Music Monday #14

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

Team  by Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea came out with a brilliant song. I love this song a lot. It is very catchy and I really like how she sings in this one. I highly recommend giving it a listen. 

Crave by Tove Lo

I saw this in a video featuring Theo and Malia. Don't ask how I got there but I did and now I adore this song. The chorus is stuck in my head all the time now. Please listen to it and see for yourself. 

Blood Like Gasoline by Against the Current

OMG! This song is my jam!  I love their new album. All the songs on it are brilliant and I am seriously thinking of giving this album a buy. This song has such a good beat and is very catchy. 

What's in your headphones?

Happy reading everybody! <3

Weekly Update: 5/16-5/22

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do. 

I have just been a mess the past couple of weeks. I'm so stressed because school is over in the middle of June and I have tests, and stuff to do. I haven't blogged much and have missed out on weekly memes which I am sorry about. I have also not been reviewing books as much as I wanted to but once summer comes, I will be much better. [Except when I'm in Cali :( ]

I have also been a horrible reader because I don't have time and am just not motivated enough. I only read one book this week which is sad but I am going to make up for that next week. [I hope!]

I do plan on writing a review of The Huntsman: Winter's War and Captain America Civil War, they just won't be up for a week. And I plan on seeing The Fifth Wave and Alice Through the Looking Glass next weekend!

New Books

Purchased:

Library:

In Case You Missed It

Monday's Review of The Winner's Curse
Friday's Review of Landry Park 

This Week I Read

  

Next Week I'm Reading

Upcoming Reviews

 

Landry Park by Bethany Hagan Book Review [Landry Park #1]

This is a spoiler free review!

Landry Park

Written by Bethany Hagan

Genre: Young Adult/Dystopia/Romance

Publisher: Speak

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Pages: 400

Source: Bought

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

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

“Downton Abbey” meets The Selection in this dystopian tale of love and betrayal

Sixteen-year-old Madeline Landry is practically Gentry royalty. Her ancestor developed the nuclear energy that has replaced electricity, and her parents exemplify the glamour of the upper class. As for Madeline, she would much rather read a book than attend yet another debutante ball. But when she learns about the devastating impact the Gentry lifestyle—her lifestyle—is having on those less fortunate, her whole world is turned upside down.  As Madeline begins to question everything she has been told, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana, who seems to be hiding secrets of his own. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty—her family and the estate she loves dearly—and desire.

Review:

My sister recommended this book to me and I had very high expectations for this book as I usually trust my sister’s opinions on books. I am very happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed. This had the right amount of everything and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I would say that this is a mix of Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, The Selection and The Hunger Games. And I highly recommend it.

COVER

When I saw this book in the bookstore about two years ago, I couldn’t resist picking it up and ultimately buying it. Now, I have finally decided to read it. [I know, I am a terrible person and a terrible reader] I really like how they don’t show us the model’s face as that would skew our thoughts about the main character. Overall the cover is beautiful and so is the spine which looks gorgeous on my bookshelf.

WORLD-BUILDING

The world that the author managed to create was really interesting. It is set in the United States but years in the future. There are the gentry and the rootless. The gentry are the wealthy and the rootless are the poor and sick. The gentry are always waiting for something bad to happen in order to blame the rootless for it, thus starting a sort of war. I really like the world which was interesting and exciting like most dystopian worlds.

Then there are the characters.

MADELINE

We first meet Madeline when she wakes up after a long night of reading. I love Madeline so so much. She has quickly become one of my favorite characters. She’s intelligent, beautiful and strong. She knows what she wants and doesn’t stop until she gets it. She also loves King Arthur and Camelot which was a plus. Her relationships with other characters have a lot of depth. We get to know more about her interaction with other characters and why rather than just telling us, “Ah yes. He is my friend.”

DANIEL

I was very suspicious of David in the beginning, given that our female protagonist meets him in the dark where he is lurking. Yes, I just said lurking. He escaped from a party and seemed really sketchy. But I grew to like him and he eventually seemed like a really sweet guy who really cared about people.

JUDE

I am still very suspicious of this character. He basically swoops in and tries to get Madeline to like him which did not sit that well with me. I am so obviously a David and Madeline shipper. But I feel like Jude would work with a different character. He does seem like he has good intentions but I’m still a little unsure.

CARA

She seemed like she didn’t care about anyone. She was like a typical mean girl placed into a dystopian novel. But as the novel progressed, I noticed how different she was. She didn’t have evil intentions. She was having her own problems and that just changed her a lot. I actually really liked her by the end.

ROMANCE

The romance did not seem insta-lovey at all. Insta-love bothers me a lot as I have said before. The romance in this book was sweet and sort of slow-burning. Like at some point we knew they had feelings for each other but they never really did anything about until way later. The searing looks absolutely killed me. I love them so much! <3

WRITING

The writing was very smooth and easy to read. It is also in first person which I really enjoyed.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. The plot was wonderful, the characters were three dimensional and the writing was beautiful.  I am totally up for a re-read!

Quotes from the Book:

“I wanted to bathe myself in that burn, to let the radiation take my skin and flesh and bones until I was nothing but charged particles dancing in space.”

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Weekly Update: 5/9-5/15

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do. 

This week,  I finally saw Captain America Civil War which was amazing but the ending was really weird. I expected something better for that kick ass movie. Come on Marvel...  Review will be up this weekend!

I also ordered three books from Book Depository last week but none of them have come yet. Do any of you know how long it takes for books to arrive? I ordered Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas and The Crown by Kiera Cass and I want all of them right now!

New Books

Purchased:

Library:

 

In Case You Missed It

I was a horrible blogger this week and didn't post at all! 

This Week I Read

  

Next Week I'm Reading

Upcoming Reviews

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski Review [The Winner's Curse #1]

This is a spoiler free review! Was supposed to go up yesterday but it apparently didn't post...

The Winner’s Curse

Written by Marie Rutkoski

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/High Fantasy/Dystopian

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Pages: 355

Source: Library

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

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Review:

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this book because many people have said that there was a lot of politics and I am not that good with politics. But I ended up being blown away by this fantastic book. It did take me a week or so to read it but it was so worth it. I have never read a book by this author so I didn’t know anything about her writing or style or any of that jazz.

Let’s start with the cover!

The cover is gorgeous and needs an award. No, I am not kidding. Part of the reason I picked this book up was because the cover was gorgeous. At first I thought it was a fairytale retelling because the cover looks so much like one but it isn’t.

WORLD-BUILDING

This is a fantasy novel with no magic, mythical creatures or Game of Thrones things. That being said, the world building aspect of this book was done really well. The author introduced us to the way the characters lived and which sort of ‘castes’ each person belonged to. A lot of the world-building had to do with politics however because the main character was the daughter of a general.

Then there are the characters.

KESTREL:

We first meet Kestrel when she is visiting the marketplace where shortly after she buys a slave for an outrageous price. She’s strong and independent which are characteristics I adore in a female character. She proves her usefulness countless times and even rejects a man more than once. Kestrel also isn’t the type of person to back down when she really wants something and she knows what she wants.  I really liked her and can’t wait to see what happens to her in the next few books.

ARIN

We first meet him being sold in the marketplace. My first impression of him wasn’t that great. I didn’t like his attitude. He was cold and not kind which led me to question what Kestrel could possibly see in him. Later on, though I realized how much he cared about others and how he’s so loyal to people. Ugh and the ending just slightly killed me.

There are a lot of other characters but I’m not going to talk about any of the others.

PLOT

The plot was really unique and I really enjoyed it. I don’t normally go into a book without knowing at least a little bit about it and I didn’t know too much for this one but I knew enough to know I wouldn’t DNF the book. Okay, who doesn’t love a good conspiracy? Am I right? Everything slowly came together though and it was beautiful! I am so ready for the next book which I will be reading in the next couple of weeks.

ROMANCE

There was no love triangle. That alone made me so so happy! You have no idea.

The romance wasn’t insta love which made me so happy. If you know anything about me is that I don’t like books where the romance is insta love. *shudders* Like, sometimes the two characters meet and then suddenly they are in love or something. That isn’t how life works.  

Arin and Kestrel did not like each other from the beginning and it was made very clear.  Then slowly, they began to tolerate each other and it finally developed into something a little more than friendship. I really don’t think it is love however as they both betray each other.

