December 2017 Reading Wrap Up

In December I read two books.  Here are my thoughts on them.

Breath of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles book 2) by Amanda Bouchet - 2/5 STARS

I disliked this book a lot and that really surprised me because I really liked the first book in the series.  The main character didn't seem as strong a character as she was in the first book, in this book she seemed to be highly dependent on the love interest.  And overall I found some parts in the story annoyed me. 

Everless by Sara Holland - 4/5 STARS

I got this book in my Fairyloot (a book subscription box) for December.  It isn't published in the UK until January 4th (I think it's published January 2nd in the US) so I was excited to be able to read it early.  And to be honest I was pleasantly surprised.  I'll not say too much about it since I plan to do a full review of it but I will say this book has a really interesting concept.  

What books did you read in December?

November 2017 Reading Wrap Up

In November I read four books.  Here is a list of them and some of my thoughts on them.

The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood book 15) by J.R. Ward- 4/5 STARS

I was torn between giving this book 3 or 4 stars.  I had some issues with the way this story went and how the characters behaved in it but I still found this book to be just as addicting to read as the rest of the series so I opted with a higher rating.

    

Magic Binds (Kate Daniels book 9) by Ilona Andrews - 4/5 STARS

The Kate Daniels series is a great urban fantasy series.  I love reading about Kate's adventures and her relationship with Curran.  The friendships and the dynamics between the characters in this series are fun to read.  I thought this was a great book in the series and although I'm so excited for the next book (book 10) I'm also a little saddened because it's the last book in the series.

Paper Girls Vol 3 by Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang - 3/5 STARS

I really enjoyed the first two volumes in this series but I was very disappointed in this volume.  I felt like the characters were going round in circles and it seemed like the volume didn't really have a point to it so it left me feeling confused.

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo - 4/5 STARS

I really liked this collection of short stories.  I had already read a few of them before but it was nice to read them again and to read the new ones in the collection especially with the illustrations that went with them.  All of the stories were very interesting and intriguing to read.

What books did you read in November?

Top Ten Tuesday - Books On My Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  This week's topic is: Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR.  Since I haven't been reading as much as usual lately I've decided to only list five books I want to get to this winter.

Unbound by Neal Schusterman 

Ghost Gifts (Ghost Gifts book 1) by Laura Spinella

Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles book 1) by Helen Scheuerer

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson book 9) by Patricia Briggs

Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter book 10) by Nalini Singh

What books are on your Winter TBR? 

October 2017 Wrap Up

In October I read four books.  I didn't get around to reading all the books on my Halloween tbr but I at least read some of them.

The City of Mirrors (The Passage book 3) by Justin Cronin - 4/5 STARS

I thought the first half of this book was slow and boring in parts but the second half definitely made up for it.  I loved the ending and I liked how everything was wrapped up, this is such a great trilogy.

Warcross (Warcross book 1) by Marie Lu - 4/5 STARS

I enjoyed this book especially the world of Warcross but I did find some parts of the book to be predictable.  You can find my full review of it here.

Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners book 3) by Libba Bray - 5/5 STARS

I love this series so much.  I love the characters, the way it is written and the plot of it. This series just keeps getting better and better and I can't wait for the next one.

The Creeper Man/ And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich - 3/5 STARS

I honestly don't know what to say about this book or how to describe it.  It was very weird, one minute I thought I knew what was going on, the next I didn't.  It was a very up and down book and I really don't know how I feel about it.

What books did you read in October? 

Spooky Book Covers

I recently did a post on my spooky recommendations and tbr, which you can find here.  So I decided to do another spooky centric post.  Here are some books covers that I think give off a creepy vibe.  I know there's a lot scarier book covers out there but I'm just picking from books I've read and just because the cover is spooky doesn't necessarily mean the story is.

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children trilogy by Ransom Riggs

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Unwind series by Neal Shusterman

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Demian by Hermann Hesse

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress series) by Jeaniene Frost

Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr

Wytches by Scott Snyder

What book covers do you think look scary? 

Book Review: Warcross (Warcross #1) by Marie Lu

Book: Warcross

Series: Warcross book 1

Author: Marie Lu

Genre: YA, sci-fi

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships - only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. 

Convinced she's going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when she gets a call from the game's creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year's tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. Emika's whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she's only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire. ~ Quoted from Goodreads

My Rating: 4/5 STARS

My Review:

I've been excited for Warcross since it was announced so I'm very glad I enjoyed it. I can hardly believe that Marie Lu has now wrote three different series in three different genres and somehow I've liked every one of them.

Warcross is set in a futuristic sci-fi world where everyone is obsessed with a virtual reality game called Warcross.  The book is about a skilled hacker named Emika who, after accidently glitching herself into a Warcross game, ends up being recruited by the maker of the game.

I loved the concept of this book and the way the world of Warcross was described.  I liked the Warcross world because it was so easy to imagine. The technology wasn't confusing at all, it just felt like a more better and improved version of today's technology and I really liked that because it was easy to picture in my head.  

I like Emika's character and her backstory.  Even though we only see her father through the flashbacks and her backstory, I thought he was a really interesting character and I liked reading about their relationship with each other.  I thought the other characters were great, especially the other Warcross players.  They seem like a bunch of complex characters and I liked reading about their interactions with each other but I do wish we had've seen more of the interactions.  

What I didn't really like about the book was the romance.  I thought it seemed forced and I found it to be flat and not believable.

