time.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

I don’t usually cry when I read books, but Something Real actually did make me cry (even though I don’t think it was supposed to)

Heir of Fire and Every Last Word made me quite emotional, too.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Here, I’ll give some shout outs to books released this year that I didn’t get to mention but are definitely must reads!

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines was much more than I was expecting and I loved it!

The same goes for Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry. I’m not the biggest fan of Contemporary Romances, but these two were amazing!

And, OF COURSE, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Wasn't a 2015 release, but definitely a can't miss novel!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

As you can probably gather, every Heather Demetrious book crushes my soul. But, since I’ve talked a lot about Something Real, I’m giving a shout out to I’ll Meet You There, which was wonderful and loaded with feels.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

Splintered by A.G. Howard. Such a unique, quirky world! It took me a while to catch on, but once I did I couldn’t put Splintered down!

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I thought I’d ADORE A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. However, I really did not end up liking it. At all. It’s very disappointing because I was anticipating it so much and I thought it would really be my cup of tea. It’s such an interesting premise with so much room to explore and expand. However, so many things in this book made me angry and I just did not have a good time.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

Anjie at Love ThyShelf. I always enjoy her reviews and discussions!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

That’s hard. But, it would have to be my review of Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. It ended up being enormous, but I love it.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

I really like my discussions on Settings in YA, and Friendships in YA. I also just posted a wonderful discussion on Reading Challenges.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I was able to go to my first book signing this year. It was a Maria V. Snyder (author of Poison Study). I had a blast. And, Maria took time to sit down and talk with my book club before the signing – it was an amazing experience.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

Well, probably meeting Maria Snyder. But, really just starting a blog in general. I only started blogging this year. And while I’ve had my share of challenges, It’s something that I’m going to continue doing. I thought about blogging for such a long time, but this was the year I actually started it. It’s something that I love to do and it makes me so happy and I’m not going to give that up.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I’m a senior in high school, so that in itself was a challenge. It’s been really difficult to keep up with my homework and blogging. And, unfortunately, because of that, my blog suffered. In the end, doing school and graduating is what I need to focus on. However, I’m trying my hardest to become better at managing my time. I’ve also had my fair share of slumps. Because of school, my reading suffered, and that stinks.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My Top Ten Tuesday: 2015 Fantasy/Sci-FiUpcoming Releases had the most views (That was such a fun list to make) and my Top Ten Tuesday: Books into Movies & TV Shows followed closely.

My Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads had the most comments.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I appreciate each and every view or comment, so I’m happy with the attention my posts get. I always especially love comments on my discussion posts, so those I suppose. However, I did notice that my review of The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh had no comments, so that one specifically. I will agree, I had a hard time reviewing that one.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Not any discoveries in the way of stores or sites. However, I LOVE this bookish tote bag that I got from my local bookstore that says “I like big books and I cannot lie”. I also love the wonderful set of Throne of Glass pins that I got sent by the wonderful people at Bloomsbury for pre-ordering Queen of Shadows.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

Sadly, I was not able to complete my Goodreads challenge for this year. However, I’m still more than happy with all of the things that I was able to accomplish this year – starting a blog is pretty big!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

Just be able to read and review more consistently. Even if I don’t read large volumes of books, I want to be able to review the books I read. Quality over quantity!

I also want to attend more book events/signings.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Sadly, I haven’t read any 2016 releases yet. However, I do have Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and I can’t wait to start it!

This was a great reading and blogging year, and i'm looking forward to 2016 being even better!

Reading Challenges

2016-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve noticed that a lot of readers and bloggers have different feelings and opinions about Goodreads/reading goals.

I’ve been making a yearly reading goal since last year. In 2014, my goal was to read 100 books and I ended up reading 130. So, when setting my goal for this year, I wanted to push myself a little more and made my goal 150. I figured that if I read 130 the previous year, it shouldn’t be too hard to read 20 more.

I was wrong.

I hadn’t anticipated starting a blog – which in itself is a lot of hard work and takes time. Time that could be spent reading books.

Not to mention that I’m also still in school and that takes away so much time from my reading.

This year, in 2015, I read 111 books. Meaning, I was 39 books away from my goal of 150. Overall, even though the volume of books I read last year was greater, 2015 was more successful. I reviewed many books this year, which takes more time and energy than just reading, as I had been doing the previous year.

I always thought that setting this “reading challenge” was something fun and, well…challenging.

At the end of this past year, I found myself getting very stressed out. Because if I set a goal like this and I don’t reach it, it’s really disappointing and upsetting.

I found myself thinking “I really need to cram to reach this Goodreads goal before the end of the year!” When in reality, NO I didn’t need to. Do I really want to have to read almost a book a day for two months just to attain an arbitrary number only put in place by myself? No, I didn’t. This is a reading challenge based only on the number of books you’ve read. It doesn’t take into account any other things you’ve done or how many of those you spent time reviewing.

Is my “Reading Challenge” helping me and encouraging me, or has it become something (based only superficially on a number) that I feel like I need to attain, lest I feel like I’ve failed? I think this is something I’ll really need to think about when considering doing it this year, in 2016. I fully believe in the importance of setting goals for yourself and definitely plan on setting some for the upcoming year. However, I’ve started to feel like this ‘challenge’ type of goal is something that in reality may be hurting me instead of helping me.

Some important questions that are great to keep in mind and ask yourself if you’re wondering or struggling with this (like me):

Are setting ‘Reading Challenges’ encouraging you and helping you or are they becoming something that make you feel like you need to reach in order to be successful?

If I didn’t reach my challenge goal this year, how would I feel or what affect would that have on me?

Is this challenge something that is still fun and encouraging, or has it become a point of stress and anxiety?

Have I become only concerned with finishing this certain volume of books that I find myself rushing through them or trying to cram?

Am I comparing my challenge progress to others’ who may have read more than me?

For me, it’s not something that has yet affected how I read, but is a definite source of anxiety. I know I’m going to feel disappointed and upset about not reaching it, when I shouldn’t feel that way. I haven’t “failed” in anything, because the volume of books I read isn’t what’s important, but what I take away from them.

Some things I’d like to get your viewpoints on:

How do you view reading challenges? Do you think they are something that is fun and helpful or stressful and harmful? Do you participate in them?

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Review

2015-11-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Published: 2011

Genre: Sci-Fi

Synopsis:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Thoughts:

Ready Player one was a book that I waited entirely too long to read. But when I did finally read it, I absolutely adored it.

The idea behind this book is amazing. I loved the idea of a society where everyone basically lives inside this game and not actually in the real world. (It’s actually terrible, but such an interesting and believable concept) I was so intrigued by how the OASIS works and amazed by the technology of it. The creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, has issued a competition to whoever can find all of the “eggs” or things hidden within the code of the OASIS. The person who gets all of the clues and solves the puzzle, will inherit his fortune. The players of the game who are searching for these clues are called “gunters”.

Our protagonist, Wade Watt, has devoted his life to finding these keys and solving the puzzle. He has studied every aspect of Halliday’s life and knows pretty much everything about him. He has watched, played, and studied everything that Halliday has every mentioned or listed as liking. What I like about Wade is that he’s just a normal guy. He lives in a trailer with his (aunt?) and most of the time doesn’t even hang out there. He’s basically on his own and has very little money. Yet, his circumstances don’t prevent him from being successful in the OASIS. Wade is the authority on everything Halliday or pop culture of decades’ past.

It took a couple of chapters for me to get sucked in, but once I did, I was addicted. I was absorbed, as Wade was, into this whole different world of the OASIS. I loved every second of this book. I got so invested in the competition and I loved seeing the clues unravel. Wade is best friends with a fellow gunter called Aech. I loved the banter between them and with the collected knowledge that they have you wonder why they haven’t found the clues yet. I thought the thing between Wade and Artemis was a little unnecessary, but it didn’t really prevent me from loving this book, because I thought Art3mis was a great character, too. Eventually, it became cute but at first it just seemed stalkerish.

I just love how much happens and all of the places we go in just this book. The OASIS is such an expansive universe and it’s something that you could explore forever. It seems like so many things happen in just this book – not even in the OASIS but to Wade personally in real life. You see how much the OASIS is connected to and integrated into everything in this society and how much it affects what happens in the real world.

Rating:

In Short:

Ready Player One was fast paced and addictive - I never wanted it to stop. I really loved everything about this book and was sucked in from page one. I really liked Cline’s writing style and was loving all of the references, even if I didn’t recognize most of them. (Though I will tell those moments when I GOT a reference were seriously so exciting). I can’t wait to read more from Ernest Cline in the future! Ready Player one is definitely a book that I would recommend to everyone.

Olivia

The Program by Suzanne Young Review

2015-10-01T08:35:00.002-04:00

The Program by Suzanne Young

Published: 2013

Genre: Dystopian

Synopsis:

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Thoughts:

The Program is a book that I’d been wanting to read for quite a while now. It was different from what I thought it would be, but in a good way.

The premise of this book is really intriguing and what initially drew me to the Program. The idea of suicide being considered an “epidemic” and this government putting a program in place to counteract that was intriguing to me. But, as we see more about this program you realize how terrible it is. The teenagers are really being oppressed, living under constant fear of being taken away. This in itself is a source of stress and anxiety. I feel like the “program” is really ineffective, not in just what we find out about later on, but just based on the fear and stress that it causes in people.

In this messed-up world, teenagers live in constant fear of letting their emotions show or crying in general. For fear that they will be seen or found out and dragged away to the program. They are being forced to suppress their emotions, which is what I feel results in the majority of the cases of depression in this book. It isn’t good for anyone to suppress their emotions, and this fear of letting that show is what is causing the “epidemic” to spread so rapidly, I feel. If you’re sad, or angry, or frustrated, you should be able to express that and be able to talk about that with people. Instead, you have to bottle up those emotions and hide them –even from your parents- until you finally explode.

In school, they are made to fill out these evaluations every day that asks questions like “In the past day, have you felt lonely or overwhelmed?” That’s so completely ridiculous because who doesn’t feel overwhelmed at times? We’re all human, and that’s a normal feeling to have once in a while. I’m the most stable person I know, and I’d still check ‘yes’ to that at least 50% of the time. I mean, these kids are in high school, you expect them to not feel overwhelmed ever at all?

As far as the characters go, I really liked both Sloane and James. We get so much development and build up for both of these characters and become attached to them. Reading this book almost always physically hurt me. It made me sad, it made me angry. I felt what Sloane and James did and was hit with such a sense of wrongness about the whole situation. They’ve both been through so much, and their each other’s only lifeline. Without each other, I don’t know where they’d be. Seeing them going through these things was painful and there were many times I felt so panicky because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them.

This was a difficult book to rate. The Program made me sad and angry and miserable and everything felt unfair. But, at the same time, The Program deserves a round of applause for invoking the deep feelings that it did. It connects you so deeply to these characters and it’s really amazing. I love books that can make me feel all the things, but this was intense even for me. It made me really think about things and analyze what was wrong with this society and I love books that I can get something deeper from.

Rating:

In Short:

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Program. It was so different from what I thought it would be and was so wonderfully written. It’s a pretty intense and depressing book about suicide and depression, and I can see how it would be too much for some people. It really did surprise and impress me and I feel like it’s one of those Dystopians that will really impress you. I absolutely need to read the other books in this series and the prequel, because I’m kind of obsessed now.

TopTenTuesday: If You Like The Hunger Games, Then You Should Check Out...

2015-09-29T00:45:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week, i'm doing...

Ten books that have similar aspects to The Hunger Games

It took me a while to finally decide on what to do for this Tuesday. I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a while, but am always so indecisive when it comes down to comparing/matching books. I decided to do something a little different. I’ve picked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I have ten books that I think are similar in some aspect and I’m going to talk about that. Not in that obnoxious, “If you liked the Hunger Games, then you’ll love *insert every dystopian book ever*” Because each and every book is unique. I’m focusing on three aspects of The Hunger Games: Survival, Kick-Butt Female Protagonist, and Romance. And I’m going to talk about the aspects that that book includes to help you see if you’ll enjoy it. Some are similar in multiple or all three aspects, some in just one. It’s hard to explain, but I promise it made sense when I thought of it.

Not A Drop To Drink

By Mindy McGinnis

Survival | Kick-Butt Female Protagonist

Survival: This book is all about survival. Lynn is trying to survive in a world where water is scarce. So valuable that she needs to kill to protect it. This book goes through Lynn trying to survive on her own and the character development throughout is insane. If you enjoyed the survival aspect of The Hunger Games, the struggle to survive and the well,…killing part. This book has that.

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Lynn is such a strong, kick butt gal. She has crazy skills and continued to amaze me with her survival skills, but also her willingness to so whatever she needed to do to survive. She is such an amazing female protagonist and like I mentioned, she does go though amazing character development as well.

Monument 14

By Emmy Laybourne

Survival

Survival: This book is about a group of teenagers who get trapped in a superstore during what pretty much amounts to the apocalypse. These teens (and children) are completely thrown into this situation and torn away from their families. It is so intriguing to see the mental state of the kids as they go through this and the complications as they try to organize and figure out what to do. I mean, if you stick a bunch of kids in a Costco together, there’s gonna be problems eventually. Once again, If you enjoyed the survival aspect or the “games” part of THG, you might enjoy this book.

My Side of The Mountain

By Jean Craighead George

Survival

Survival: This is a little bit of a strange pick. I read this book back in Elementary school with my class and it was one of the few school books I’ve ever enjoyed a lot. It’s about a young boy who runs away to live in the woods. You may think “SURE. Sounds like a great plan *eye roll*” But seriously. This boy is amazing. He completely LIVES in the woods. You follow him as he survives on him own, finds and prepares food, TRAINS A FALCON, and builds a HOUSE for himself in a tree. (like, the trunk of a tree) Seriously, he’s amazing. I’m sorry but I think he outdoes even Katniss in this department. Now, some people might find it a little slow, so if you only want something fast-paced, you may be slightly bored.

The Book of Ivy

By Amy Engel

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist|Romance

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: This is really an amazing book and I don’t think enough people have heard of it. Ivy is a really amazing character dealing with so much pressure from her family. She is supposed to marry an then kill the current “president’s” son so her family can be in charge. But, she digs deeper and uncovers that the government may not be as bad as her family would have her think. The main thing I love about Ivy is her incredible loyalty to the people she loves. Her and Katniss have that in common I feel. She will lay everything on the line and sacrifice herself for the people that she loves.

Romance: I just had to mention the romance because Ivy and Bishop are amazing. Ivy tries not to get close to him with the notion that he’ll have to die or the she’ll have to kill him. But, they discover so many things together and it really opens Ivy’s eyes as to what’s really going on. Just honestly, if you’re a fan of AMAZING books, you NEED to read The Book of Ivy.

Poison Study

By Maria V. Snyder

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Yelena is the ultimate kick butt female protag. As I read this series, I was continually amazed with Yelena’s inner strength. The things she’s had to endure are terrible, yet she still finds the strength to get up day after day. Katniss and Yelena both definitely have this incredible strength within them and if you love reading about characters like that, Poison Study is a must.

Under The Never Sky

By Veronica Rossi

Survival | Kick-Butt Female Protagonist|Romance

Survival: Under The Never Sky is set in a world where there is terrible lighting storms and it’s very post-apocalyptic. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll die. The MC, Aria starts out annoying and ignorant because she is thrown (quite literally) into this world and is as unprepared as you could be. Aria learning to survive in this world is a big –and important- part of this book.

This is dual narrated, and Perry, the other POV is amazing and has wicked survival skills. He knows everything and anything about this crazy world and he helps Aria such and unbelievable amount.

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: What I love about Aria is that she doesn’t start out that way. Throughout the series you can see her becoming stronger and developing into such an incredible kick butt gal and it’s amazing. It’s something that she has to develop and I feel like that makes it more special. You can truly see how far she’s come when you look back at the series and I’m just in amazement of her.

Romance: I love the main couple in this book because they help each other survive. They truly couldn’t do it without each other and they become such a huge part of each other’s lives. They really only have themselves most of the time and they are both able to come such a far way and help each other.

These Broken Stars

By Amie Kauffman and Megan Spooner

Survival | Kick-Butt Female Protagonist|Romance

Survival: Lilac and Tarver unexpectedly crash land on a strange planet with no way of getting back to civilization. Basically, they’re screwed. Together, they have to survive on this plant as they deal with their situation. They work so hard to survive, even though they aren’t in an ideal situation OR with the ideal person.

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Lilac is similar to Aria, actually, in the way that she isn’t kick butt from the beginning. Lilac has to learn to toughen up quickly. And it isn’t easy for her. But, she pulls herself together and is there for Tarver when he needs her. When it comes time for Lilac to survive for the both of them, she’s ready and does a fantastic job. She is willing to sacrifice herself to protect Tarver and I really admire that.

Romance: This is a situation where two people are thrown together, but through that they develop a wonderful relationship and learn so much. Both of them go through so much character development and it’s wonderful to see these two people come together through these devastating and difficult circumstances.

Reboot

By Amy Tintera

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist|Romance

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Wren is another example of a character who goes through so much character development. In the beginning of the book, she’s totally kick butt, however kind of cold-hearted. She becomes not only MORE kick butt, but she learns that she isn’t less human than anyone else and she has emotions and feelings and her increased need to protect and care for Callum is really beautiful.

Romance: Callum helps Wren in so many ways and their relationship is beautiful. He tells her things opposite of what people have been telling her for her entire life and it changes the way she looks at things. Wren and Callum are both exactly what the other person needs and they work great together.

The 5^th Wave

By Rick Yancey

Survival | Kick-Butt Female Protagonist

Survival: The 5^th Wave is a book dealing with the “5^th wave” of an alien apocalypse. The world is ravaged, many people dead, and the few that are left wish they WERE dead. There are many flashbacks of horrible situations and past tragedies. And basically for the people left, their ONE goal is survival. No matter what situation they’re in.

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Cassie was my least favorite character in this book. But, that doesn’t mean that she isn’t strong. What she’s gone through with her family is terrible. But, through it all she has that something that keeps her alive and fighting even while crazy things happen around her.

The program

By Suzanne Young

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist|Romance

Kick-Butt Female Protagonist: Sloane goes through so much in this series and I can’t hurt enough for her. She loses so many people close to her and deals with so many terrible things and it made me feel very angry and panicky. I can’t describe all of the things that she deals with, but she always keep fighting. And I think that that is what really makes a strong protagonist.

Romance: Sloane and James are incredible and I ship them so hard. They deal with many of the same things, and are both hurting so much. Through everything, they always promise that they will always be there and that they’ll help each other. They’ll be okay. And it’s terribly depressing and heartbreaking, yet hopeful. I can’t even describe what they are to each other and how they help each other through the hardest times. (also, some aspects reminded me of Katniss and Peeta in Mockingjay, which isn’t necessarily a good thing and very sad BUT ANYWAYS)

This was really fun to make and I hope you liked it! I tried to use lesser-known books, so I hope you’ve gotten some recommendations to check out!

I can’t wait to see everyone else’s lists because I just LOVE this prompt and posts like these are a blast to read!

Olivia

The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley Review

2015-09-24T08:03:00.000-04:00

The Fairytale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Published: 2005

Genres: Middle Grade, Fairytale, Fantasy, Mystery

Synopsis:

For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life hasn't been a fairy-tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother - a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy-tales is actually a history book that documents magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy-tale detectives. Their first case? a roller-coaster ride of an adventure to stop a giant from destroying their new home town.

Thoughts:

I picked up this series based on some very high recommendations from friends of mine. And I am SO GLAD that I did because I absolutely adored it.

I love the premise of this series. Our two main characters, Sabrina and Daphne are the descendants of the brothers Grimm. Therefore, they are responsible for keeping the peace and solving the crimes between the “everafters” and the humans. In this world, the fairytales aren’t fairytales. Those “stories” that the brothers Grimm wrote were very real. And it’s their job to maintain the fragile balance between everything.

Sabrina and Daphne are both adorable and instantly likeable. Sabrina is the older sister, and always used to taking care of Daphne. They’ve both been through so much since their parents disappearance and they’re both such strong girls. Sabrina can be bossy at times, and is somewhat distrusting and headstrong. She is stubborn a lot of the time and doesn’t want to listen to anything or anyone. Daphne is so sweet and adorable. She’s more friendly and trusting, yet still had great instincts. Daphne is always great for a laugh, but she can be serious when needed. It seems like sometimes Daphne’s really the one in charge and she’s definitely smarter than everyone probably gives her credit for. They complement each other so nicely, both have great instincts, and street smarts, and know what to do in a tough situation.

Their relationship with Granny Relda was adorable. They are apprehensive at first (mainly Sabrina) but I loved seeing them come around. Relda has to be the most awesome grandmother ever. There were so many times when I was like”she’s SO awesome!!” I did really love that the girls were able to have Granny Relda. It’s so great for the girls to be back with family again, especially after so long when they didn’t have anyone.

I also just really love Sabrina and Daphne’s relationship. It seems like you don’t often get two sisters as the main characters. I love sibling relationships in books, and I love that this series focuses on that. They reminded me a lot of me and my little sister.

I thought the world was so cool and really unique. Having all of these fairytale characters and creatures all in one town was awesome. I love how they were a part of the town, (such as the police or the Mayor). You felt like there was so much history between all of these characters and things that we don’t really know yet. We’re discovering things just as Sabrina and Daphne are.

Rating:

To Conclude:

I loved this book so much and can’t wait to continue on with this series. Even though it’s a children’s series, it’s fun and appealing to all ages. There’s so many endless mysteries to solve and histories between the character and in the town. I know I’ll be eagerly following Sabrina and Daphne along on their journeys as long as they continue.

Olivia

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

2015-09-22T09:43:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s topic is… Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

I LOVE doing seasonal TBR Top Ten Tuesdays. There’s something so exciting about TBRs for a new season. All of these are books I sincerely hope to be getting to this fall and I want to try to do better in regards to my TBR this season.

Ten books I want to read the most this Fall

1. Queen of Shadows

By Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows is #1 on my list. I’m actually proud of myself because I’ve started this one already and am ten chapters in. I’m reading this with the #AEJreadsQoS read-a-long and having the best time. If this is on your TBR, start reading it now and join in!

2. Cress

By Marissa Meyer

I haven’t read Cress yet and it’s not okay. I’ve talked about it before and have had approximately 1000 people tell me that I need to read this. Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series and I can’t wait to read finally read Cress (sometime) soon.

3. A Court of Thorns and Roses

By Sarah J. Maas

ACTOAR was on my Top Ten Fairytale Retellings TBR I believe too. Basically, it’s been on every TBR of mine ever since it came out. It’s Sarah J. Maas, I know I’ll love it. Even one of my mom’s friends was like “Have you read this book? It’s really good!” YES I KNOW. I’M WORKING ON IT.

4. The Winners Crime

By Marie Rutkoski

This is absolutely deplorable. This book was on my May TBR. No joke. I REALLY want to continue on with this series and see what happens with these characters. And I intend to soon.

5. The Hero of Ages

By Brandon Sanderson

I’ve been working my way through the Mistborn trilogy and I’ll be so sad once I finish the final book. I’m not ready for it to be over! Thankfully, Brandon Sanderson has plenty of other fantasy book for me to read once this is over.

6. Legacy of Kings

By Eleanor Herman

I’m SO HAPPY that Legacy of Kings is finally released. This was one of my most anticipated releases and I can’t wait to read it. It sounds amazing and unique and right up my alley.

7. The Unusual Suspects

By Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson

This is the second book in the Sisters Grimm series. I just recently read the first book and LOVED it. It’s like Percy Jackson but with fairytales. It’s incredible. I can’t wait to get my hands on the other books in the series. (Frustrating story: I tried to buy this at Barnes and Noble the other day and they DIDN'T HAVE IT. *anger*)

8. Night Film

By Marisha Pessel

I’ve heard good things about Night Film and have been meaning to read it for a while. It sounds like a perfect book for fall and I’m hoping to read it very soon.

9. Kiss of Deception

By Mary E. Pearson

I’ve been meaning to read Kiss of Deception since it came out over a YEAR ago. It has a sequel out now. That’s how long it’s been. Once again, I know I’ll love it, so it’s just a matter of finally reading it.

10. Queen of The Tearling

By Erika Johansen

This is kind of my wild card. I don’t actually have this book yet, and my reading it very much depends on when I can get my hands on a copy. But, lately, I’ve been itching to read this series because it sounds great and it’s Fantasy. So, of course I’m going to read it.

There you have it! There’s much more, but those are the main ones that I need to get to.

I can’t wait to see everyone else’s lists (because I really need more books for my TBR. Lol.) Also, if you’ve read any of these, let me know what you thought. Thanks for stopping by!

Olivia

Inherit The Stars by Tessa Elwood Review

2015-09-10T08:23:00.001-04:00

Inherit The Stars by Tessa Elwood

To Be Published: December 8th, 2015

Genre: Sci-Fi

*I’ve received an E-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Synopsis:

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Author Tessa Elwood's debut series is an epic romance at heart, set against a mine field of political machinations, space adventure, and deep-seeded family loyalties.

Thoughts:

Inherit the Stars was different from what I thought it would be, but not in a bad way. I expected this action packed, space adventure. Instead, I was sucked in the middle of this futuristic world of feuding interplanetary systems. I felt like this book focused more on the political aspects of what was going on in their world, and I loved that. We get a glimpse into the different houses –especially Fane- and realize that their world is nowhere near stable.

I really liked the world in this book. I feel like it was different from other Sci-Fi books I’d read, and I liked that. The idea of these different “royal houses” ruling different systems was really cool and gave it a unique twist. Their system is in the middle of a horrible energy and food crisis, and the people are getting restless. As the smallest house, Asa and her family are fighting to keep their system afloat.

I loved her relationship with Eagle and how it changed throughout the book. Despite the strange circumstances, I think they really made it work. They’re so cute together and I definitely ship them. The dynamics between all of the other characters were so complicated and politically influenced and I really liked that.

Once I started Inherit The Stars, I couldn’t put it down. Something about it just completely drew me in and I ended up reading it in one sitting. I loved how unpredictable it was. With this book, I never knew what was going to happen next. It kept me on my toes and there were so many crazy twists and turns and drama. I could seriously never guess what was going to happen next. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, something completely unexpected happened.

I will say that this book wasn’t perfect. Some things could have been better explained, or fleshed out. There were times when I was confused and had to read a chapter over again. I found the writing a little bit strange at times. I didn’t feel like I knew the characters as much as I’d have liked, and the world definitely could have been more fleshed out.

But, despite all of that there was something that really made me like this book. Even with all of its’ imperfections, In Inherit the Stars, I saw the beginning of a series that has great potential. There is room for improvement in various areas, but through it all I saw a series with the potential to become really great.

There’s so much potential for more character development and world building in this series and I hope we’ll get to see more of that in the sequel. I’d love to see this series and these characters reach their full potential. I’ll definitely be picking the next one up to follow these characters and see what happens next in this crazy world.

Rating:

In Short:

Tessa Elwood has created great characters, a unique and interesting world and such complicated character dynamics. All she needs to do is build on those things and develop them more fully. I was sucked in by the story and plot and she has the ability to create such great twist and turns. I would definitely recommend picking up Inherit the Stars, and I look forward to this series only getting better.

Olivia

Have you read Inherit The Stars? What were your thoughts? Are you planning on picking this one up?

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Need To Finish

2015-09-08T09:11:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s topic is… Ten Finished Series I Have YET to Finish

I’m pretty bad at finishing series. Everyone seems to have those series that they haven’t finished yet that are just sitting around.

Series I really need to finish

1. Splintered Series

By A.G. Howard

I read the first book, Splintered, and adored it. This is one of the series I’m most excited to finish on this list. Hopefully, I’ll get to it soon!

2. Poison Study Series

By Maria V. Snyder

I read the first two books and I’m completely in love with this series. The original series was three books, and they’ve been out for a while. Recently, she’s continued it so I look forward to more Poison Study books!

3. The Selection series

By Kiera Cass

I’ve only read the first one (again) but I did enjoy it. I didn’t LOVE it and I don’t like the MC, America. BUT I do want to finish this because I need to see how it ends. (even though I already sort of know) So, I will finish this series sometime whether I buy them or just get them from my Library.

4. A Series of Unfortunate Events

By Lemony Snicket

After hearing so many things about this series, I decided I had to see what all of the hype was about. So far, I’ve only read the first one but I did really enjoy it. My library has all of them so I can work my way through them little by little.

5. Woodcutter Sister Series

By Althea Kontis

This is a fantasy retelling series that I absolutely LOVE. Seriously, check it out. I’ve wanted to pick up the other books in this series since the beginning of time. It will happen sometime soon.

6. The Monument 14 Series

By Emmy Laybourne

This is a wonderful series about a group of kids trying to survive during the apocalypse. I LOVED the first two, so once I get my hands on the last one, I WILL be finishing it.

7. Top 8 Series

By Katie Finn (AKA Morgan Matson) (AKA Goddess of YA Contemporary)

I read the first two books in this series but not the last one. I really liked both of the first books. Overall, this series is cute and funny and all very quick reads. I really want to finish this series very soon.

8. The Graceling Realm

By Kristin Cashore

I absolutely LOVE Graceling and Fire, the other two books in this companion series. I have absolutely no excuse NOT to have read Bitterblue because I know I’ll love it. Next time I’m in the mood for a great YA fantasy, I’ll have to pick it up.

1. The Ascendance series

By Jennifer Nielsen

I was absolutely blown away by the first book, The False Prince. I had every intention of finishing this series very soon after. Well, it’s been two years now. Ooops. But, in all seriousness, I want to read the rest of this series VERY VERY soon.

10. The intern Series

By Gabrielle Tozer

I really loved the first book, but I couldn’t find the second one. Not online. Not in stores. Does anyone know what the deal with that is? They’re kind of hard to find in the US, because I think it might be UK YA? Or maybe Australian? IDK.

I didn’t realize how many series I needed to finish until I had to make this list. BUT now I have them all in one place and I’m really hoping to finish these soon. Sometimes I just forget that I need to finish them, you know?

I look forward to seeing what’s on your list! Hopefully all of you can get around to finishing your unfinished series.

Olivia

Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

2015-09-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Published: 2006

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis:
In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?
In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

Thoughts:

Like any great heist, a crew get assembled, a crazy plan gets made and the crew has to come together to make their intricate scheme work. But this isn’t a heist. No. They’re going to overthrow the Final Empire.

The Final Empire exceeded my expectations by 1000%. I had heard fantastic things, of course, but nothing compared to how amazing it actually was. I just wasn't expecting to love it this much. I picked The Final Empire up rather on a whim. Even though I love fantasy, I wasn't sure what I'd think about this one. But, I absolutely LOVED IT.

The characters and the story drew me right in. I loved Vin and seeing how much she developed throughout the book was great. She is thrown into this world that she isn’t familiar with. She has to learn how to control powers that she didn’t know she had. Vin is new to all of this and seeing her go through all of these things for the first time was great. It made her so relatable. Seeing her interact with the nobles in court life was so interesting because it was so different from the world she grew up in, yet she fit in well.

And can I just say – Elend is such a sweetheart. I love that how different he is from everyone else and he cares about important issues and wants to help people and make things better. He reads pretty much all the time (like during balls) and I love him for that.

Vin is taken under Kelsier’s wing and I loved their relationship. I loved how Kelsier took the time to train her and teach her all of these things that years ago, someone taught him. Because of their circumstances, they have this bond that nobody else in the crew has.

Let’s talk about Kelsier. I LOVED KELSIER. His personality was just so great. He is smart and charismatic and MAN does he know how to scheme. He brings life to the crew and gives people hope. He’s such an incredible Mistborn and he’s been through so much. Kelsier has pretty much been through hell and back, yet he’s still here. Kelsier is really a survivor and I admire him so much for that. Even if at times he can get a little dark, and is kind of callous when it comes to killing nobles. He too goes through a lot of development in this book even if it’s a little hard to realize. His viewpoints and attitudes on certain things change and it makes him better. Kelsier is my favorite character in this book and he’s just amazing. I really can’t explain it. Especially at the end of the book you realize just how incredible he is.

I loved each and every member of their crew. Each person had their own purpose and personality and they fit so well. Each and every person was there for a reason and crucial to the plan. I liked how at times each of them would take Vin aside and teach her something. They all trusted and looked out for each other and it really felt like a family.

But now to the magic. The magic system was unlike anything I’d ever heard of before. The idea of ingesting metal and “burning” it is so cool. Each metal lets you do something different or gives you a different power. Some people can’t do this at all, and some people specialize in one certain thing. But the people that can burn all 8 metals, that’s what they call a Mistborn.

The “Lord Ruler” completely baffled me and yet intrigued me. Who really is he? What is he doing? How is he controlling these people? The whole government was creepy and I just am still wondering HOW.

I loved the world in The Final Empire. I feel like there’s so many aspects of it to explore and learn about. SO many other lands, stories, and people to discover. The Terrismen especially shocked me and I think that they’re SO AMAZING.

But honestly, I’m not even going to try to explain too much more to you because I can’t do it justice. I think it’s best just to go into this book not knowing a lot about it.

Rating:

In Short:

I immensely enjoyed each and every second of this book. The world building and writing was absolutely incredible. I loved each and every one of the characters. And even though this book was around 800 pages, it still seemed to short. I never wanted it to end. This was by far one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read. Reading The Final Empire really reminded me why Fantasy is my favorite genre and made me love it a little more. I’m so excited about continuing on with this series and reading more Brandon Sanderson books.

Olivia

Have you read this series? If you have, what were your thoughts? What other Brandon Sanderson books would you recommend?

July Wrap-Up and August TBR

2015-08-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delayed wrap up! It’s been a crazy month.

What have I been up to?

In the beginning of the month, I was on vacation. I had a great time, and got to read many amazing books. So, during that time I didn’t post almost at all.

July just felt crazy. I didn’t post as much this month because there were a lot of weekends when I was away and some day trips.

To be honest, I really slacked off in July. I kind of hit a reading/blogging slump and it was TERRIBLE. Reading slumps are bad enough, but I hit a patch where I wasn’t blogging much either. Which I hated. I’m back now, however.

I am going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen again, especially as I start school at the end of the month. Writing and scheduling posts ahead is crucial.

And so I also kind of decided to cut back a little. I’m pretty sure I’m dropping Waiting on Wednesday. I may start doing it again eventually, but for now I’m stopping. Also, I dropped the weekly wrap-ups. I liked them, but it was kind of a lot to do every week. From now on, I’m just going to be doing the monthly wrap ups. Since the school year is starting up soon, I think this will really help to simplify things. I feel like these changes will help me to be able to focus my energy on more reviews, discussions, and tags. Which are what I really love to do.

*note* just to let you guys know, I’ve been linking the covers to Goodreads in my reviews, so that’s why there’s no button anymore.

What books did I read?

I read 10 books this month. It really isn’t too bad, since more than half of them were read within the first week of July and I was kind of slumping the rest of the month.

Legend by Marie Lu // 4 stars // I really liked Legend! It was different than I thought it would be, but definitely in a good way!

Prodigy by Marie Lu // 4 stars // More awesomeness. Also, I LOVE DAY.

Champion by Marie Lu // 4 stars // Great conclusion! THAT ENDING THOUGH.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins // 4 stars // Cute and kick butt all at the same time. Fantasy mixed with contemporary all in a southern setting makes for awesomeness.

Confess by Coleen Hoover // 4.5 stars // Another great book by Colleen Hoover. Definitely recommend this!

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour // 5 stars // THE CUTENESS. MORGAN MATSON IS THE QUEEN OF YA CONTEMPORARY.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson // 5 stars // GUYS. I FINALLY READ BRANDON SANDERSON. WHERE HAS THIS SERIES BEEN ALL MY LIFE. If you couldn’t tell, I adored it. Those 700 pages just flew by ;) But seriously. I’m in love. If you like fantasy, read this book now please. Review coming soon.

Alive by Scott Sigler // 3.5 stars // Alive kept me guessing at every turn. I will be continuing on because I NEED to know what’s going to happen next.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson // 4 stars // More graphic nolvels! This one was super cute and action packed.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline // 5 stars // Another book that I’ve heard nothing but FANTASTIC things about. Reading this book was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I fell in love with it and I can’t wait to read Armada. I can’t emphasize enough how great this is…so just go read it please. Review coming soon

I have reviews up for *almost* all of these books. So, click on the links to go to the reviews to get more of my thoughts on all of these lovely books.

What else did I post about?

What other posts did I write except for the above reviews? Well…

I did Waiting on Wednesday #12 and #13. (which will be my last for a while)

I reviewed Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas, which I read at the end of June. Heir of Fire was the best ever and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing a review. (also the longest, which is kind of fitting considering the size of the book)

I was nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award. I always have the best time doing these and answering the questions, so thanks so much Anjie! (I also nominated some people, so go check it out)

I discussed “Do books get "lost" in your TBR?” This was super fun and I absolutely love doing discussions. (although sometimes I’m bad at replying…I’m working on it guys, I promise. Thanks so much for your wonderful comments! I appreciate it immensely.)

I did the “Find Me” book tag, in which I attempted to take pictures of books and actually make it look good. How did that turn out? See for yourself. (Spoiler: not good.)

August TBR

Am I even still trying to do TBR’s? Apparently, I am. Though I’m not sure why I bother.

But, first an update on my July TBR! I had set aside 7 books that I wanted to read on vacation and I ended up reading 5. That’s pretty good. The only thing is that I changed my TBR pile like 5 times before I actually packed them. So, the TBR in my June Wrap up isn’t really what I packed. Oops.

Still, though, in terms of a TBR, I’d say that was a success.

This month I NEED to read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve had at least five people tell me just this week how much I need to read it. And I agree. IT WILL HAPPEN. HOLD ME TO IT, GUYS.

Ideally, I’d like to read Cress by Marissa Meyer, too. But we’ll see. I don’t want to be too over ambitious here.

And that’s all for this wrap up! Leave me a link to your wrap up, so I can check out what you were up to this month! Here’s to a great month of reading in August!

Olivia

Mini Reviews: Alive and Nimona

2015-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Alive by Scott Sigler

Published: 2015

Genres: Thriller

Thoughts:

I thought the premise of Alive was really interesting. It begins with a girl waking up in what appears to be a coffin. In a room full of other people in these “coffin” like things. She has no idea who she is, where she is, or what she’s supposed to do. It was kind of Maze Runner-esque in that respect.

I liked following Em as her and her group tried to figure out what the heck was going on. Just when you think you’ve got something figured out, hello plot twist! It kept you as confused as the characters, which was good.

I liked the main character, Em. All of the kids in this book were dealing with so many emotions, and it was nice to see that. When they went to “sleep” they were just kids. Now, they’re teenagers. I can’t imagine how difficult and confusing that must be. So, with that being said, they sometimes did very silly childish things or said stuff that didn’t sound very mature or teenagerish.

Em has no idea what is going on. She’s dealing with a bunch of 17 years olds, who mentally are still around 10. But that’s what I liked about this book. You can see the characters – especially Em – maturing and starting to act more like an adult. She becomes a better leader and is more confident.

This book does have a creepy vibe, but nothing that downright scared me. Alive was fast paced, engaging, and always kept me guessing. I didn’t want to put it down, and I ended up reading it in one sitting. The plot twist and the craziness of this book kept me guessing at every turn. I liked the turn that this book took at the end. I am most definitely going to be picking up the sequel to see what happens next.

Rating:

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Published: 2015

Genre: Graphic Novel

Thoughts:

Nimona was part of my quest to read more graphic novels. And I’m so glad that I picked it up!

I liked the art style of Nimona and thought it was super cute and fun. I really liked the way it was done and the colors. Graphic novels are just so pretty and I always have such a great time reading them.

I LOVED the main characters, Nimona, and Ballister Blackheart. Nimona is so spunky and fierce and I loved her. She has such an awesome personality. Ballister, despite being a “villain” really was such a nice guy. Nicer than Nimona even, in that respect.

I loved how Nimona comes to join Ballister and pretty much just declares that she’s joining him. Most of the time, Nimona was coming up with crazy villainous schemes that were too much even for Ballister. As vicious as Nimona can be, she still just acts like a young girl. Their personalities work so good together and I loved seeing their relationship. As they grow closer, they begin to develop this father/daughter type bond and it’s adorable.

I loved how we got to experience this story from the POV of the “villains”. And the best part is that they don’t feel like villains at all. You’re rooting for them every step of the way. This was a great story with loveable characters and I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of graphic novel. Or for that matter, even if you aren’t – try it.

Rating:

Olivia

Have you read either of these books? Let me know your thoughts. What was the creepiest book you last read? How do you feel about books written from the villains POV?

Series review: Legend series by Marie Lu

2015-08-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Legend, Prodigy and Champion by Marie Lu

Published: 2011, 2013

Genre: Dystopian

Legend:

I loved Day right from the first page. I was drawn immediately into his story and I really enjoyed reading from his POV. June, I didn’t really connect with. At least not in the first book. Day is just amazing and I love his personality. He’s been through so much and I love that he’s the “most wanted” criminal. But, really there’s so much more to Day. I enjoyed following him and discovering his story.

I loved the introduction of the Patriots and the element that they provided. It was hard to tell what side you were supposed to be on (which is something that I really like) I feel like the brutality of the government was really shown in this book, especially with what happens to Day and his family.

The world was interesting, even if at this point (and I hate saying this) but it felt like I’d read this book before. I don’t think it’s fair when people compare dystopians. Dystopians ALL have similar elements, but each one is their own unique story. The same can be said for Legend. It’s a unique dystopian series, yet sometimes while reading this it just felt like I’d read it before. Things that would happen and elements reminded me specifically of things in another popular dystopian series. Maybe that’s because I waited a little too long to read this series. I’ve burned myself out on dystopians for the time being.

Legend also wasn’t quite as fast paced as I’d expected. For some reason, I had a bit of a hard time getting through it. Maybe due to the extremely long chapters (which are a pet peeve of mine) It just wasn’t as action packed and I found the pacing to be slower than I expected. (see, expectations ruining it for me again)

That being said, I did really enjoy Legend. I loved getting to see how these two characters stories and lives crossed paths. I loved how Day and June met and how Day really made June think about things. They go through so many things in this book that are pivotal in their relationship.

Something that I appreciated about June is how kick butt she can be. She can take down almost anyone in a fight, and she’s an independent, badass female protagonist. Which I really liked about her. She becomes increasingly self-sufficient and independent as the series goes on.

I really loved the premise of this book and how it was executed. There are many different things going on in Legend, and Marie Lu never made it easy for Day and June, which I appreciated. Their relationship is so complicated and there were several twists and turns for these characters. Legend was probably my favorite in this series, because Legend is where it all started for Day and June.

Prodigy:

Prodigy was a satisfying sequel to a great first book. Sometimes, sequels seem to lag, but there were plenty of new things in Prodigy to keep us occupied. I liked getting a glimpse into the Colonies. It was something that everyone had been speculating and wondering about since the first book. So, it was great to finally see what’s going on with them. (trying not to spoil here!)

By this point, Day has pretty much unwillingly become the face of this rebellion. All the people look to him. And he is so badass about the whole thing. He takes it and runs with it. Day definitely knows how to command a crowd and he embraces the rebellion. Prodigy made me love Day even more.

I really loved the premise of Prodigy. I liked the storyline with Anden and once again, nothing was black and white. I actually really like Anden, and I appreciate how Marie Lu once again makes us question what we thought was right.

I like the idea of not having to follow in your families footsteps (especially with his father). Just because your parents may be evil, doesn’t mean that you can’t be a different person. That you can’t want something else for the Republic and have different goals and ideas.

I really liked the inclusion of Anden and that whole angle. It just adds a whole other element to the story and this crazy world.

Even though June could get frustrating at times, she made the right decision. Prodigy had some really great action just like the first one and I really enjoyed seeing the progression of these characters.

Champion:

As usual, Champion changed the game.

We get to see different places in this world that Marie Lu has created. And, I never thought I’d say this. BUT, I want to go to Alaska! Seriously, though…what kind of messed up world is it when Alaska is the nice, stable, technologically advanced country?

In Champion, the Legend series reaches its’ climax. Things are still crazy, there are twists and turns and suspense.

Day was less…himself in this book, though. (which, is understandable with the circumstances) But I missed the “old” Day. I love him and his personality, but it wasn’t as prevalent in this book. I felt so bad for Day, but proud of him, because despite what he’s going through, he always keeps fighting and giving it his all.

Day’s brother, Eden really grows and changes a lot through these books. He goes from being a kid, to being a young man who wants to help and make his own decisions. Who understands what’s going on in the world and the state that they’re in.

The Colonies also play a big role again (which isn’t necessarily good thing). BUT I really liked the return of the Patriots. I just love it when people come together to thwart evil.

Let’s talk about Day and June’s relationship. So far, I haven’t said much or given my opinions about it. As you may have been able to tell, I like Day a whole lot more than I like June. To me, it just seemed like Day was willing to commit 110% and June was all wishy washy. Day deserves someone who loves him just as much as he loves them, and I don’t think June fit that. She’s SO indecisive and it drove me crazy. Because Day isn’t at all. If he wants to do something, he springs into action. If he likes you, he’s going to commit 110%. June, on the other hand, has to think about something for two books before she can really put her heart into something.

I understand that that’s part of her character. And that they can’t both be the same. BUT it still frustrated me. I just felt like Day deserved someone better. NOW, not to say that I didn’t ship them at all. I did. I really admire how they had to fight to be together and all that they went through really make their relationship difficult.

In Champion, I shipped them more than I had in the previous books. After all that they had been through, it just seemed cruel if they didn’t end up together. Some people don’t realize how much they care about someone or something until it’s out of reach. I think it took extreme measures for June to finally realize just how much Day meant to her.

THAT ENDING THOUGH. PURE EVIL. JUST…NO. That’s one of my least favorite endings ever. Unfortunately, also one that authors and tv writers seem to enjoy.

Overall Rating:

Final Thoughts:

I had a great time reading this series. I LOVED Day. He’s just the best. Even though June wasn’t my favorite, she was definitely a protagonist you could root for. I my case, I feel like this series was a little too hyped up. I really liked it, but I have been hearing fantastic things for years and I expected it to blow me away. When it didn’t it was just a bit of a disappointment. That being said, I still DID really like this series (especially the first book, Legend)

Day and June really were characters I could root for and cheer on. It is a world and story that I could get invested in and feel passionate about. So, I don’t think it was a matter of not living UP to my expectations, but just not being quite was I expected. WHICH IS NOT A BAD THING AT ALL. I like to be surprised.

Writing the reviews for these books and having to go back and think about each one really helped me to appreciate them more. Now that It’s been about a month since I read them, I think I appreciate (and like) them even more than when I first read them.

Even if it’s not one of my favorite series of all time, it’s still an amazing dystopian series and I loved it. It’s not to be missed if you’re a dystopian lover. I will definitely recommend the Legend series in the future because it’s fantastic.

Olivia

Did you read the legend series? What did you think? Let me know! Do you ship Day and June? Who was your favorite character?

Top Ten Tuesday: Fairytale Retellings I Want To Read

2015-08-04T01:57:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s topic is… Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read (or you could do fairytales I want to be retold or fairytales I love)

In case you didn’t already know, I LOVE fairytale retellings. There were so many variations that I could have done of this Top Ten.

But, I did my Top Ten fairytale retellings that I really want to read. Because, I basically want to read ALL of the retellings.

Which Retellings are on the top of my TBR?

1. Cress (Rapunzel)

The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

I’ve needed to read this one for a while. I hope to get around to it sometime this month. I’ve heard that Cress is the best book in the series yet, and I can’t wait to read it.

2. Cruel Beauty (Beauty and the Beast)

By Rosamund Hodge

I’ve really wanted to read one of her books for the longest time. They look wonderful and I think I’d really love them. Why haven't I read this yet? Hopefully soon!

3. A Court of Thorns and Roses (Beauty and the beast)

By Sarah J. Maas

I adore SJM and her books are always wonderful. I seriously cannot believe I haven’t read this yet. Beauty and the Beast retellings are always fun plus SJM’s writing and FAE and her amazing (fictional) men. Yes, please.

4. Entwined (The Twelve Dancing Princesses)

By Heather Dixon

I’ve had this book for the longest time. Still haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I will eventually (hopefully soon) read this one. I’ve read other 12 Dancing Princess retellings in the past, and really enjoyed them.

5. A Long Long Sleep (Sleeping Beauty)

By Anna Sheehan

What drew me to this one is the fact that it’s a sci-fi fairytale retelling. I LOVE when Sci-Fi is mixed with fairytale retellings because it usually brings such amazing outcomes. It’s just a great mix.

6. A Kiss In Time (Sleeping Beauty)

By Alex Flinn

I‘ve had my eye on this one for a while. It just looks super cute and funny and lighthearted.

7. Sisters Grimm Series

By Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson

This is actually a children’s book series that I’ve heard nothing but great things about. It sort of seems like Percy Jackson-ish, but with fairytales. Two sisters find out that they are the descendants of the brothers Grimm and it gets them involved in all kinds of adventures and mysteries. It mixes fairytales and mystery and I can’t wait to read it! I’ll probably be getting around to this one really soon.