WRITING

I really like her writing. Except for the part when she changes POVs. That gets a tiny bit confusing. There were some times when I wasn’t sure whose point of view it was in at the time.  

Final Thoughts:

Some of you might be confused at this point as to why I rated it five crowns. The answer to that is that I loved it a lot but there are always minor things I have problems with. If I was really picky, I might have rated it a four but I think this book deserves a five. This is a fantasy without magic or magical lands. I highly recommend it!

Quotes from the Book:

“Isn't that what stories do, make real things fake, and fake things real?”

“Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.”

“The truth can deceive as well as a lie.”

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Weekly Recap: 5/1-5/7

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do. 

This week, Captain America Civil War came out but I sadly did not see it because I'm going with a friend next weekend. I will be trying so hard not to get spoilers, so we shall see how that turns out. 

More Exciting News: So many books that I have been anticipating came out this week. I ordered The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan and received it yesterday. I am putting off reading it until I finish the three books I have to read by next week. But then I am free to delve in.  I have to order some other books such as A Court of Mist and Fury which I am so excited about!

New Books

Purchased:

Library:

In Case You Missed It

Book review of Of Pens and Swords

This Week I Read

  

Next Week I'm Reading

 

Upcoming Reviews

Of Pens and Swords by Rena Rocford ARC Review!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is also spoiler free!

Of Pens and Swords

Written by Rena Rocford

Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Release Date: March 21, 2016

Pages: 174

Source: NetGalley

Places to Get this Book: Amazon

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Cyra Berque wants two things in life: a date with Rochan and a chance to fence at the Olympics. But people with one hand don’t normally fence, and girls with big thighs don’t get the boy. Knowing that she wants to make the Olympics, Cyra’s coach sets her up with another coach, one who could take her all the way to the top, but the new coach costs more. Feeling her dreams slipping out of reach, Cyra agrees to tutor a ballerina with a rich father and a D minus in English. It’s triple the pay and triple the pain. The ballerina isn’t interested in passing classes―she wants Rochan, and she’s promised she’ll turn her D minus into a full-fledged F if Cyra doesn’t help her win the heart of Rochan

Review:

When I first requested this book from NetGalley, I assumed it would be a typical Teen Fiction romance that would bore me to death. But what I got was a whole lot more than that.

COVER

I really like the cover. It is simple but beautiful and the font was amazing. I really enjoyed reading this book on the bus to and from school.

Characters:

CYRA

I loved Cyra. She’s the girl who is a kind of outcast just because she isn’t as pretty as everyone else and happens to only have one hand. But she excels at everything she puts her heart and mind to which made me happy. She is a really level-headed teenage girl which is rare in the realm of YA. They don’t always think before they do something and they are often not experiencing internal struggles. Cyra is very intelligent but also worries about her appearance which is something many girls can relate to. I also love how she is willing to help Christine even though, she wants the guy for herself.

ROCHAN

Meet Rochan. The typical teenage boy. Clueless about girls and their thoughts. I’m not kidding. He was totally clueless about how people felt about him and the fact that Cyra was practically in love with him but helping her friend get the guy.  

CHRISTINE

I loved her. I feel like at some times you were supposed to hate her but she was amazing. She was the typical ‘popular’ girl who supposedly had no brains. She was portrayed in such a good way, and she was super sweet. I was in tears at the end. And yes, I did read it on the school bus.

PLOT

The plot was typical for a YA contemporary but we also dealt with disabilities which was unique and clever. I really liked how it managed to surprise me with every page. I thought the main character would be obsessed with the boy which was typical in a YA book but instead she wasn’t and was willing to help her friend. There were twists and turns and an unexpected one near the end of the book which left me in tears.

WRITING

The writing was very smooth and easy to read which made me happy.

ROMANCE

I liked the romance between Rochan and Christine but I didn’t feel as if it was perfect. They did have problems communicating and it wasn’t perfect. But then the romance between Rochan and Cyra was also cute. It developed and then was a main focus at the very end which made me happy.

Final Thoughts:

This book didn’t quite make it to 5 Crowns with me because of some minor details. I am being a lot pickier with how I rate books now as I realized how many books I rate 4.5 Crowns and higher. I really enjoyed it though. It was a cute short book that I highly recommend. But bring tissues, you’re going to need them.

Quotes from the Book:

Coming Soon!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns