Tag: Romance

WWW Wednesday – December 7th, 2016

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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 and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s 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 Secret History by Donna Tartt

I’ll probably be able to finish up this book today (fingers crossed!), and so far it’s been very interesting. I like it so far, it’s fairly engrossing and fast paced. However, at this point I probably won’t be giving it the full 5 stars. Sometimes the prose comes across as trying too hard and pretentious, which is an instant way to annoy the heck out of me.

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

I’m also currently reading my blogging bestie, Jill @ Rant and Rave About Books, new NA Romance novel, Corrupt Me. It’s going to be released in January, so you should all be on the lookout! It’s also currently available on NetGalley if you are interested in receiving an ARC for review!

What did you recently finish reading?

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Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas

I promise that I will catch up with my reviews over the next week. I’ve had a very interesting few days and so have just gotten pushed behind on my reviews. Sorry, y’all!

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? Have you read any of the books on my list? Are you joining us this month in reading A Thousand Pieces of You? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

The Book Courtship Tag

I was tagged all the way back in April by Hopeless Book Addict (thank you!) and I am finally getting to it! If you’ve tagged me in the past few months, I promise I’ll get to it soon. I will be playing catch up from now until Christmas!

Anyway’s, let’s get to it!

Phase 1: Initial Attraction. A book that you bought because of the cover?

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A Passage to Shambhala (The Explorer’s Guild, #1) by Jon Baird and Kevin Costner

This photo doesn’t do justice to the actual cover. It was just so shiny and intriguing when I first saw it at the bookstore that I had to pick it up. If it reminds you of old Victorian classics, then good, it should! This is such a uniquely written story, as it is written in 19th century language and all speaking parts are in graphic novel format! And yes, it is written by THAT Kevin Costner.

Phase 2: First Impressions. A book that you got because of the summary?

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A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas

This was the first book I’d ever read by Maas and the only reason that I picked it up was because it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. But oh damn, did this book completely become something else entirely! Now I’m completely obsessed and have since moved on to Maas’ first series, Throne of Glass. Also, Rhysand is life and let it be known that I thought  so even in the first book!

Phase 3: Sweet Talk. A book with great writing?

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Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Mafi tends to get really polarizing views when it comes to her writing. But for me, personally, I think it’s amazing and beautiful. And this trilogy is just all kinds of awesome really. Now that I have Furthermore on my bookshelf, I’m really excited to dive back into Mafi’s whimsical styled writing!

Phase 4: First Date. A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

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Red Rising (Red Rising, #1) by Pierce Brown

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you’ll know just how much I am obsessed with this series. It very much might be sharing the number 1 spot in my heart with Harry Potter – yes, yes you did read that right. I cannot say enough great things about this book. And if the first book doesn’t completely hook you (which I don’t know how that’s even possible), then just continue to Golden Son and watch your mind be blown. Simply amazing.

Phase 5: Late Night Phone Calls. A book that kept you up all night?

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The Rose Society (The Young Elites, #2) by Marie Lu

This series is just really great all-around, but the second book left me reeling. I couldn’t put it down and I had to know what was going to happen next. This series took a turn in this book that I just wasn’t expecting. Then that ending!!!!! I have barely been able to contain my excitement for The Midnight Star to be released, but I was finally able to snag the last copy of it yesterday at the bookstore. Now it is just staring at me from my bookshelf as I try to hurry up and finish Heir of Fire.

Phase 6: Always on my mind. A book you could not stop thinking about?

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

You could make the case that almost every WWII book will stick with you, but none has affected me more than this one. Everything about this story is just absolutely beautiful and that ending completely wrecked me. I still tear up when I think about it. All of the feels!

Phase 7: Getting Physical. A book which you love the way it feels?

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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

My copy is one of those floppy paperbacks and I just love those kind of paperbacks. Me and Regan at Peruse Project share a love for them. They’re just comfortable to hold and easy on your hands. Because if you’re like me, then you know all about how holding books open can lead to hand cramps haha!

Phase 8: Meeting the parents. A book which you would recommend to your family and friends?

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Outlander (Outlander, #1) by Diana Gabaldon

Now, this one was a little hard to think of. You have to take into account the other person’s age/gender/tastes before you just go around recommending books to them. I’m obviously not going to recommend my brother, who reads pretty much only science fiction, Pride and Prejudice. However, if I was meeting a guy’s mother for the first time and she was asking for a book, I’d almost definitely recommend Outlander. I mean, what woman in her right mind wouldn’t fall in love with James Alexander Malcolm McKenzie Fraser?

Phase 9: Thinking about the future. A book or series you know you will re read many times in the future?

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Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Yeah, that’s right, I did go with the cliché answer and I don’t regret it one bit.

Phase 10: Share the love. Who do you tag?

If you’ve already done this tag or just don’t want to, then please don’t feel like you need to! Also, if anyone else wants to do this tag then I tag you as well! 🙂

What do you think of my list? See any books that you agree with? What books would you choose for these questions?

Review: The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3)

Y’ALL!! This book… I mean… I just… The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3) by Mary E. Pearson was a glorious ending to a trilogy that started off a little slow. I mean, seriously.

