Queen of Books

Tuesday, 27 December 2016

Weekly Update: 12/19 - 12/25

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.

Christmas has come and gone and now I'm not sure what to be excited for. [Well, besides 2016 to be over].

I did finish up Blogmas this week which was fun. And Christmas and Christmas Eve were a success. I went to the 11 PM service, which was good and opened presents on Christmas. I hope that you all had good holidays.

New Books

Purchased:

Not going to put all my Christmas gifts that I got, I will do a separate haul.

Library:

Received for Review:

Top 10 of 2016: Best Book Covers of 2016!

So, I am participating in at least a little bit of Top 10 of 2016. This is hosted by @Fiktshun

This is a week-long event but I may not participate in all of them. Yesterday was the Top 10 Best Books of 2016. And today's is Best Book Covers of 2016. These are all 2016 releases and they will mostly be for books that I actually completed. Let's get into it.

#1: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

This cover is so pretty. I love the city in the distance and how the whole bottom is just a sea of stars. It's gorgeous.

#2: The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

I love how the designer decided to make Russia into a crown, it is so pretty and it is on a clear lake. Sigh.

#3: The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

This cover is a lot different then the others in the trilogy. I am so happy that they decided to have Lia holding a sword and looking like the strong young woman, she is.

#4: The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

I love this, with the ruins in the background and her facing away from us. And she doesn't look so put together, in fact her clothes are ripped.

#5: Firstlife by Gina Showalter

I like how there is an hour glass showing that the two places are similar and the cities are each in one.

#6: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Music is my thing and I love how there is a violin with the city inside of it and the font is honestly so pretty.

#7: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen and Glass Sword honestly have the prettiest covers. I love the crown on this one with the blood dripping from it and the line at the bottom. :)

#8: Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey

I talked about this cover in my review. But I love the keys around the title and how she is running after a carriage which shows her personality.

#9: Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas

I like how she is running from thorns. It shows the book very well.

#10: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

I like how she is smirking and we don't see her full face so we are still wondering what she looks like. And I like how the city is blurred into her dress.

COVERS NOT RELEASED IN 2016

#11: Rook by Sharon Cameron

#12: The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

#13: Jackaby by William Ritter

#14: The Winner's Curse by Marie

Monday, 26 December 2016

Movie Review #7: Moana [Spoiler Free]

Finally, I am getting another movie review up. I am such a bad person in terms of promising reviews and then never giving them. Today, I am going to do a review of Moana I loved this movie a lot. This is gonna be structured differently. I am structuring it more like my Zootopia review.

Title: Moana
Director: John Musker and Ron Clements
Main Cast: Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson
Rating: PG
Runtime: 113 minutes
My Rating: 5 Crowns
Release Date: November 23, 2016

If you haven't heard of Moana, you must have been living under a rock for the past month. [Sorry] But really. Moana is the new Disney movie and it really earns the hype.

PLOT

Moana is based on stories about the Polynesian seafarers, which I thought was really cool and interesting. I had never heard of them before but I knew that this movie would be new and different and it was but I loved it.

I do not want to spoil this movie so I will just give some basics. Maui is a demigod, who stole the heart of the goddess Te Fiti but then he loses the heart as well as his freedom and his magical fishook while many other gods and monsters want the heart for themselves.

The ocean manages to keep the heart safe for years until the time is right to find the chosen hero to find Maui and return the heart to the goddess. The ocean chooses Moana who is a young girl, living on an island. Oh and she's meant to be the chief of her island. When the ocean chooses Moana, it sets her off on a journey beyond the horizon, to a place that she's never been. She's basically clueless about sailing and anything beyond the island that she's lived on her entire life. She is trying to save her island and her people from the destruction that is coming. She goes off with a cranky demigod and a crazy chicken and she has to battle pirates, monsters and her own self-doubt during her quest.

ACTORS/CHARACTERS

I really enjoyed all the characters which was good and they are all way more complex than they might seem at the beginning.

Moana is the hero in this story. She is very complex, kind, feisty and brave. Moana has been drawn to the ocean her entire life but her father forbids her from going beyond the reef, as it is too unknown and dangerous. She really wants to make her father proud and be a good leader for her people but the when the ocean chooses her for the mission, she discovers that the ocean is in her blood. She has a sense of duty and love for her family which correctly guides her. Her journey is such an inspiration and her struggles are so humanlike. She seems like such a real character and I adored her voice actress, Auli'i Cravalho.

Maui is the second main character and he seems like he is really annoying and two-dimensional when you first meet him. But it turns out that he has a lot more layers and his journey is done really well. Watching his character unfold and his journey move forward is a lot of fun and pretty hilarious. His character is brought to life with such charm and happiness that even when you don't want to like Maui, you can't hate him.

Oh and I can't forget the two animal characters. The pig and the chicken were honestly so cute and funny. I loved them a lot.

FRIENDSHIP

The friendship is so amazing. Moana and Maui do not start out as friends. She is sent to get him to go put back the stone and they both don't want to work together. But then their relationship develops into a friendship and they work together so well.

ANIMATION + MUSIC

The animation is beautiful. Everything looks realistic and it is so bright and colorful and I loved it so much.

The ocean is done so realistically, the waves and the way it moves against the shore. The ocean is also a character which is really well-done.

The music was also really good. Lin-Manuel Miranda who did In the Heights and Hamilton worked with Mark Machina [Lilo and Stitch] to do the music. The songs were really catchy, the background soundtrack is gorgeous and the vocals were amazing.

I am so proud of Disney making new movies that have messages and have strong females.

I highly enjoyed this movie and I really recommend it.

Top 10 of 2016: Best Books of 2016!

So, I am participating in at least a little bit of Top 10 of 2016. This is hosted by @Fiktshun

This is a week-long event but I may not participate in all of them. Today's is the Top 10 Best Books of 2016.

#1: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter is one of my favorite books because The Lunar Chronicles is such an amazing series and ugh, the characters are just so lovable and I just adore this series so much. [Time for a re-read next year]

[Not released in 2016]

#2: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

I loved this book and heard so many good things about this book when I picked it up. It is full of fantasy, great characters, magic, and fighting. It is compared to a Young Adult Game of Thrones and I'm pretty sure that they got that right.

[Not released in 2016]

#3: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I am not normally into Paranormal Romance type books but seriously, this book. I am obsessed with this book and this book series. Katy is honestly so similar to me and then there's Daemon who is just like Damon Salvatore. Like the resemblance is almost uncanny.

[Not released in 2016]

#4: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan's books always make it onto my favorites lists every year. And this year, he came out with two books. Of course I haven't read the second Magnus Chase book yet. But, I did read the first one and yes, it is somewhere on this list.

[Released on May 3, 2016]

#5: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I loved this book. It was so well written and heartbreaking. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this one and the movie adaptation.

[Not released in 2016]

#6: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

At the beginning of this year, I wasn't even really looking forward to this book but now it is on this list. This was a retelling of Hades and Persephone and it was so good. I am surprised that I haven't bought this book yet, to be honest.

[Released on April 26, 2016]

#7: Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Peter Pan retellings are my thing and obviously, I developed a soft spot for this book. It is compared to Once Upon a Time which is so true. Like an evil Pan and good Hook. [Oh and I got this for Christmas yesterday.]

[Released on February 2, 2016]

#8: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I did not want to read this one because I thought I would be confused since I hadn't read the first series but I loved this. Kaz Brekker guys. That's all I'm going to say. Oh, and go read this book.

[Not released in 2016]

#9: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

This is a series that I had to force myself to start. The hype is so strong with this book that I was honestly really worried but it lived up to it. Plus, a new favorite character was found in Chaol Westfall.

[Not released in 2016]

#10: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This is one of the only New Adult books that I read this year and it is by far one of the best books. It has such an interesting concept. And all the hotties. Plus Feyre is such a badass.