8. Princess of Glass (Cinderella)

By Jessica Day George

I’ve read some of her previous fairytale retellings (including the first book in this series) and really enjoyed them. Hopefully, one day, I’ll get around to continuing on with this series.

(and because I just have to)

1. Winter (Snow White)

By Marissa Meyer

I am so excited for Winter. I LOVE the Lunar Chronicles and I can’t wait to get my hands on Winter! (and I haven’t even read Cress yet) Let’s be serious. Who ISN’T excited for Winter??

10. The Shadow Queen (Snow White)

By C.J. Redwine

I haven’t read anything by C.J Redwine yet, (which is regrettable) Hopefully that will change once The Shadow Queen comes out. Because it looks AMAZING.

There you have it! And I didn’t even get into all of the other categories of retellings. Really, the list could go on and on.

I can’t wait to see everyone else’s lists (more retellings for my TBR!!) Also, if you’ve read any of these, let me know what you thought. Thanks for stopping by!

Olivia

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Characters

2015-07-28T11:23:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s topic is… Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds

I always love it when authors have bookish characters. For me, that just makes the character so much more relatable. Some of my favorite characters of all time are definitely bookish and they totally kick butt.

Which bookish characters do I love?

1. Celaena Sardothien

From the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

You guys knew this was coming. I LOVE Celaena and not only is she one of the most kick-ass female protagonists, but she’s also a fellow bookworm. She’s strong and smart and her love of books is something that we definitely have in common

Goodreads

2. Dorian Havilliard

From the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

One of the things that I love about Dorian is that (like Celeana) he too is a book lover. That’s one of the first things that really brings them together and I really do like Dorian’s personality. He’s just so adorable.

Goodreads

3. Katy Swartz

From the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I LOVE Katy. Not only is she a massive book lover, but she’s a book blogger too. She wears a “my blog is better that your vlog” t-shirt and reviews ARC’s. How amazing is that? She’s definitely a bookworm, even if things throughout the series tend to distract her.

Goodreads

4. Liesel Meminger

From The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Liesel is definitely a hardcore book lover. Not just books, but words and stories and writing. She is such a great character gosh I love her. She has to work so hard to be able to read and write these stories whereas it isn’t that difficult us. She’s really just an amazing girl and this book is pretty much about Liesel’s love of books and words.

Goodreads

5. Cath

From Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath. Of course Cath had to be here. I mean, the book is called Fangirl. Cath is a fellow bookworm and pretty relatable. She is most definitely a hardcore fangirl. She even writes fanfiction. Cath loves reading and writing and fangilrling, so she definitely is on the same level as most of us.

Goodreads

6. Liz Sutton

From the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

I LOVE Liz <3 She’s the character on this list that I’ve known the longest and she’s just adorable. She’s small and quiet and so totally sweet. She’s a genius (literally) and loves learning and studying and reading. But don’t be fooled – Liz is just as deadly as the other Gallagher Girls.

Goodreads

7. Delilah

From Between the Lines and Off The Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Delilah becomes particularly obsessed with a certain book and falls in love with one of the characters. (which is something almost every bookish person can totally relate to) But, for Deliah, she actually gets to have her fictional crush come to life. Delilah is just really such a sweet character and what happens to her is something most of us probably dream about.

Goodreads

8. Annabeth Chase

From the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Rioran

Annabeth is…Annabeth is just amazing. She loves reading and learning, but along with that she’s so totally kick butt. She can always outsmart everyone in any situation. Without Annabeth, everyone in this series would have died long ago. She just goes to show that you can be smart and bookish but yet so completely brave and strong and kick butt.

Goodreads

9. Sam (And all of poet’s Corner)

From Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

I couldn’t not put Every Last Word in here. It’s such an amazing book about expressing yourself and how your words matter. Sam stumbles upon this wonderful group called Poet’s Corner. I loved each and every person in Poet’s Corner and their love for poetry and words was inspiring. I almost wanted to start writing poetry myself.

Goodreads

10. Hazel Grace Lancaster

From The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Hazel Grace isn’t one that occurred to me immediately, but she definitely is when you think about it. Hazel’s favorite book, An Imperial Affliction and it’s author Peter Van Houten play an important part in the story. I really would consider Hazel (and Augustus, too) book and word lovers.

Goodreads

This was such a great topic and I enjoyed getting to talk about some of my favorite bookish characters.

Who are yours? I can’t wait to see who you guys have on your lists.

Olivia

Mini Reviews: Confess, and Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

2015-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Confess by Colleen Hoover

Published: 2015

Genres: Contemporary

What did I think?

I loved Confess just as much as I expected I would. Judging from the other Colleen Hoover book I’d read, I had high expectations. And I was not disappointed. I really like Auburn and Owen. Both were complex characters who had issues that they had to work through.

I really liked seeing them get to know each other and grow closer. And help each other with their problems. Everything wasn’t that simple, though. Like I said, there were many complications and things that always stood in the way of their relationship.

Another part of what made this book so real were the confessions. Knowing that these were actual confessions from readers, made this book feel so real and yet also heartbreaking. Because you know that Colleen Hoover didn’t just make this stuff up. I also really loved how some of the paintings were IN the book. This also really added to the experience of reading Confess.

Overall, I really loved these characters, and I wanted them to be together even when things got complicated or difficult. Owen is such a sweet guy and I loved him, and Auburn is someone that you really want to root for. Both have complicated or tragic pasts, and you want everything to work out for them. This book was done in typical Colleen Hoover fashion, and I loved it.

Rating:

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Published: 2010

Genres: Contemporary

Thoughts:

I had wanted to read Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour for years now. And I absolutely loved it. I’m just upset that I waited this long.

I absolutely adore road trip books and Morgan Matson. So, it’s no surprise that I loved this one. Amy and Roger are both such amazing characters and both characters develop quite a bit over the course of the story.

The main thing that I loved so much about this book is their “detour”. It starts out with a clear purpose, but really it is just a way for them to rebel, and to have a fun time. They take turns picking places to go that they’ve always wanted to see and they go there. It was amazing to read and see them in these new places or old places that they love.

The pictures and things that they took and the playlists that they listened to being in the book was really great. I just love it when authors do stuff like that. It helps you to feel a little more like you’re actually on the trip with them.

I feel like road trip books provide the characters with so much time to get to know each other. They are only together for a week, but it seems like so much longer. They get to know each other really well and I loved their friendship. I just love both of them (and I ship it SO MUCH).

This was really an amazing road trip/self discovery book and once again, perfection from Morgan Matson. Her books just make you feel something so special that can’t exactly be explained. If you’re looking for a great contemporary read, this is it.

Rating:

Let me know your thoughts on these books!

Olivia

The Find Me Book Tag

2015-07-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

I’m doing a tag today! Tags are so much fun, and I was nominated by Kara at Diary of A Teen Writer. Thanks so much!

I don’t take pictures, and I’m not good at photography. But, I thought I’d challenge myself so all of these pictures are ones I took.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

1. Find a book in the 10 categories listed below, take a photo or post the cover.

2. Tag the next victims

3. Link back to Christy at Novel Ink!

A book with…

A Sunset

Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson

I had trouble finding this one. There seem to be quite a few sunrises, but sunsets are a little harder. However, I am pretty sure this one is a sunset. This is one of my favorite book covers and it’s so gorgeous in person.

Water

Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

This was an interesting pick. The IS a pond on the cover. Although, the story surrounds a girl living in a post-apocalyptic world where there is NO WATER. So, why would I pick this book? While there may not be a lot of actual water, the world and story surrounds water.

A flower

Champion by Marie Lu

This is pretty self-explanatory. The cover has a huge flower on it. But besides that, it’s really pretty and different because it’s not an actual flower, but a painted flower. And I love the texture of the flower in person. I just love how this cover was done and this flower is so pretty.

A Heart

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I love the cute little hearts on this version. These new covers for this series are absolutely adorable. And quite honestly, I had trouble finding a book with a heart.

Gone In the title

Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards

I feel like everyone is going to use Since You’ve Been Gone for this one, so I’m quite proud that I found a different one. Because it’s kind of hard to find a book with gone in the title.

A Girl IN A white dress

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

I LOVE this cover. (and the book is beautiful as well) I’m glad I could use this book because it’s a really good fantasy/fairytale retelling that not a lot of people have heard of.

A couple kissing

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

This one took a me a while to see at first. But behind the title, there is a picture of two people kissing. And I like it because it’s not plastered on the front of the book. You don’t see it right away (at least I didn’t)

Headphones

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Corriel

I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to find this one. But then I remembered this book and it fits perfect. I love the cover of this book and in person, it’s all shiny and shimmery.

A moon

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This actually looks like it has more than one moon on it. Do I get bonus points for that?

A weapon

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

There were WAY too many options for this one. BUT this one is great especially because the spine is a weapon also. How cool is that?

I really enjoyed doing this tag and it challenged me to do something I don’t do normally. (which is take pictures) Thanks so much for tagging me, Kara.

All of the book I showed here (except for Patrick Ness)are books I’ve read and loved and you should definitely check them out. I loved being able to give shout outs to some lesser known books.

I Tag:

Alejandra @ Alejandra’s Musings

Chioma @ Blue Books and Butterflies

Caroline @ Stardust and Words

Anjie @ Love They Shelf

Nicola from Nicola Reads YA

Tiffany from The Bookish Thought

Olivia

Feature and Follow #3

2015-07-16T23:39:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm participating in Feature and Follow, hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Basically it's a fun weekly blog hop where you get to interact with fellow book bloggers, thus gaining friends and followers. The directions are as follows: You follow the hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Make a post that answers that week's prompt, and link it up on either one of the hosts' blogs. Then, go follow and make friends with as many other participating book bloggers as you'd like. To see the complete directions, click here.

As far as following me, Bloglovin is preferred, but GFC is good too. J (and I always follow on Bloglovin)

This week's question is:

If you had the money what would your own personal library look like? What would be in it? What colors, decorations, etc would you put in it?

This is a fun one!

If I’m going to build a dream library, it’s going to be huge. I also love fairy lights on bookshelves so that would definitely be incorporated.

I’m going to have cozy chairs and couches. It will be the perfect reading environment. And not just books. There will be awesome fandom stuff everywhere and it will be pretty much every fangirl/booklovers dream.

And why not just go all out? There will be a snack bar and place where you can get coffee and tea. Pretty much a built in café. It will have a balcony sort of like a second level but with crosswalks and stuff, you know what I mean? It will all be open.

There will always be great music playing in the background and it will be an awesome place for bookish people to hang and read together. Because of course i'd want to be able to share it. What's the fun of having the ultimate bookish hangout spot if you can't hang out with other people?

AHHH I can just picture it now and I need this to happen. Can you picture this? Wouldn't it be awesome?

But now, here are some cool pics I found for some visuals. (because why not?)

I think this one is absolutely gorgeous. So, my library would have this design, but a whole room.
But this would be too fancy for what I described above. Unless I have two libraries. Hmmmm
OR maybe it'll just have different sections. OH like this one will be Classics.

I also really love this one, it’s really pretty and I love the loft aspect. This one looks really nice but still comfy. So, design wise, this is more what it would actually look like. I think it would fit pretty well with what I have in my head.

Parts of it would probably be rainbow. Because books organized by color look SO PRETTY.

Isn't this the most amazing thing EVER?? Technically, it said something silly like "abandoned library" and it does look a little beat up now that i see it. BUT it has this really awesome fantasy like feel to it so I want to definitely incorporate that. Especially the flowers and stuff. SO maybe i'll use some of the design aspects of this for my fantasy section.

This is getting a bit out of hand. I better stop. Anyway, this was super fun and I can’t wait to check out all of your guys’ dream libraries.

Olivia

Let's Talk: Do books get "lost" in your TBR?

2015-07-16T01:49:00.001-04:00

Today, I’m doing a discussion post because I love doing these and getting to hear what you guys think on topics and discuss. So much fun!

I feel like so often I am pumped to read a book, I buy it, and then weeks go by, then months, and somehow I still haven’t read it. How does this happen?

Also, I wanted to talk about that wonderful feeling of going to a bookstore and buying a book and going home and reading it right away.

Although, now with the size of most of our TBR piles, this doesn’t happen very often. And that’s sad. There’s something really special, I think, about buying a book and reading it right away. You’re so excited to read it, you go and buy it, and you’re able to sit down and read it right away. There’s no waiting, and you are able to dive in immediately.

I feel like so often I am insanely excited for a book, I buy it, and then it gets lost in the massive TBR pile. What happened? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book – now it’s been a year, and I still haven’t read it. Time just slips away from me and it’s insane.

Does this happen to you? It’s unfortunate. Because I look at those books waiting in the pile and think “I was so excited for this. Why haven’t I read it?” It’s not that I still don’t want to read them. They still appeal to me, and I still really want to get around to them. But, I didn’t read them at the peak of my excitement. It’s died down now. Everyone else was reading it months ago, but it got “lost” in the TBR.

I was away for the weekend at the beginning of the summer and only brought a couple of books with me. When I had finished all my books, I bought a couple more. Every Last Word, Daughter of Deep Silence, and The Wrath and The Dawn were those books. They were the three books I most wanted to read at the time. And I read them all right away.

And there was something really special about picking out a book and reading it as soon as I got back to where I was staying. I didn’t have the struggle of looking at The Wrath and The Dawn sit on my shelf for the next 3 months while I constantly thought about how I really should read it now because I’d heard amazing things.

There was something kind of refreshing of having that little stack of books and just concentrating on those.

That being said, my TBR will never get that low and even with all of its’ problems, I like having a wide range of books to choose from. It’s just nice sometimes as a change and it was really refreshing. So, it got me thinking.

From now on, I think what I’m going to TRY to do is to read whatever books I do purchase right away. Or at least most of them. If I buy a couple of books, instead of shelving them, I want to try to read them next. Yesterday, I bought Alive by Scott Sigler and I’m going to take it with me when I go away this weekend. Because I’m super excited to read it right now. Why should I wait? There’s something so freeing about just saying “I’m going to read this book RIGHT NOW because I’m super excited about it and I CAN.” *

*unless, of course, you have review copies to get to first or pesky library books that must be read and returned.

I’d really love your thoughts on this. Do books get “lost” in your TBR? Do you have feelings similar to these? Do you agree? What’s your take? Any tips?

Olivia

Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

2015-07-14T10:25:00.002-04:00

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Published: 2014

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Mythology

Format: Hardcover

What is Rebel Belle about?

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

My Thoughts:

Let’s talk about the main character, Harper. She takes a bit to warm up to. She really is southern belle and she’d be the last person you would guess to end up being part of this ancient society of warriors. She really is so spunky and full of personality, though, which is one of the things I liked about her. Never a dull moment. (The whole time, I was picturing her as Lemon Breeland from Hart of Dixie. Anyone agree?)

Her sass and spunk really help her out in this situation. I have so much respect and admiration for Harper, though. She has this terrifying thing thrown upon her. She knows nothing about it. She never asked for it to happen. It will change her life forever. And really, it’s not fair to her. But she takes this all in stride and doesn’t completely freak out. She keeps cool. She thinks “wow. I can pretty much kick anyone’s butt now. That’s pretty cool.” Instead of “EWWW I hate fighting this is disgusting!”

Along with this power comes an obligation that she has now for the rest of her life. And that’s not an easy thing. Especially when you have a future of your own that doesn’t include just following some guy around to protect him.

I really loved the story and the mythology aspect of this book. I can’t say much without spoiling, but I thought it was really cool and it was something I’d never heard of before. It was SO DIFFERENT from all of the other Fantasy books I’ve read, and I really loved that.

Harper and David. Their relationship was really interesting. I thought it was funny how they were pretty much enemies and then she ends up having to protect him. I really enjoyed their banter and I think they really work well together. I ship it!

Harper’s boyfriend Ryan, however, Is a different story. I didn’t really like him from the beginning. He just didn’t have much personality and I didn’t like him. I thought Harper could do better. And especially as the book goes on and Harper begins to grow and change, she’s not that girl who is always thinking about clothes or makeup or how something is going to look on her college application. Her personality really changes, and I think Ryan just didn’t fit with that. However, with the development at the end of the book, things should definitely get interesting.

Rating:

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed Rebel Belle. I loved the spunky, sassy, southern bell MC, Harper. It was great getting to see her grow and change, and her character development was great. I liked the fantasy, the mythology, the fighting, and the action. There were many twists and turns and shocking things that happen throughout this book, and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. If this sounds like something you might like, I highly recommend it.

Olivia

Have you read Rebel Belle? Are there any other books similar to this that I should check out? Do you like reading books set in the south?