Lia has survived Venda—but so has a great evil bent on the destruction of Morrighan. And only Lia can stop it.

With war on the horizon, Lia has no choice but to assume her role as First Daughter, as soldier—as leader. While she struggles to reach Morrighan and warn them, she finds herself at cross-purposes with Rafe and suspicious of Kaden, who has hunted her down.

In this conclusion to the Remnant Chronicles trilogy, traitors must be rooted out, sacrifices must be made, and impossible odds must be overcome as the future of every kingdom hangs in the balance.

The Good

  • Complexity – I really enjoyed that in this novel we finally get to see how much the different characters differ from one another. Everyone has their own agenda and reasons for the choices that they choose to make, and they don’t apologize for it but rather accept that. I really appreciate when books don’t show everyone being perfectly in line with one another. Life isn’t like that and I’m so glad that Pearson was able to portray that realistically.
  • Character Development – The depth to these characters has far exceeded my expectations. After finishing The Kiss of Deception, I felt that this would just be another fantasy romance filled with nothing but fluff and characters with the depth of a kitchen sink, aka NONE. Alright, I’m eating crow now. Lia and Rafe have completely become their own, and even Kaden has finally shown why he is the way that he is. And Pauline! She might have grown the most out of all of them.
  • Pace – Unlike the first two novels where it was just one uphill climb, The Beauty of Darkness is more like a mountain range. It feels the way a book should, with areas of intensity followed by some lulls, constantly on repeat. I appreciated that so much more because I didn’t spend the first half of the book struggling to push myself to read just to get to the good part.
  • Ending – THAT is how you wrap up a series. It should be brutal, believable, with just enough feel good to leave you with a sense of fulfillment. If only The Winner’s Trilogy could have understood that…

The Bad

  • The battle – As epic as it was, I was hoping for just a little bit more from it. Sometimes battle scenes in books just don’t portray the grand scope of war enough. You can say that there are 50,000 men in the army but I need you to really show me that.

For a trilogy with just an alright beginning, this story ended in such a perfect way that I almost feel bad for not enjoying it more at the start. Funny how that happens sometimes, isn’t it? Though, I have to admit that I’d rather grow to enjoy a series than start out loving it only to be disappointed later on.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

What are your thoughts on this book? Do you think it was a great ending to this series? Did it not live up to your expectations? What are some series that either grew on you or ended badly?

Book Review: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)

Woohoo, first book review in two months! Can y’all believe that I’ve been away that long?! Did you miss me or not even notice my absence? I promise not to hate you if you didn’t, I’ll just be very, very angry…. Just kidding! I think you can blame my reading slump on this book right here, The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson. Seriously, it took over a month and a half to read 100 pages. YIKES.

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor’s secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can’t abide. Like having to marry someone she’s never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

Plot-wise, this book fell a little flat for me. I found the first half of the book extremely slow and uninteresting. With Lia hiding out in the small village, nothing was going on except her being a tavern waitress while being stalked by two different guys. That’s it. Really. However, the action did pick up during the last 150 pages or so, which does lead me to believe that it will be worth it to read the next book in the series. It can only get better from here, right? The writing style was nothing fancy, but there were plenty of times where I found myself taking a picture of a really good quotable sentence or paragraph. I did enjoy the alternating perspectives between the prince and the assassin, and the mystery behind who was who. I was pleasantly surprised during the big reveal to find out that I had been completely wrong the entire time. Very clever, Pearson.

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Oh, the characters… Lia did not impress me. I had a hard time connecting with her as a character, nor did I find her to be a very convincing MC. She came across as boring and the only thing interesting about her was that she ran away from being a princess. Luckily, she did show some character development towards the end of the book so there’s hope for her yet! As for our Assassin and Prince – welllllll, I don’t want to really comment on them or I might accidentally give you a hint as to who is who. I will say that one was probably the only major character that I thought had some depth to him. For me, this is one of those books that I found myself more interested in the minor characters than the main one. But, like I said, it is only the first book in the series.

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Overall, I do plan on finishing the series since the ending did leave me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I have hope that the series will get better with each book, and that the journey will be worth it in the end. I do know that a lot of people really loved this book so I would encourage everyone to give it a go. Just let me know if you got the Prince and Assassin correct, because I sure as heck didn’t!

Final Verdict: 3/5 Stars

Burn, Rewrite, or Reread Book Tag

I was tagged to do this by Dreamy Addictions & Books y Gel, so thank you! Everyone go check out their lovely blogs! I also realized I put the wrong name in the featured image. HAHAHAHAHA! It’s been a busy week…

Rules:

  • Randomly choose 3 books (Tip: Use the “Sort > Random” option on your Goodreads’ Read shelf.).
  • For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread (a lot like Kiss, Marry, Kill).
  • Repeat until you completed three rounds (or five).

 

Round 1

BURN: Life of Pi – Because this book totally sucked. It was sooooo boring! I don’t even remember if I even made it to the ending. Oops?

REWRITE: The Metamorphosis – This book wasn’t bad but I really wish the ending was a little bit different. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but if you’ve read it then you know what I mean!

REREAD: People of the Book – I can’t remember how this one ends but I do remember really enjoying it. It’s probably time for a reread then!

Round 2

BURN: P.S. I Love You – This book was nothing like the movie, and I don’t mean that in a good way. It was actually terrible. I didn’t enjoy it, nothing happened, it was just blah. Not Ahern’s best writing.

REWRITE: The Magician’s – Thank goodness that this series got better with each book. I would prefer if Grossman would’ve rewritten Quentin to not be such of a little whiney depressing bitch. Dude, man up! By God, he did in the final book but it would’ve been nice for him to have had a little growth in this book. You can read my full review HERE.

REREAD: City of Bones – Well I actually do plan on rereading this soon so I can finally go back and finish the series.

Round 3

BURN: The Selection – Kiera Cass is just not a very good writer. There I said it! Her writing is just so basic and there’s nothing to it. This series was entertaining and I read The Siren to see if she had grown any as a writer but nope, I will never read another book by her. I’m actually wanting to add her books to my next unhauling. If you’re interested in them then let me know and maybe we can work out a swap or something!

REWRITE: A Storm of Swords – Just too many different POVs and some of them add nothing to the overall story. When that happens, my eyes just glaze over. It can be a bit of a snooze fest in those instances.

REREAD: The Bone Season – I need to reread this one before I get the sequel, The Mime Order. I think I’m gonna have a month where I go through and reread all of my series that I need to finish. Yeah, that sounds good.

Round 4

BURN: Fifty Shades of Grey – I think that one just speaks for itself.

REWRITE: The Book of Life – The only reason this book is here is because I would just add to it because I didn’t want this series to end! Also, I think the ending was just a bit too easy with the plot twist. I was hoping for more of a bang.

REREAD: Clockwork Princess – Damn you, Cassandra Clare! That ending made me cry and then smile then cry some happy tears then get me all excited that I hadn’t finished TMI yet and then cry some more because this trilogy was over. ALL OF THE FEELS!!!!!!!

Round 5

BURN: Their Eyes Were Watching God – Yeah, I know this is supposed to be a classic and all of that. No, it was crap.

REWRITE: Definitely Dead – I will rewrite this entire series so that Sookie ends up with Eric. There is no excuse, that it the only acceptable ending!

REREAD: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer – Yeah, I don’t remember what this series is about. It’s also added to my upcoming reread month because I don’t think I ever got to read the final book.

Tags:

If you don’t want to do this or already have before, then don’t worry about it! And if anyone else wants to take a shot at it, I tag you as well! 🙂

 

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

Let me start this off by saying that I found A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas to be FANTASTIC. This was my first book by Maas (I know, shocker!) and so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. There was so much hype surrounding this book that I was almost tempted to not buy it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then have them bashed into a rock a hundred thousand times. Yes, it’s happened before. Luckily for me and my hopes, that wasn’t the case this time!

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it… or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

Okay, so who here doesn’t love a good fairy tale retelling? Nobody? Wonderful, because then I’d have to ask, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!! Also, I would be doubly disappointed because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. Seriously, I’ve got to get my hand on the Beast’s library… Anyways, moving on.

I loved the Maas was able to blend faerie folklore with this classic tale. I’m a sucker for anything fairy related so I found that aspect to be very intriguing. It really worked for the overall story and plot line but for me, it seemed to take away from the Beast-aspect of Tamlin. I just didn’t find him scary. At all. I mean he was hardly ever even in beast form, most of the time he was in super gorgeous faerie mode. Come on, who wouldn’t fall for that?

This tale was pretty action packed all the way through, moving along at a very steady pace. I never found myself getting bored with the story or wishing for it just finish already (sorry, The Selection, that was a dig at you). Things really start to pick up around page 150 but don’t worry, you won’t find yourself praying that you get there before you chunk the book across the room from boredom. That would be impossible, by the way. (Of course, if you were bored with this book, I am so sorry!)

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I think my only annoyance with this book would be some of the characters. Feyre was a pretty good protagonist for the most part. I appreciate that she was the strong one in her family and really independent. Yay for girl power! However, she did tend to spend quite a bit of time whining. But because character growth is so awesome, she does grow out of it some by the end of the book. Woohoo! As for Tamlin, well I can’t say if I liked him or not. He was just there. I loved that he was very protective, loyal, and just an overall good person. But he had no personality. It’s like Maas said, “No worries, he’s hot and nice. He doesn’t need a personality.” If I was Feyre, I would’ve preferred there to be something more to him before I fell for him. But that’s just me. I tend to go for the sassy ones. Which is why my favorite characters were Lucien and Rhysand, by far. They are both complex characters and with their personal histories full of some intense emotional depth. I’m especially looking forward to getting to know Rhysand better in the next book. Needless to say, I’ve got a fever and the only cure for it is… LOVE TRIANGLE!

This book is a wonderful start to a new trilogy from Sarah J. Maas. The world she created is so whimsical and amazing that I cannot wait to see her expand on it as the series goes on. The sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury, is due on May 3rd and I cannot wait. So don’t worry, guys have plenty of time to jump on the bandwagon. There’s room for everyone!

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars