Review | A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

acotarTitle: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Release Date: May 5th, 2015
Publisher:
 Bloomsbury
Genre:
 YA/NA, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 419 (Paperback)
Rating:
 4/5

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.


I was a little nervous about reading this book because I’m not usually a fan of faeries, but I definitely had nothing to worry about. The writing in this book was, in typical SJM style, absolutely gorgeous.

For me, the highlights of this book were the strong, beautiful writing, and the expert world-building. I’m really intrigued by the intricacies of the faerie lands that we were shown just a small section of in this book. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m looking forward to seeing that other court that Feyre will supposedly be spending a bit of time in during the next book…

One of the reasons I didn’t give this book five stars was that the characters felt cliche and familiar. A lot of the time, Feyre seemed a lot like Celaena from Throne of Glass; Lucien seemed very similar to Dorian, too. Don’t get me wrong, the characters were great and had plenty of personality, but they were just a little unoriginal. It also took me awhile to actually like Tamlin – he had the whole pained immortal thing going on, and it reminded me too much of Edward Cullen.

The second half of the book, where Feyre finds out a lot about the High Fae and all the politics and such, was rather interesting. Though I was a little disappointed to find out that it was a ‘chosen one’ situation with Feyre and Tamlin. Also, the trials were a little underwhelming – they were exciting, sure, I just expected more. And don’t even get me started on how easy that riddle was.

As I mentioned earlier, one of my favourite parts of this book was the world-building. SJM is great at building worlds. Everything we needed to know was revealed slowly and deliberately – there was very little info-dumping to be seen. Some of the descriptions of the Spring Court were simply gorgeous and extremely vivid, so that was a definite highlight of this story.

Basically, this was a great book, though it didn’t necessarily blow me away with it’s originality. I mean, I know that it was a retelling of sorts, but the cliche characters let it down a little. I know I’m giving a lot of criticisms, but overall, I really enjoyed this book. SJM has a writing style that I absolutely love, and she is definitely a wonderful storyteller. Since I didn’t have many expectations for this book, I wasn’t too disappointed as a whole. Criticisms and all, I still really enjoyed it and I’m super excited for the sequel!

Amazon
Buy it on Amazon
Book Depository
Buy it on Book Depository

Books I Will Definitely Read This Year

So, I mentioned in my New Year’s post that I will get around to making a post about books I want to read this year when I got home Aussie. Well, here it is!


There are a lot of sequels coming out this year for popular books, so I’m hoping to get to these books before the next one comes out.

Red QueenAn Ember in the AshesA Darker Shade final for IreneThe Wrath and the DawnSix of CrowsThe Young Elites

 

Snow Like Ashes

Illuminae

 

 

 

 

 


Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard
 (Book 2 coming February 9th 2016)
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Book 2 coming August 30th 2016)
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (Book 2 coming February 23rd 2016)
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (Book 2 coming May 3rd 2016)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Book 2 coming September 22nd 2016)
The Young Elites by Marie Lu  
(Book 3 coming 2016)
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch 
(Book 3 coming 2016)
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
(Book 2 coming Fall 2016)


There are quite a few movie adaptations of books being released this year, some which I am yet to read. Hopefully I’ll get to these ones before the film comes out!

The 5th WaveA Monster CallsMiss Peregrine's

 

 

 


The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey (now showing in NZ)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (initial release October 14th 2016)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (initial release December 25th 2016)


Then there are those stand-alone books that everyone has been talking about, but I still haven’t read yet.

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens AgendaAll the Light We Cannot SeeEverything, EverythingAll The Bright PlacesI'll Give You the SunMy Heart and Other Black HolesExtraordinary Means

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
All the Bright Places by Jennider Niven
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Extraordinary Means
by Robyn Schneider


Of course, there’s also these sequels…

UnboundLady Midnightacomaftog3

 

 

 


Unbound (Unwind Dystology) 
by Neal Shusterman (technically, it’s a short story collection, though still set after the main series)
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (also not technically a sequel, but it’s a sequel series to TMI and TID – coming March 8th 2016)
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas (coming May 3rd 2016)
Throne of Glass #5 by Sarah J. Maas (coming September 6th 2016)


That’s just a fraction of the books on my TBR >.< However, these are the books that I’m vowing to definitely read this year.
How many of these books have you read, and how many are you determined to read this year?

Top Ten Tuesday | 2015 Releases I Didn’t Get To

TTT

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the lovely folks over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is ‘Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn’t’


Six of CrowsSix of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I really, really want to read this, but I want to read the Grisha trilogy first so I have that knowledge of the universe.

Blurb:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone.

Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens AgendaSimon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

This has been high on my TBR for quite some time now. Hopefully I’ll get to it soon!

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

An Ember in the AshesAn Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This book sounds really exciting, and I’ve heard only good things, so hopefully it lives up to the hype!

Blurb:
Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Everything, EverythingEverything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I’m really looking forward to reading this unique-sounding contemporary book.

Blurb:
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

My Heart and Other Black HolesMy Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Another really interesting contemporary that, while serious, sounds like a great book.

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.

A Darker Shade final for IreneA Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

I love parallel universes, and I’ve been dying to read this book since I heard about it!

Blurb:
Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—trickier than they hoped.

All The Bright PlacesAll the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

I’ve heard so many amazing things about this book, so it must be good!

Blurb:
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

Red QueenRed Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This book is another one that’s been on my TBR for ages, so I hope to get to it soon.

Blurb:
This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart …

The Wrath and the DawnThe Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

I’m really intrigued by this retelling. It sounds great, so hopefully it is!

Blurb:
One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

IlluminaeIlluminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I’m pretty excited to read this book because of the unique formatting, with the emails, documents, interviews, and such.

Blurb:
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.


So that’s some 2015 releases that I wish I had gotten around to earlier. Hopefully I’ll get around to reading all the books that are the first in a series before the next one comes out this year!

What are some 2015 releases that you didn’t get around to? Feel free to leave a link to your TTT in the comments, and I’ll try to take a look!

 

Review | Follow Me by Angela Clarke

Follow MeTitle: Follow Me
Author: Angela Clarke
Release Date: December 3rd, 2015
Publisher:
 Avon
Genre:
 Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Pages: 326 (Kindle)
Rating:
 4/5

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time’s running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …


This was a really compelling thriller with a strong modern presence. I was kept guessing right up to about two pages before the identity of the #murderer was revealed.

It took me a little while to get into the story. I felt fairly indifferent towards the main character, Freddie, so it was only when the action started to build that I got interested. The premise of a murderer who leaves clues on Twitter was really gripping. I was itching to see how that whole scenario began, and the way the account was found was not a let down.

Freddie, as a main character, was fine. I didn’t love her, I didn’t hate her. She was just fine. There wasn’t really anything about her that bothered me, but there wasn’t anything that I could connect or relate to either. But that’s just me. I think the way she reacted to events was incredibly realistic, particularly towards the end where the case ramped up a whole lot. It was refreshing to see a main character, who hadn’t been trained to deal with these situations, really struggle with everything that was going on around her.

The mystery of the Hashtag Murderer was great. It was fast-paced and the development of the police investigation was fairly believable. Well, except for the fact that every police officer on the case has zero clue regarding social media. I was quite surprised by who turned out to be the murderer, though I had taken notice of the character previously, just for a different reason. Looking back, the reasons that I had taken notice of the character were definitely hints that they were the killer. Basically, it was really well written.

I was a little underwhelmed when we found out about this big terrible thing that Nas and Freddie did when they were younger. I mean, sure, it was bad, but I was expecting something much worse. Something dramatic that maybe pushed Nas into become a police officer.

Overall, this was a really exciting thriller/crime novel. It’s a brilliant debut for the author, and someone I’ll definitely be checking out when more books are released. I’d definitely recommend this, even if, like me, you’re not a big thriller reader.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon
Buy it on Amazon
Book Depository
Buy it on Book Depository

Happy New Year! (and all that)

Hello everyone!

I thought I should make my first post of the year something relating to the New Year. As you may have seen in my last update, I’m currently in Australia visiting family, and I’ve had extremely limited internet access over the past week. We’ve finally got some more reliable internet (though with limited data), so I’m able to post this today. I’ll hopefully be able to get a review (or two??) up in the coming few days, but that might be it till I get home in a little over a week. Our last week in Aussie is pretty booked up, so I don’t think I’ll have much time to write any other posts.

Anyway, I hope you all had great New Year’s! I wasn’t able to ring in the New Year because I had to get up at 5am on Jan 1st to get to the airport >.< I really hope your New Year’s Eve was more exciting than packing!

I’ve never been one for making New Year’s resolutions, and this year isn’t much different. I’d like to get a job this year, since it’s my first year out of study and I don’t like being officially unemployed. There’s always the fitness goal that everyone makes, but I don’t imagine that’ll go too well with me, so I’m just gonna say that it’d be nice to exercise more this year (but I won’t make any promises).

Since I don’t have time to make a post about books that I really want to read this year (though I’ll hopefully do that when I get home), all I can really say about bookish goals for this year is that I’ve set my Goodreads goal at 75 books. This was my eventual goal for last year (I kept updating it), though I read a total of 80 books in 2015. I didn’t want to do any other more specific challenges because I already have a whole list of books I want to read, and I don’t want to get to the point where I’m just reading to complete a challenge.

So, I hope everyone had a good break and, if you’re still on break, I hope you’re enjoying it! I’ll hopefully make another post in a couple of weeks about books at the top of my 2016 TBR, so keep an eye out for that!

December Wrap Up

I’m going to join the masses in saying I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALMOST 2016!?! I’ve had a great year, not just with books and blogging, but in my studies and with friends and family.
Anyway, onward to the wrap up!Page Break

What I read this month…

Queen of ShadowsQueen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

I’m still loving this series. There were a few characterisation things that I didn’t agree with, but overall, this was a great book. I’m really looking forward to the fifth book next year! You can find my full review here.


The Adoration of Jenna FoxThe Fox InheritanceFox ForeverThe Jenna Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

This was a pretty decent series. It posed a lot of interesting ethical questions regarding science, medicine, and humanity. I haven’t written reviews for the second and third books, but I posted a brief review for the first one on Goodreads if you want to check that out here.


The Rest of Us Just Live HereThe Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

This was the first Ness book I’ve read, and it was pretty good. I’ve heard his others are better, though, so I’m really looking forward to reading those! You can find my full review here.


24 Hours24 Hours by Claire Seeber

I got this book through Netgalley. It was the first thriller that I’ve read, so it was quite an interesting experience. It was a pretty good book, though I didn’t really connect with the characters at all. You can find my review here.


Ready Player OneReady Player One by Ernest Cline

I loved this book! I saw a lot of hype around it earlier in the year, but I wasn’t too sure if it would be my kind of story. Man, I’m so glad I gave it a shot. If you haven’t picked it up yet, I’d definitely recommend it. You can find my full review here.


My True Love Gave To MeMy True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

As a whole, this collection was good. There were a few stories that I absolutely loved, but there were more that were fairly average. Still, it was a nice holiday read. You can find my rating of each short story here.

Page Break

What I posted this month…

I posted fairly regularly this month (excluding the last few days (oops)). I put out a total of 23 posts this month (woo!).

Weekly memes:
Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Debuts2015 New-To-Me AuthorsFavourite 2015 ReadsBookish Wishlist
WWW Wednesday: #10#11#12#13
Friday Finds: #12#13#14

Reviews:
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
24 Hours by Claire Seeber
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Other:
Queen of Shadows ramblings
Real Neat Blogger Award
Tis the Season Book Tag
100 followers?!
Dashing Through the Snow Book Tag
Update | I finally bought some books!

Page Break

What happened with my blog this month…

I big thank you to everyone who has visited my blog, and liked or commented on any of my posts! I’d also like to thank every who has nominated me for awards this month 🙂

Views: 557

Visitors: 210

Likes: 392

Comments: 117

Follower Count: 120

Page Break

What I did with my life this month…

I graduated! …kind of. Well, I finished my course – I have to wait a whole year for graduation >.< I was stoked to complete my Diploma in Audio Engineering with a High Distinction/92% 🙂 Now I must venture out into the real world…

Of course, there was Christmas! I had a great Christmas with my extended family this year (on my dad’s side). It was a very relaxed and happy get-together, as it always is.

Other than that, I haven’t done a whole lot this month, to be honest. Oh well, I had a crazy busy year, so I’m glad to have gotten a relaxing December.

Page Break

Once again, thank you all so much for joining me on my blogging adventure this year! I hope you all have a safe and happy new year!

Update | I finally bought some books!

It’s been so, so long since I’ve bought any books! I don’t normally buy books because they’re expensive(ish) in New Zealand, and I don’t have a credit/debit card, so buying stuff online is a major hassle. And I don’t have much money to begin with…

Anyway, I was determined to buy some books today! I ended up getting A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I read Fangirl earlier in the year, and loved it, so I really want to re-read it. I’m super excited to read ACOTAR, hopefully in the next couple of weeks! I really wanted to get Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, but the store didn’t have it >.< Next time! Also, there was a ‘buy 1, get 1 half price’ deal on, so that was a bonus.

My ACOTAR

ACOTAR is one of the few books I’ve bought before reading. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a new (not second hand or whatever) book that I’m yet to read. I’m really worried about spending $20+ on a book I don’t end up liking, so that’s why I normally buy books that I love and want to re-read. However, I love SJM’s writing style and I’ve seen only great reviews about this book, so I’m fairly confident I’ll enjoy it *fingers crossed!*
My Fangirl

I was a little surprised to see that the store only had the fan art edition of Fangirl. I’m definitely not complaining, though! It included a couple of pieces of artwork on the inside covers, which I love.

Fangirl incover 01Fangirl incover 02

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren’t they gorgeous?!

So, that’s my mini book haul! Since I don’t buy books very often, I always get super excited when I do 🙂


Just a side note, I won’t be posting a WWW Wednesday this week. Also, I might not be posting much over the next few weeks, but I’ll make a full post on that tomorrow.

I hope you’re all enjoying your holidays!

 

 

 

Review | My True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

My True Love Gave To MeTitle: My True Love Gave To Me
Authors: Multiple (edited by Stephanie Perkins)
Release Date: October 14th, 2014
Publisher:
 St. Martin’s Press
Genre:
 YA, Contemporary, Holiday, Short Stories
Pages: 336 (Hardcover)
Rating:
 3/5

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.


Overall, this book was decent. It did help me to get into the holiday spirit, at least. There were some stories that I loved, but there were also others that I just didn’t get into at all.

  • Midnights by Rainbow Rowell – 5/5
  • The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link – 2.5/5
  • Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña – 2/5
  • Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han – 1.5/5
  • It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins – 5/5
  • Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan – 3/5
  • Krampuslauf by Holly Black – 4/5
  • What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman – 4.5/5
  • Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire – 3.5/5
  • Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White – 3.5/5
  • Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter – 3/5
  • The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – 2/5

So, yeah… There were a few that I really liked, but there were also many that I found really boring and uninteresting. I will admit, though, it quite a few of the cases, the short story format let it down. Like, there was potential with the characters, but the story was just too short for me to get into.

This is a really nice holiday read, though, so I would recommend it if you haven’t picked it up yet. You may very well enjoy it more than me!

Amazon
Buy it on Amazon
Book Depository
Buy it on Book Depository

 

Review | Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player OneTitle: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Release Date: November 16th, 2011
Publisher:
Random House
Genre:
 YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 374 (Paperback)
Rating:
 4.5/5

It’s the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We’re out of oil. We’ve wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS – and his massive fortune – will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle. Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions – and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.


I ended up enjoying this book much more than I thought I would! I’m not a gamer, so I wasn’t sure if I would ‘get’ the story. While I may have gotten more out of the story if I was a little more into video games and 80’s pop culture, I certainly loved it regardless of my naivety.

I loved the complexity of the contest and how it was paced throughout the book. The info-dump of the contest at the beginning didn’t feel excessive because it was told in context – through Halliday explaining it to the world. I loved all the details we were given regarding OASIS but, again, it wasn’t excessive or pointless.

I thought that it would be another ‘Chosen One’ type of story when we found out that Wade was the first person to get the first clue in the five years since the contest began, but the reasoning for almost no one else finding it made total sense. However, I did think that after the location of the first key became known, some other ‘gunters’ would’ve been able to find the second one, instead of just the original group. I think that would’ve been a great way to introduce another character or two.

I quite liked Wade as a narrator. He wasn’t an amazing character, but he was decent. He was loyal, honest, respectful, and kind to those who deserved it. All the other main ‘gunters’ were great, too. I loved when we found out who the people behind these avatars were, particularly Aech.

I though Wade and Art3mis’s relationship was really nice. In particular, I liked that it was a side plot and didn’t take too much focus away from the main story. It suited Wade’s character to not have it take precedence over the contest.

Overall, this is a really intense and entertaining story. I was kept on the edge of my seat for a lot of the book – it was incredibly hard to put down. I’d definitely recommend it!

Book Depository
Buy it on Book Depository
Amazon
Buy it on Amazon

WWW Wednesday #13

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

WWW Wednesday

To join in, just answer the following three questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


Currently Reading…

My True Love Gave To MeMy True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

I’m about halfway through this and I’m pretty disappointed, to be honest. There’s only be a couple of stories that I really liked, and the others have just been a bit dull.

Blurb:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.

A Wrinkle in TimeA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

This is the first audiobook that I’ve ever listened to, so it’s quite a strange experience for me. It’s taking quite awhile to get through, because I can only listen to it when I’m doing something that doesn’t require much thinking. It’s quite a nice story, though.

Blurb:
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.

Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?


Recently Finished…

Ready Player OneReady Player One by Ernest Cline

I loved this book! I wasn’t too sure how much I would like it, as I’m not a gamer, but I still really enjoyed it. I’ll be posting a full review tomorrow (hopefully…), so keep and eye out for that!

Blurb:
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.


Reading Next…

The Fox InheritanceThe Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

This is the second book in the Jenna Fox Chronicles. I also have the third book out from the library, so they’ll be my next reads.

Blurb:
Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.


Have you read any of these books, and what have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!