[Not released in 2016]

HONORABLE MENTIONS

#11: Rook by Sharon Cameron

This had such an interesting concept and it was a standalone. I read it at the beginning of this year and I badly want to revist it.

[Not released in 2016]

#12: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I love this book and I love Juliette. I am however, not a big fan of the relationship in this book but otherwise it is amazing.

That is it for this blogpost. I'll see you all soon. [Probably with a movie review cause Rogue One and Moana and Fantastic Beasts]

Sunday, 25 December 2016

#Blogmas Days 23 + 24: 2016 Movies

Hey guys.

I was trying to figure out what to do for a quick, easy post and I came up with sharing the movies that I saw in 2016 [only 2016 releases] + my ratings and then I will show you my favorite.

Let's get into it. [Plus, gonna be listening to Christmas music for the next month]

MOVIES

1. The 5th Wave ~ 4 Crowns

This released on January 22, 2016. I saw this when it came out on DVD cause I didn't have time in January. It was pretty good, though a lot was left out from the book. I did a full comparison.

2. Sherlock The Abominable Bride ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on January 1, 2016. I am a big Sherlock fan so I really enjoyed this one.

3. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on February 4, 2016. I loved this film. I did not expect it to be as good as it was but it really exceeded my expectations and I did a full non-spoiler review.

4. Zootopia ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on March 4, 2016. I saw this over the summer and it was so cute and I loved it so much. It was a new favorite Disney movie of mine, obviously. And it dealt with important themes. id did a full non-spoiler review.

5. Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice ~ 3 Crowns

This was released on March 20, 2016. I saw this with my best friend when it came out, and we were disappointed which is sad to say because I adore DC TV Shows but the movies are not as good as I wish they were. It was still okay and there were moments that were good but I wish it had been better. [But Gal Gadot slayed as Wonder Woman]

6. The Jungle Book ~ 4 Crowns

This was released on April 4, 2016. I actually enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I saw it in California the day before going to Disneyland and it was actually pretty good. Yeah, it was scary for a Disney movie but it was done well. #Impressed.

7. The Huntsman Winter's War ~ 4 Crowns

This was released on April 7, 2016. I enjoyed this one. The first movie was okay but this one was pretty badass. I'm just saying. And I did see this one in the movie theater. I didn't do a review [sorry] but I would probably see this one again.

8. Captain America Civil War ~ 4.5 Crowns

This was released on May 6, 2016. I love Marvel movies and since this Captain America, had basically all the Avengers in it, I was down. Plus we got to see cool new characters like Tom Holland's Spiderman and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther.

9. Alice through the Looking Glass ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on May 27, 2016. I love Alice. Alice in Wonderland is a favorite fairytale of mine and this movie was so wonderfully mad. I highly recommend it though I wish the ending had been less bittersweet.

10. Me Before You ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on May 23, 2016. Oh my heart. I adored this movie. It would have been my favorite of 2016 but something else topped it. It was so beautiful and sad and I cried but I adored it.

11. Star Trek Beyond ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on July 22, 2016. I love Star Trek and Chris Pine and the franchise. I am so proud of this movie though it was not my fave of the year. But I did buy it for myself and now it sits proudly on my shelf.

12. Doctor Strange ~ 4.5 Crowns

This was released on October 20, 2016. I really enjoyed this movie plus it had Benedict Cumberbatch and was pretty funny.

13. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ~ 5 Crowns

This was released on November 8, 2016. I LOVE Harry Potter, so I obviously was so so excited for this movie. I am also so happy with the turnout of this movie. It was so good.

14. Rogue One ~ 4 Crowns

This was released on December 16, 2016. I hated this when I first came out of the theater but I have given myself time to recover and now I realize how good it really was. Plus Cassian is like my favorite. <3 It did make me really sad but it was amazing as well.

AND NOW FOR MY FAVORITE OF THE YEAR....

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

And that is it for this blogpost. I will see you all again soon!