Month: September 2016

Hype or Like Friday – September 30th, 2016

Woohoo, it’s Hype or Like Friday again! This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

September’s BOTM is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and the topic of the month is Back To School!

RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Review of the BOTM – Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Okay, here’s the thing – I just started this book last night. Soooooo, yeah, I can’t really give you a full review at this time.

I had hoped to at least be much farther into this novel than I am, but Smashing Series September went a lot slower than originally planned. But the good news is that I did finish The Winner’s Kiss Trilogy, The Remnant Chronicles Trilogy, and the Dorothy Must Die series. Bad news is that I didn’t even get to Throne of Glass series or Half Bad Trilogy, but there’s always October!!! Anyways, back to the subject of this post…

I did read Fangirl. That’s been my only taste of Rowell’s books up until this point. And while I enjoyed it, I had no desire whatsoever to read anything else by her. I’m just not a fan of contemporaries – y’all should know this by now! Luckily, this book is a fantasy so I’m hoping to at least find it entertaining. I know plenty of bloggers rave about it (hence it being the Hype or Like Friday BOTM), but I’m usually a contrarian so this should be interesting.

Have you read Carry On? Are you a huge Rainbow Rowell fan? What are your thoughts on this novel? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!

Teaser Tuesday – September 27th, 2016

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme currently being hosted by MizB @ Books and a Beat. All are welcome to participate!

Rules:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don’t want to give too much away so as to not ruin the book for others!
  • Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

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The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3) by Mary E. Pearson

“Please,” I said. “My brothers-“

“Just the way I prefer you, Princess, begging and with both of your hands restrained.” His face still bore the lines of my attach, and his eyes glowed with vengeance.

-page 429

This book has definitely kept my interest since I started it late last night. I’m almost 200 pages into it and things are really starting to amp up. I’m really enjoying how independent Lia is becoming and the development her character has gone through. However, I’m none too happy with Rafe right now. Pearson is trying to turn him into a know-it-all butthead and I don’t really appreciate that. That just happens to be one of my pet peeves with authors – turning our favorite characters into jerks. So mean!

Leave your own Teaser Tuesday in the comments! Have you read The Beauty of Darkness? What are your thoughts on it? Do you have a pet peeve when it comes to story progression?

Musing Mondays – September 26th, 2016

Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.

PROMPTS:

  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) this past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What is currently on your TBR pile?

Up Next I Think I’ll Read…

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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

I know I should continue on and finish out my Smashing Series September until the 1st. However, I don’t expect to finish another series by Saturday after I finish The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3). I guess I’ll just continue my series through October and finish this month out by reading our Hype or Like Friday BOTM. I’ve only read one other of Rowell’s books, Fangirl, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t have any plans to read another one of her novels. But this one is a fantasy and not contemporary so that’s a major plus in my book! Get it, my “book”? Haha! Feel free to join our Hype or Like Friday group on Goodreads HERE.

What Is Currently On Your TBR?

Hahahahahaha y’all really do not want me to list all of the books that I’ve bought these past few months and haven’t read yet. We would be sitting here until Christmas going over all of them. So for the sake of everyone’s sanity, I shall just list the ones that I plan to read over the next month. A few will be leftovers from Series Smashing September with a sprinkle of randoms thrown in for fun.

Yeah, that’s right – I’m the only loser who has owned Six of Crows since March and hasn’t read it yet! I figured I’d just wait and until Crooked Kingdom was released and binge read the duology. Also, I CANNOT wait to get my hands on The Midnight Star! This trilogy is one of the best and darkest that I’ve read, and I am so excited to see how it ends. If you haven’t read Marie Lu’s The Young Elites series – DO IT. You won’t regret it.

What’s next on your TBR? What are some books that you’ve had for a while but haven’t gotten around to reading yet? Have you read any on my list? Leave a link to your Musing Monday post in the comments!

Hype or Like Friday – September 23rd, 2016

Woohoo, it’s Hype or Like Friday again! Or in this week’s case – it’s Hype of Like Friday on a Saturday because I took a nap yesterday instead of posting. Oops! This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

September’s BOTM is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and the topic of the month is Back To School!

RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Hyped Books I Was Forced To Read In School

5 Hyped Books I Was Forced To Read In School

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I know that Jill is going to disagree with me on this one, but I’m sorry Jill, you know how I feel about this book. I’m sorry but I just do not understand the fascination with this book!!! I’ve read it twice so don’t try and tell me that it’s just because I was forced to read this in school. It’s not. This book is just nothing amazing. YEAH, I SAID IT! It’s blah, absolutely blah. All of Fitzgerald’s books are basically the same story with a different title – depressing, boring, and full of fluff that English teachers love to overanalyze. Yawnnnnnn…

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Okay, here’s the deal – I hate Mark Twain. I cannot stand to read any of his books, and trust me, I’ve tried. Me and that man just don’t get along. I can’t explain the reasoning, it’s just a known fact. I find him to be boring and his writing to be dry. Call me controversial if you want, but there it is.

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Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I think this book was supposed to be a satire and social commentary. But all I can think is, my God, you are one sick sick man, Golding.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I think I’m just one of those people who doesn’t get anything from gothic novels. They’re too bleak and depressing, while using very flowery language to lull people into thinking they’re beautiful stories. Nope, I’m not falling for it. English teachers everywhere should feel ashamed they fell for it.

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Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I understand the importance of novels such as this one and 1984. I have a degree in political science so I promise that I do! However, that doesn’t mean I enjoyed reading them. I really didn’t. In fact, you could almost say that I would rather bang my head against a brick wall then have to read these books for a 3rd time. (Yes, I read them once on my own and then had to read them again for school.) I refuse to do it. It ain’t happening!

So what did you think of my choices? Do you agree or disagree? What books would you put on your list? Leave a link to your Hype of Like Friday post below in the comments!

 

Book Review: Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die, #3)

Well, I have to say first off that Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die, #3) by Danielle Paige did not go where I thought it was going to…

Once upon a time, there was a girl from Kansas named Dorothy.

You might know her as the Girl Who Rode the Cyclone. She ended up in Oz, where she became friends with the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. But the temptation of magic was too much for her. She let it change her. Her friends became twisted versions of their former selves.

The magical land of Oz is now a dark and menacing place.

My name is Amy Gumm. Tornadoes must have a thing about girls from Kansas, because I got swept away on one too. I also landed in Oz, where Good is Wicked, Wicked is Good, and the Wicked Witches clued me in to my true calling:

Assassin.

The only way to stop Dorothy from destroying Oz—and Kansas—is to kill her. And I’m the only one who can do it.

But I failed. Others died for my mistakes. Because of me, the portal between the worlds has been opened and Kansas and Oz are both in danger. And if I don’t find a way to close it?

Dorothy will make sure I never get to go home again.

The Good

  • We got to see some more of the interesting side characters.
  • There was finally some character development with Amy, especially when it comes to the relationship between her and her mother. I really enjoyed seeing their interactions as they navigated through all of the tension from their past. It was a nice touch to the story.

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The Bad

  • Instead of getting to explore more of Oz, we are sent back to Kansas and the normal world. Yeahhhhh, it’s about as fun as you could imagine – not much. Following Amy around at school as she suddenly becomes buddies with her former bully, just seemed a bit too cliché and uninteresting.
  • For a climax – it was veryyyyyy anticlimactic. I don’t think it’s the actual finale but I sure as hell hope not. I’m not even sure if I understand who the new big bad is. I just have a lot of unanswered questions with this book.
  • Blah. That’s what this book made me feel. Blah.

I didn’t hate this book, but at the same time, I didn’t particularly love it. It was very middle-of-the-road for me. I’ve heard that Paige is continuing the series, so maybe the issue was that I was expecting this to feel like a finale but it never did. Probably because I was under the impression that this was the finale… FALSE ADVERTISING.

Final Verdict: 3/5 Stars

Have you read Yellow Brick War yet? What are your opinions on it? Am I judging it too harshly or not harsh enough?

Musing Mondays – September 19th, 2016

Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.

PROMPTS:

  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) this past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Write out a description of your life, as if it were a book’s description.

I bought the following book(s) this past week…

  • The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates – This will be my first time experiencing any of Oates’ books. I’ve heard amazing things and she is one of the most famous modern authors, so I’m pretty interesting in seeing how it turns out. And historical fiction?! Bonus!
  • The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney – I’ve been seeing this book everywhere lately and so when I saw a perfect copy at Half-Price Books, I knew I had to grab it. My favorite booktuber – Regan read it this summer and enjoyed it so fingers crossed!
  • Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1) by Hilary Mantel – I have a love for historical fiction. I also am extremely fascinated by Tudor England, so much so that I wrote multiple essays and papers on Elizabeth I (who’s my favorite person in history). The Tudors is also one of my all time favorite tv shows. Which makes sense why I grabbed this book which also just happened to win the Man Booker Prize in 2009.

I went to Half-Prize Books to sell 2 boxes full of hardbacks and newer books in pristine condition. Only got paid $20. Then proceeded to buy these 3 books in hardback for $27. Sooooo… Yeah, wasn’t a very profitable venture.

I do have some books that I’m looking to get rid of but I’d much more prefer to give away to my fellow bloggers. If you’re interested in seeing what I have then please let me know and I can get a list to you! Might have to stick to only US bloggers at the moment, unless you’re willing to pay for shipping.

Also, my life is super boring and I’ve had a long day. I can literally think of nothing to write about at the moment so sorry, I shan’t be doing the random question of the week. How much do y’all hate me right now? Please don’t!

Have you bought any books this week? Have you read any of the three that I purchased? Are you interested in receiving some free books of mine? Leave a link to your Musing Monday post in the comments!

Hype or Like Friday – September 16th, 2016

Woohoo, it’s Hype or Like Friday again! This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo ReadsBritt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

September’s BOTM is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and the topic of the month is Back To School!

RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: Books That Made Me Want To Read

5 Books That Made Me Want to Read

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Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I cannot say enough about this beautiful, funny, sweet, and comforting series. This was probably my first “big book” that I read by myself when I received it as a gift from my Nana when I was about 7 years old. It’s my number 1 most favorite novel. If you haven’t read this series yet, then please do so soon and let Anne charm you just as she has for so many of us already!

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Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Fine, I’ll be just another cliché. SUE ME.

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Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott

Yeah, you could say I was a bit of a precocious child as I liked to read way above my level. I think the first time I read Little Women, I was probably 10 years old and some of the references went over my head. Luckily, I’ve read it a few times since then so now I do get the significance of Meg’s glove! Yes, I’m still bitter over the whole Laurie ordeal. And no, I don’t want to talk about it.

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Emma by Jane Austen

You thought I’d choose Pride and Prejudice, didn’t you? HA! Joke’s on you, buddy! But seriously, while that book is incredible and I do love it dearly – there’s just something about Emma that I just can’t explain. Maybe it’s because I’ve got the hots for Jeremy Northam’s Mr. Knightley and it’s completely affecting my judgement on this one? Maybe it’s because there’s a Frank Churchill and we share the same last name? Maybe I’m just crazy? Hmmm, I’ll need to ponder this one some more.

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Hank the Cowdog Series by John R. Erickson

And coming all the way from left field is…… HANK THE COWDOG!!!! That’s right, you are reading this correctly. I’m pretty sure I read this entire series in the 3rd grade because they were quick, funny reads that helped build up my AR points faster than you can say ‘snickerdoodle’. It’s really funny to think about now considering that I was reading this series at the same time that I was reading Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Talk about Larkin reading some majorly random books all over the spectrum in terms of genres and reading levels. I don’t like to discriminate, it hurts the books feelings.  😉

What do you think about the books of my childhood? Pretty strange, huh? Which books got you into reading when you were younger? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – September 14th, 2016

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments!

The Three Ws are:

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

What are you currently reading?

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The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2) by Mary E. Pearson

Still working my way through this book. It’s taking me longer than I care to admit but that’s mostly due to a few days where I wasn’t feeling too good. I’ll be honest, I could do without the chapters from Pauline’s POV. And where the hell have Rafe’s chapters gotten to?!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die, #2) & Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die, #3) by Danielle Paige

I enjoyed The Wicked Will Rise since it turned the story into more of an adventure tale, where we were able to finally see more of Oz. You can find my review of it HERE. As for Yellow Brick War – blah. It was pretty boring and that climax was actually anti-climactic. Pretty disappointing, Paige.

What do you think you’ll read next?

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The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3) by Mary E. Pearson

I’ve got to finish this trilogy, obviously! I haven’t decide which series to head to afterwards for Smashing Series September. I was going to finish the Half Bad Trilogy by Sally Green, but unfortunately my book haul from Book Outlet was lost by UPS and it’s having to be reshipped, so doubtful it makes it here in time for that. I’ll probably dive back into the Throne of Glass series if that happens. Good choice?

What does your WWW Wednesday look like? Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts on The Remnant Chronicles trilogy? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday – September 13th, 2016

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme currently being hosted by MizB @ Books and a Beat. All are welcome to participate!

Rules:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! You don’t want to give too much away so as to not ruin the book for others!
  • Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

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The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2) by Mary E. Pearson

“Now it’s your turn to think carefully,” I said, returning his glare. “Look around you. See who watches. Which do you desire more? Me or the fervor of your people? Make your choice now, because I promise you – you can’t have both.”

-page 300

I haven’t gotten too far into this book yet, due to not feel very well the past couple of days. I do plan to spend my evening really digging into it, though. I’ve heard that this series gets really good which I’m really interested in seeing happen. I want the Komizar to turn into this so-bad-he’s-so-good type of villain, like the Darkling was in the Shadow and Bone series. I’m a sucker for a good villain or antihero. Give me all of the morally ambiguous characters!!!

Leave your own Teaser Tuesday in the comments! Have you read The Remnant Chronicles? What are your thoughts on it?

Musing Mondays – September 12th, 2016

Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.

PROMPTS:

  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) this past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What obscure book do you think should be turned into a move?

I’m Super Excited About…

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How many of you have heard about Marie Lu creating Hanna’s illustrations for the upcoming sequel to Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff’s The Illuminae Files series, Gemina? Well people, it’s true! I already had the honor of snagging an ARC for this book at BookCon but I will for sure be getting my hands on one of these beauties, as well. Lu is going to be having a pretty exciting October with the release of the finale to her The Young Elites series, The Midnight Star, and the release of her drawings in Gemina. Makes me feel really inadequate, as the only thing that I will probably be doing in October is eating a shitload of candy and watching lots of football. 25 years old and excelling at life, whoop!

 What obscure book do you think should be turned into a movie?

Okay, this is kind of hard because ‘obscure’ can be pretty broad, because everyone has different opinions on what they think could be considered popular. But for a book that I’ve read and haven’t really seen talked about in the book world – I’m going to go with Asleep by Krystal Wade. I just finished reading it a few weeks ago and considering it’s an indie, I would say that qualifies as obscure. You can read my review about it HERE. It’s creepy and dark, and I think Tim Burton would do a great job bringing it to life. Who wouldn’t love seeing Sleeping Beauty brought to life in an asylum by Burton?! I’m smelling box office success right there!

What does your Musing Monday look like? What’s an obscure book that you think would make a good movie? Would you like to see an adaptation of Asleep done by Burton?