Even though I did think the major plot twists were predictable I still found the general storyline to be interesting and thought it was action packed.

Overall I think it's a good thrilling read.  I didn't like the romance and found parts to be predictable but I would still recommend reading it because the world of Warcross is exciting.  I can't wait to read the next/concluding book because I've found Marie Lu's series always pack an emotional punch in the last books so I'm looking forward to that. 

Spooky Recommendations and Halloween TBR 2017

Halloween is just around the corner so I thought I'd do a post recommending some books that I think would be great to read for Halloween.  And I'm also going to tell you the spooky books I'm planning on reading.

These books all vary in genre but they all have a very atmospheric and creepy feel to them.

My Spooky Recommendations:

The Passage (The Passage book 1) by Justin Cronin

Omens (Cainsville book 1 ) by Kelley Armstrong

The Diviners (The Diviners book 1) by Libba Bray

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll 

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

The Umbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

My Halloween TBR:

And The Trees Crept In/ The Creeper Man by Dawn Kurtagich

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners book 3)

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

The City of Mirrors (The Passage book 3) by Justin Cronin

Are you planning on reading some scary books for Halloween?

September 2017 Wrap Up

I only read two books in September, I did enjoy them both but I hope I read more books in October.

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by Sarah J Maas - 4/5 STARS

I liked Tower of Dawn a lot but I did feel that it dragged in a few places.  
I liked a lot of the new characters introduced in this book and I'm excited for the next book.

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera - 5/5 STARS

I loved this book, I loved the characters and the concept of the story and the writing was beautiful and emotional.  I cannot recommend this book enough. You can find my full review of it here.

I also watched the first few episodes of Daredevil season 1 and I'll be finishing the series this month, I'm really enjoying the show so far.  Also BTS had a comeback in September, so I've been obsessively listening to the new songs on their album.  

What did read or watch in September?

Book Review: They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Book: They Both Die At The End
Author: Adam Silvera
Genre: YA contemporary

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime in a single day.

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Review:
I really don't know how to put into words how much I loved this book but I'm going to try anyway. After loving Adam Silvera's previous books I knew I'd really like this one but I was still shocked at how much I loved it.  

In They Both Die At The End everyone receives a call from 'Death-cast' on the day they will die to tell them that sometime in the next 24 hours they will die and to get their affairs in order or do something they want to do before they die. This story is about Mateo and Rufus who both get the call from 'Death-cast' and they end up meeting through the 'Last Friend' app to have someone to share the day with.

Even by the synopsis I knew it was going to be heart breaking but I still wasn't prepared for how much.  Mateo and Rufus felt so real to me.  Mateo's thoughts on his life, like his fears and how he felt about the way he was living his life and Rufus' family relationships were so interesting to read about and the way their stories were written made me feel so attached to them. And even though I loved Mateo and Rufus and I wanted to read more and more about them at the same time I felt so saddened at how much their time was running out.

I loved the concept of this book, it had me really reminiscent of Unwind by Neal Shusterman.  Not that they are alike but just in the feeling of a world where death is seen differently to how it is nowadays. I liked how the idea of this book made me really think and question things.  Like how would it feel to know when you will die and how will you feel about the things you have accomplished so far or the things you haven't accomplished in life.  It's definitely a thought provoking book. 

Even though the story is about Mateo and Rufus I really liked how we got to read about other characters perspective in some short chapters, I thought that added a really interesting aspect to the overall story.

Overall I loved They Both Die At The End.  This is a beautiful and heart breaking story and I really don't think this review will do it justice.  It's definitely a story I won't forget and I would highly recommend reading it.

Top Ten Tuesday- Books On My Autumn TBR List

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

This week's topic is: Books On My Autumn TBR List.  I've already did a post about my most anticipated book releases of autumn (which you can find here) so as well as those books I also want to read these five books.

Breath of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles #2) by Amanda Bouchet

The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #15) by J.R Ward

Everything Under the Sun by J.A. Redmerski

Giant Days Vol 2 (Giant Days #2) by John Allison and Lissa Treiman

The City of Mirrors (The Passage #3) by Justin Cronin

What books are you planning on reading in autumn?

August 2017 Wrap Up

So in July I read 10 books and then in August I read a total of two books.  Yep two. I can't remember the last time I read so little.   

Grimspace (Sirantha Jax book 1) by Ann Aguirre - 3/5 STARS

I thought this book was okay, I liked it but I didn't love it.  It was a fun sci-fi read but I'll probably not continue with the series as it doesn't really stand out to me.

A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles book 1) by Amanda Bouchet - 4/5 STARS

I really enjoyed this book a lot.  It's definitely a character driven story and I really liked that.  I was really sucked into the story from the beginning.  I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

That's all the books I read in August, I really hope I'll read more this month.  

Did you have a good reading month in August? What books did you read? 

Top Ten Tuesday - Hidden Gems

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

This week's topic is: Top Hidden Gems.  I've chosen some hidden gems from a lot of different genres.

Exit Strategy (Nadia Stafford book 1) by Kelley Armstrong

The Shadow Reader (Shadow Reader book 1) by Sandy Williams

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Carnival of Secrets (Untamed City book 1) by Melissa Marr

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Omens (Cainsville book 1) by Kelley Armstrong

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Solanin by Inio Asano

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

Shades of Treason (Anomaly book 1) by Sandy Williams

What are some books that you think are hidden gems?