Top 5 Wednesday | Least Favorite Book in your Favorite Series

  TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY IS A WEEKLY MEME HOSTED BY LAINEY. YOU BASICALLY GET A NEW TOPIC EVERY WEDNESDAY, AND YOU LIST YOUR TOP 5 BOOKS RELATED TO THAT TOPIC. HEAD OVER TO THE GOODREADS GROUP, AND ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST OF WEDNESDAY-ERS IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING!

Today’s topic is “Least Favorite Book in Your Favorite Series” and this is actually a hard topic to do as I don't like criticizing any of my favorite series. Just keep in mind that I love all of these series and these were just the books that were either lacking in action or made me super annoyed or sad. Plus these are in no particular order.

5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins-

I didn't hate this book but I could barely finish it. The first time I read the first three quarters of the book and skimmed the last part. And then last year when I finally decided to read the whole thing, I was in utter disbelief and tears. 

4. The Elite by Kiera Cass

I didn't hate this book. I just found it slower and some of the characters annoyed me at certain times. It just wasn't my favorite. 

3. Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

I did not hate this book at all. I really liked it. I just HATED Umbridge. She basically ruined the book for me with her creepy torture pen. *shudders* Yeah, not exactly something little kids should see. 

2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

This one was just not as interesting as the others. Partly because Wolf and Scarlet are my least favorite couple out of all of them. 

1. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

I didn't like this one because of some of the events that happened at the end. And they redeemed someone way too fast. 

Top Ten Tuesday || Nine of my Most Recent 5 Star Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that other bloggers are welcome to join in, to create Top Ten lists on varying topics. This week it’s 10 Of Our Most Recent 5 Star Reads/Best Books

1 Winter

by Marissa Meyer

"Yeah, but broken isn't the same as unfixable." 

This series is basically my favorite series of all time; as of last year. The writing is beautiful and there are times when it almost makes you cry. I love Marissa Meyer's series and it was one of my five star reads over the past few months. 

2 A Court of Thorns and Roses

by Sarah J. Maas

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

I don't think this book could get away without a five crown rating from me. It was so beautiful, and horrifying at the same time. If you have not read it then go read it cause it is AMAZING! 

3 The Heart of Betrayal

by Mary E. Pearson

This series is freaking amazing! I loved the first book and I loved this book which is the second. The two love interests are both swoon-worthy and I really hope the series ends well as it has been amazing so far. 

4 Stars Above

by Marissa Meyer

These are the novellas from The Lunar Chronicles series which as I said before is one of my favorite series. It has everything I like in it and I recommend it to everyone. 

5 A Tale of Two Centuries

by Rachel Harris

This is one of the first contemporaries that I have really really enjoyed. I highly recommend it if you want something short and sweet. Perfect remedy after a sad book. 

6 A Reaper of Stone

by Mark Gelineau

This was a short novella (around ninety pages) and I really enjoyed it. The plot was good and the world was well-developed for a short book. 

7 City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

I never thought that I would actually like this book. Correction: love this book! I put off reading this for years because I thought it looked dumb and I ignored my friend's opinions. And now that I have read it, I know that I was wrong. 

8 Shatter Me

by Taherei Mafi

This is a book I just finished so the review is not even written yet. But I loved this book. I thought the concept was pretty unique and the main character is tough as nails. I loved it a lot and I highly recommend it. 

9 Fallen

by Lauren Kate

This book was amazing. I loved it even though it creeped me out at certain times. There were so many bad reviews of this book on Goodreads that I was freaking out and beginning to second guess my choice to read this book but now that I have finished it, I knew I made the right decision to keep reading!.

Sorry this post is a day late. I've been busy with Spring Break. What? It's a thing.

Music Monday #10

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

NO by Meghan Trainor

I love this song. Unfortunately my sister doesn't. Well, we all have our own opinions. *cough @sprinklesandseams cough*

I feel like the lyrics also convey a message to us girls and it is positive. 

Happy reading everybody! <3

Fallen by Lauren Kate Review [Fallen #1]

This is a spoiler free review!

Fallen

Written by Lauren Kate

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal/Fantasy

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: December 8, 2009

Pages: 452

Source: Library

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

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.

Get ready to fall . . .

Review:

This book was amazing but it took me almost one hundred pages to get really into the book. It really is a slow-burning book. I believe the author wanted to ease us into everything which I appreciate.

Let’s start with the cover!

The cover intrigued me but I didn’t feel like I really liked it if you know what I mean. It is a cover you would look at and say “Oh, I feel like this would be interesting” but it isn’t a book you’d pick up to look pretty on your bookshelf.

WORLD-BUILDING

There isn’t too much world-building until the last quarter of the book which then gave us a chunk of information which both made me happy and made me a little mad. I always want to know more about the world so I was pleased that I finally got that information but I’d prefer to get a little bit at a time.

Then there are the characters.

LUCE

We first meet Luce who is being forced to go to a new school (which is extremely creepy by the way). She is an interesting main character and I believe that in one of the next books she will turn into quite a good female protagonist. She can be witty and feisty but other times she is a complete damsel in distress which I didn’t like but I dealt with it.

DANIEL

One of the two main love interests. I hated him at first because of how he kept giving her the cold shoulder. But by the end I began to understand why Luce was so captivated by him.

CAM

He was the second of the two main love interests. I really liked him. Both the love interests were tall, dark and totally swoon-worthy though I liked Cam wayy more at the beginning. And I can’t really say that much without giving anything away. [But I will have a Gush review where I will have spoilers]

PENN

She was possibly my favorite character in this whole book. I loved her because she seemed pretty normal and was a great friend for Luce.

ROMANCE

The romance took awhile to develop which I didn’t mind all that much. Daniel and Luce were adorable and their romance was swoon-worthy. Then there was Cam and Luce which was kind of the opposite and I didn’t like it even though I kind of like Cam better.

WRITING

The writing wasn’t great but I still liked it as it was easy to read and understand.

Final Thoughts:

I know I have said some things in this review that might question why I chose to rate this book five stars but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Luce was a great protagonist even if she didn’t have as much strength as I wish she did. I am going to be reading the next one.

Quotes from the Book:

“Trust is a careless pursuit at best. At worst, it's a good way to get yourself killed.”

“The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment.”

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King Review

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

A Reaper of Stone

Written by Mark Gelineau and Joe King

Genre: Young Adult/High Fantasy/Fantasy

Publisher: Gelineau and King

Release Date: September 18, 2015

Pages: 90

Source: NetGalley

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

A Lady is dead. Her noble line ended. And the King’s Reaper has come to reclaim her land and her home. In the marches of Aedaron, only one thing is for certain. All keeps of the old world must fall.

Elinor struggles to find her place in the new world. She once dreamed of great things. Of becoming a hero in the ways of the old world. But now she is a Reaper. And her duty is clear. Destroy the old. Herald the new.

Review:

I had heard a lot of good things about this novella and NetGalley had it so I decided to request it from them.

This book was really well written and I feel like a lot of work went into creating the world which was really well developed. And for a really short book, there was a lot of information that was given to us.

This book begins when Elinor and Conbert first meet. Their meeting is done perfectly. Elinor is determined to make her way in the world which is run by snobby royals. Conbert is a little older and he is a kind royal who learns to never underestimate her.

Elinor is a strong, likeable female character. She quickly became my favorite character because of her strength. She had a firm relationship with some of the other characters.

I wished that they had had more insight into the old beliefs and more about how they influenced some of the characters but since it was a Novella it was hard. Despite that, I was impressed with how the authors managed to create a vivid depiction of the world within the constraints of a short novella. I am so excited about this series but I wish they could have been full length novels. There’s not much to say about this novella as it was really short and I really enjoyed it.

There was no romance in this book which actually made me pretty happy. It’s good to get a break once in awhile and this book seriously gave me that short break that I really needed. I can’t wait for the next one!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Book Review

This is a spoiler free review!

City of Bones

Written by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal/Fantasy

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: March 27, 2015

Pages: 485

Source: Bought

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

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Review:

I loved this book as you will be able to tell from my rating! I put off reading this book for at least four years because I thought it would be stupid. And now I realize how wrong I was.

This is a mix of fantasy, paranormal and supernatural.

COVER

Well, I really dislike the first cover which is why I put the new version of the cover here because it is so much better.

WORLD-BUILDING

The world-building was done fantastically well. Except for the fact that at one point I felt like it was an information overload but besides that, the information was wonderful.

Then there are the characters.

CLARY

We first meet Clary Fray when she is going to the Pandemonium club with her best friend Simon. Clary wasn’t the best female protagonist but I loved her all the same. She was strong on the inside but took a while to get used to the shadowhunters world and life.

JACE

Jace is so rude and cold-hearted. He seems to have family issues and he takes it out on others like Clary who clearly don’t deserve it.  At the beginning I really disliked him but he starts to grow on you.  He’s sarcastic and apparently really attractive which is a plus.

ALEC

I’m really annoyed at the fact that he didn’t get a better role in this as apparently he gets a bigger role in the TV show. But I really liked him anyways.

SIMON

Okay. So Simon was clearly the best friend who was in love with his best friend but was obviously still in the friend-zone. Phew! That was a mouthful but it was so true and no it really isn’t a spoiler. Simon got a pretty large role in this book due to several things happening to him and Clary and Jace having to um ‘save’ him. He was often ignored and I felt bad for him a lot but he might get a better role in the next book so I’m happy.

ISABELLE

Isabelle was a wonderful character despite the fact that she was also not on as much as I liked. Despite being gorgeous, she has a much deeper personality and isn’t as rude as she seems.

MAGNUS

Seriously, this guy should have been in the book much more. He’s hilarious and has such a personality.

ROMANCE

The romance between the two main characters wasn’t insta-lovey but it also didn’t take up the whole plot of the story which made me really happy. That’s one of things that really irritates me. I don’t like romance that takes up the whole plot of a book or tv show or movie.

WRITING

The dialogue is hilarious and the whole book is just really funny which made me really like it. I loved some of Jace’s lines as he was super sarcastic and hilarious.

Final Thoughts:

This book was really good. I loved the action, dialogue and banter between characters. The romance was cute and didn’t take up the whole book which impressed me. The characters were also wonderful. I recommend this book to everyone.

Quotes from the Book:

“Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'

Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."

..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."

"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.”

“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”

“The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.”

“I figured all your classes were stuff like Slaughter 101 and Beheading for Beginners."

Jace flipped a page. "Very funny, Fray.” 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

Music Monday #10

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

No Broken Hearts by Bebe Rexha ft. Nicki Minaj

I am freaking obsessed with this song. It is so catchy and I have almost all the lyrics memorized already.  It is amazing. Listen to it!!

Happy reading everybody! <3