Musing Monday Feb 29

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme now hosted at Jenn's new blog Books And A Beat that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What was the last book you didn’t finish? Why?


I'm currently reading an ebook from NetGalley called Lions in the Garden. This book releases tomorrow and it is amazing so far. I am about halfway through and yes, it is on my March TBR when I get that out. 

The last book I didn't finish was Prophecy by Ellen Oh. I don't know what was wrong with me but I just didn't find it that interesting and I'm sad that that happened but I guess one can't love every book they try. 

That's it for today's Musing Monday and happy Leap Day! <3

Music Monday #7

I got this idea from the blog Trust in the Words. 

Chewing Gum by Nina Nesbitt

So, I technically had two songs for this week's music monday but I narrowed it down to this one as it is one of my new favorites. This song is amazing. Maybe the 'message' not so much but the tune is catchy and I am in love. Be sure to listen to this one. 

Happy reading everybody! <3

February 27, 2016-Soundtrack Saturday- The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

Hello! I am joining a new meme called Soundtrack Saturday. I am doing it on The Heart of Betrayal which I just finished. 

Soundtrack Saturday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin at The Hardcover Lover It features bookish playlists. Basically you post a playlist based on a book you just read. 

1. Strength of an Empire by Two Steps from Hell

This song describes Venda and how they think they have so much strength and can take over. 

2. Revolution by Diplo

This shows how their land is basically making its way to a revolution and they will see who makes it out alive. 

3. Undying Love by Two Steps from Hell

This song is beautiful and can describe the love in between Rafe and Lia. 

4. I See Fire by Ed Sheeran 

This is a good one for this book as it shows what is happening to their land. And I love this song especially when it is sung a little bit faster.

5. Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Ray

This could describe the relationship between Kaden and Lia because it sometimes seems like he doesn't truly love her for all of her qualities. 

6. Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde

Again, this describes the plot of this book. 


7. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. 

This could describe the relationship between Lia and Rafe. Their love is pretty strong even if I don't completely ship it. 

8. My Immortal by Evanescence

This song fits better for the first book but I wanted to put this on this list. And the author picked it.  

That's it for today's blogpost! See you all soon! <3  Oh and check out @sprinklesandseams.blogspot.com who did a post for the book she read.

February 2016 Library Book Haul!

I know that I literally just did a book haul but I felt that I should tell all the books I happened to get today at my local libraries.

The first book I borrowed was To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. This is a contemporary novel about a girl who writes love letters to every boy she's liked in her past and someone finds the letters and sends them to all the boys. That's all I really know but so many people have enjoyed this book and it has like a 4.5 rating on Goodreads or something so that's all the push I need. 

The second book I borrowed was The Siren by Kiera Cass. This was one of my most anticipated books of this year so I naturally have to read it. This is basically about a girl who is a Siren and she falls in love with a human. 

The third book I borrowed was Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I have heard great things about this book so I decided to check it out and see for myself. 

The fourth book I borrowed was Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I have heard mixed things about this book but since there is a 4.15 rating on Goodreads, I decided to try it out. 

The fifth book I borrowed was The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa. I love this series but I need to read the second one first. 

The sixth book I borrowed was Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman. This book has been recommended to me from friends and been recommended on booktube so I need to read it. And it sounds like such a good Historical Fiction book. 

The seventh book I borrowed was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This book has so much hype surrounding it and I need to read it. 

The eighth book I checked out was White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Arementrout. I don't know anything about this book other than people liked it so I decided to give this a try. 

The ninth book I checked out was The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker. This is about a witch hunter until she is accused of being a witch herself and is saved from being burned by a wizard. I can not wait to try this book. 

The tenth book I checked out was Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke. I read the first book and didn't rate it very high but I needed to know what happens next. 

That's all for this book haul and I will see you soon.

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson: It will leave you breathless!

I just finished this amazing book and I needed to get a review up as soon as possible. This is a spoiler free review but there will be spoilers from the first book.

The Heart of Betrayal

Written by Mary E. Pearson

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/High Fantasy

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Release Date: July 7, 2015

Pages: 470

Source: Library

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save Lia's life, her erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: There's Rafe, who lied to Lia but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be savages. Now that she lives among them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.

Review:

Let’s just say for this entire book I felt like I was in Episode 9 (Season 2) of Agent Carter.

I loved this book so much. It was everything I was expecting and much much more. This happens to be the second book in The Remnant Chronicle series and it is literally just as good as the first book or perhaps even better.

In this book we get to see a lot more of the world that Lia lives in. In the last book she was taken to Venda and now we get to see this mysterious enemy kingdom. I love how we get a lot of information in an interesting and fun way. Yes, there were times when I was like WAIT WHAT? Information overload.  But we needed those moments.

LIA

Lia is one of the best female protagonists. I admit I did not think that she was that strong and could easily do things on her own when I read the first book but now she totally stands up for herself and shows she doesn’t need a man. Lia is intelligent, cunning and manipulative which gives her a certain advantage in Venda. Enough to even weasel her way into the leader and people’s brains once and awhile. She is also kind and compassionate and really cares for others. But watch out cause she can be totally lethal with a sword.

RAFE

I adore Rafe. I do feel really sorry for him in this book sometimes. He has to go through a lot and he still attempts to stay strong for Lia no matter what the Vendan people do to him. He is a lot different in this book as he has to suppress his true identity. He does the unthinkable to save the one he truly loves and I am so excited to see him as himself.

KADEN

I love Kaden even more in this book. I enjoyed seeing him in his true habitat (Venda). He’s bruised, scarred and blinded by vengeance for those who have done him wrong in the past. We get a lot of his past in this book and let's just say a lot of it shocked me a ton. Lia was basically the turning point for him. His love is evident to everyone, including her. Lia is his downfall and his savior.

We also meet some new characters but I will not go into them as you all probably have not read it and I do not want to give anything away.

PLOT

The plot is beautifully done. We get to see a new part of the land which Mary E. Pearson describes so well. We also get to see how all our characters react to the new setting and how they act in that setting. The history of Venda both thrilled and horrified me and it was all so much to digest that I’m not sure I even got it all.  

ROMANCE

Well, this book went from a love triangle to somewhat of a love square. First we have Rafe who will do anything to save Lia as he so proved in the last book. Then we have Kaden and he has changed a ton. He has feelings for Lia and they are definitely real. And lastly we have the Komizar who doesn’t love Lia but he seems to desire her.

The romance that is shown in this book sometimes had me cringing in disgust or aweing.

Of course this ‘love triangle’ isn’t really resolved.  I am #TEAM_KADEN all the way but I am starting to like Rafe a lot more. But in some of Kaden’s visions he kind of proved who Lia will end up.

I feel like this is Lia:

Final Thoughts:

Everything about this book deserves five stars. It had me in tears, laughing and thinking about ripping the book to shreds.  I highly recommend this series.

Quotes from the Book:

“It was worth it, Lia,” He said. “Every mile, every day. I’d do it all again. I’d chase you across three continents if that’s what it took to be with you.”

“There are no rules in survival.”

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Eminence. I would not truly feed your face to the hogs. It might make them sick.”

“They’ll pay for this. All of it. I promise. One day they’ll pay.”

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

FEBRUARY 2016 BOOK HAUL!

You might be thinking, "Didn't you just do a book haul?" And yes, I did. But here's this month's Book Haul and thank goodness it isn't as big as the last one. Yes, I can pace myself regarding how many books I buy, believe it or not.

Now, without further ado. Let's get on with this haul!

The first things I am hauling happen to not be books but are Funko POP dolls. I am OBSESSED with these. They are so adorable and I am seriously thinking about starting a collection. I bought the Rey and Sherlock POP dolls from ToysRUs and they are so cute. I also bought the Killian Jones (Hook) one from Walmart. These are so cute and if you want something representing one of your favorite fandoms then I suggest you pick one of these up.

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS.....

The books I hauled

The first book I bought was The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. This book is the second book in The Iron Fey series. I read the first book and it was fantastic so I decided to buy the second book. Now I have it on hand and will be reading it very soon. 

The second book I bought was Steel by Carrie Vaughn. This book is literally one of the best books I have ever read and I just needed to own it so I bought it. 

The third book I bought was The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I have heard a couple good things about this book and I am excited to read it. It seems like a good vampire book to start with and I have never read any vampire books but I would like to see what they are all about. 

The fourth book I bought was Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake. Basically all I have heard about this book is it includes hopping to different libraries, a hot guy and fantastic settings. I can not wait to read this book and it is so obviously going on my TBR list. 

The fifth book I bought was Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. AHHH! This is one of my most anticipated books of 2016 and I have it. Yes, it is sitting on my shelf just begging for me to read it and I plan to asap. 

That is all for this blogpost. I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you all real soon. 

Top 5 Wednesday: Worst Love Interests

Worst Love Interest

Top 5 Wednesday #T5W is a goodreads group that was created by Lainey @gingerreadslainey. This weeks topic is the worst love interests that are female or male.  This is a little hard as I don't usually think about how bad a character is as a love interest

5. Aspen from The Selection by Kiera Cass

Aspen is one of the most annoying love interests ever. Not only was he just not right for America but he doesn't deserve her. I feel like at the first second he got he would have dumped her and found someone better. 

4. Teresa from The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Teresa is an okay character on her own. It isn't that I hate her or anything. I just find her very annoying as a love interest. She betrays Thomas all the time and yet she's still kind of 'clingy'. 

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

I loved Rhysand as a character but as a love interest he is not good. He does some really bad things to Feyre but people still seem to ship her with him. He just doesn't work with her and I need to get it out there.  [I feel like he could be played by Ian Somerhalder]

2. Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. 

Queen Levana is an awesome character/villain but she really doesn't work as a love interest. Anyone who has read Fairest knows that. She doesn't have the qualities to love and to care and it's surprising that she ever cared for anyone.

1. Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 

UGH! Do I even have to explain myself? He is a great best friend but that's all he's meant to be. Peeta is the perfect guy for Katniss and my opinion is going to stay that way. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Malia Hale (Tate) from Teen Wolf

I have nothing against Malia but I do have something against her relationship with Stiles. Their relationship happened way too fast for my liking and they just don't seem like a good pair. One mishap can rock their entire relationship.  And Stiles belongs with Lydia. 

Waiting on Wednesday February 24, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that everyone’s excited about.

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.

Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor releases on March 1, 2016 from HMH Books for Young Readers

I can not wait for this book. There's time travel, Scotland and it is supposedly like Outlander which I have not read yet. 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday Feb 23

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic...

Top Ten Books We Enjoyed Recently that Weren't Our Typical Genre or that Were Out of Our Comfort Zone

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

I do not usually read paranormal books and this is basically one of the first YA paranormal books that I have ever read but I actually enjoyed this book (even though I did not rate it 5 Crowns).

2.  The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 

This is not really out of my comfort zone but I don't normally read books that are this popular (such as The Vampire Diaries etc) but I enjoyed this and rated it 5 Crowns. 

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin 

I don't normally read classics on my own time but I read this one and it was pretty good. 

4.  The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

This book was another kind of paranormal book and I loved it!

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

This was a really long book (it seemed) and took me a while to complete but this was pretty good compared to some long books. 

6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I recently re-read this and I found it so much better and more memorable as I remembered it more. 

I do not have ten books for this list :( [All pictures belong to their respective owners]

See you all soon!

Teaser Tuesday (Feb 23)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I came for you, Lia, no matter who or what you are, and I don't care what mistakes I made or what mistakes you made. I'd make every single one again, if that was the only way to be with you." (28)

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson (2nd book in The Remnant Chronicles)

Music Monday #6

I got this idea from the blog Trust in the Words. 

Cake by the Ocean by DNCE

I have heard this song a few times on the radio but I never actually listened to it if you know what I mean. Now this song is kinda a new obsession of mine. It's really catchy and if you don't think it is, well you may have problems. (Sorry!)  

Happy reading everybody! <3

Musing Mondays February 22, 2016!

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by A Daily Rhythm, that asks you to answer one of the following questions and one special question, which changes every week.

The Questions:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

Yesterday I finally posted a Book Haul from December and January and I posted a book review as I haven't in forever so those are up and you can go check them out. I plan to write a lot more on here. I've just been so busy with school!

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: How do you choose which books you read?

It tends to differ. Sometimes I just choose a book that I have been wanting to read for a couple months and then sometimes there is a book that is due back to the library within a week and I have to read that super quickly. I do make a TBR for each month out of all the books I want to read in the next five months or so and I pick from that. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: A swoon-worthy retelling of a classic fairytale!

I haven’t done a review in like forever so here is one on a book I read back in December 2015! This is a spoiler free review!

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Written by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Young Adult/New Adult/Fairy Tale Retelling/Fantasy/Paranormal

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s

Release Date: May 5, 2015

Pages: 416

Source: Library

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 15 and up! [Just recommended]

Summary:

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Timesbestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beastwith faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Review:

This is a beautiful re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast. Some of the elements from Beauty and the Beast are obvious and some are not.

First of all, the cover is beautiful and is fits the book.

The world-building is fantabulous and thoroughly detailed. She gives us a lot of background though not in a boring, droning on sort of way. Instead our main character: Feyre learns with us.

Then there are the characters.

Feyre was well-developed and was a wonderful heroine. She didn’t depend on a man to help her get through her troubles. At the beginning, she was the sole supporter of her family.

Tamlin is the Beast character in this book and he is totally a Beast. ;) But he’s also really sweet and you care about him. He has so much weight on his shoulders and still manages to stand tall.

Then there are the secondary characters like Rhysand, Lucien and Alis.  

Rhysand is exactly the type of person that you are meant to hate but it is so hard to hate him and in fact I really don’t hate him at all. And if Tamlin and Feyre weren’t so good together then I would ship Feyre and Rhysand.

The romance was beautiful and intensely steamy which just made it so much better. And it wasn’t insta-lovey. I SHIP THEM SO HARD! They are so adorable and they have such good chemistry. I blushed a lot while reading this book.

The villain though. She has so much mystery surrounding her and you will hate her so much. And in this case it is kind of a good thing.

The action is on-point and I love how it was Feyre herself who was in the danger most of the time and she was saving her prince rather than the other way around.

Final Thoughts:

Everything about this book deserves five stars. It was beautiful, sad and swoon-worthy. I recommend this to all fantasy, fairytale lovers and romance lovers. I will totally be buying this book.

Quotes from the Book:

“Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy.”

“I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.”

“I love you," I said, and stabbed him.”

“It’s a rare day indeed when someone thanks you for bringing them to their death.”

“Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken away from me”

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns