We Were Liars – Wonderfilled Reads

The Wonder Woman Book Tag

As always, big thanks to the lovely and lively Lilly @ Lair of Books for tagging me in this. I absolutely loved this movie and am so excited to do this fun tag!

Wonder Woman: Your favorite badass female book character…

Victra from the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about Victra. Well sorry, not sorry! Because I will never stop talking about the biggest badass that I’ve ever read about. I will go down swinging if you dare disrespect my favorite. Just kidding!…. (sort of.)

Fantasy Island: A book setting you want to escape to…

The Zodiac from the Zodiac series by Romina Russell

Yes, I’m one of those people loves obsessing over what people’s astrological sign is and if they match its personality. I have no shame to admit that. Which is why I absolutely love the world that Russell has created with each sign having its own planets and people that reflect that sign’s attributes. As an Aquarian, I would have amethyst eyes. HOW COOL IS THAT?!

London: A hyped book that let you down…

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1) by Julie C. Dao

Antiheroes are awesome. However, they need to have nuances with them to help us sympathize and form a connection with them. Well, Xifeng is completely lacking in any qualities that made me want to root for her. In fact, I just wanted for someone to kick her ass! She treated everyone awful and the only reason she thought she was supposed to be queen was because her aunt said so and because she’s pretty. Yeah, hard pass.

Steve Trevor: A book that has a beautiful cover and a great story (i.e. good personality)…

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

My favorite book of 2018 is an absolute gem! I finished this book and immediately wanted to reread it, which never happens! I don’t know how I’m going to survive waiting until the sequel is released. Seriously, if you haven’t picked this book yet then you’re really missing out. IT. IS. AMAZING.

Lasso of Truth: A book you hated…

The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3) by Marie Lu

I was completely in love with this series and dying to see how it would all end with this finale book. And well… all we got was a load of crap. This is without a doubt the worst series finale that I’ve ever read. I truly believe that Lu was just writing some nonsense to finish off this series so she could focus on her other books. Most of the characters lost all of their depth and personality traits and the climax was so rushed, it just felt completely jumbled and lacked any sort of importance. I’ve never finished a book so pissed off before. The only good part was the epilogue which was beautiful but only like 4 pages long.

Wonder Woman’s Shield: A book so sad that you need a shield…

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

This book gets some hate from some people, but it literally killed me. I was not prepared for what happened and ugly cried for a good hour. You’ve been warned!

Ares: a villain that is scary, but you can’t seem to hate them…

Katherine from the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake

I know you’re supposed to hate her because she’s a Poisoner, but I can’t seem to do it. I’m just too intrigued by her to hate her. She’s really just a fascinating character and I love the growth her character has done.

The Amazons: A book that you wish had more/better LGBT+ representation…

Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes

I’ve only just finished the second book in this series so maybe we get some LGBT+ representation in the later books. Because in my head cannon, Lucia is bi and that’s all there is to it. I need her to have a relationship with another girl like immediately! I’m also rooting for Nic to fall for a guy. I can totally picture him falling for someone in the army.

Do you agree with my choices? What would you pick for the different questions? I’m tagging anyone who wants to do it, so be sure to link back to this post so I can see all of your wonderful posts!

10 Books You Can Read in 24 Hours or Less!

Do you ever just pick up a book and become so engrossed in it that you can’t put it down and finish it in one sitting? Or maybe you finish a book with one day still left before the read-a-thon or challenge ends and need something to help you reach your goal? Well you’re in luck, because I have compiled a list of my favorite reads that I was able to finish in 24 hours or less to help you out!

We could always add some more books to our TBR, right? 😉

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Short story anthologies tend to be favorites for read-a-thons and this one is no exception. At just a little over 200 pages, you’re sure to speed through this book.

The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2) by Samantha Shannon

Honestly, you could read any of the books in this series in one setting because they’re just that addictive. However, this book really raised the stakes. I might be just a tad obsessed.

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Gillen McKelvie & Wilson Cowles

If you like graphic novels or are interested in picking one up, try this series! This was my first venture into graphic novels and I was immediately engrossed in the story incorporating mythological gods and beings.

Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey

If you’re looking for a cutesy period romance with a sassy heroine, this book is perfect for you. It never takes itself seriously and we can all appreciate a hate to love romance!

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

This is one contemporary that I just could not put down. It completely broke me. I’ve been putting off reading his latest novel, because I’m just not ready for another heartbreak!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

Because Harry Potter, obviously.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Another heartwarming story about finding love when you least expect it. The main character is also an introverted book lover that we all will recognize as one of us!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I know the reviews on this book tend to be a bit mixed, but I loved it. The story is so engrossing and the cliffhanger will leave you in awe… or it did to me, at least!

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

You might as well include all 3 books in the series, because I couldn’t put any of them down. Though I will warn you that this is a series that gets better with each book, so don’t let the first one get you down!

Starflight (Starflight, #1) by Melissa Landers

When you just need a fun science fiction novel that involves an eclectic crew of space pirates and a whole lotta witty dialogue, turn to this beauty. It’s non-stop fun!

What are some books that you were able to finish in one sitting? Do you ever find yourself looking for a quick read? If you have read any of the books on my list, what did you think of them?

Recommendations Series #2: Contemporary

My next post in my recommendations series is going to be on contemporaries! I’m not the biggest fan of contemporary, as it’s just not a genre that I gravitate towards. However, I do read it on occasion and still have a few that I really recommend. These aren’t the most recently released books, but hey, I tried! 😉

We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen

This was such a cute read that follows two best friends as they are split up following their high school graduation, with one staying in their hometown and the other going off to college in the early 80’s. It’s written in letter form and makes for a great summer read!

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

This book broke me in the best ways possible. I cannot recommend it enough. And the only reason that I haven’t picked up Zentner’s newest release is that I’m just not ready to ugly cry yet and my heart is still healing.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Now some of you may be all, “But Larkin this is a fantasy!” and I shall respond with, “This reads like a contemporary and it’s my list so I saw it’s a contemporary!” And then we shall all be friends because we agree that this book is awesome and Baz is such a hottie.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Now this book isn’t for everyone as it deals with some pretty intense topics like incest. But I’ll be damn if this book isn’t powerful, beautiful and heartbreaking. Be ready for things to get heavy… I just rhymed!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

This book was insane and left me speechless at the end. DAT TWIST THOUGH. And did I ugly cry? Ummmm, I might have just a tiny bit.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Big thanks to my blogging bestie, Britt @ Geronimo Reads for recommending this one to me. She was right. This coming-of-age story about first love will forever stay with me.

The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry

This gorgeous debut story was one of my favorites last year. Weaving Native American folklore into this contemporary following a young girl as she struggles with two separate realities blurring, this story will definitely leave you with some serious questions about the universe.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I’m sure you’re groaning at such an obvious choice for me to end my recommendations on. However, this book is just too good not to include in my favorite contemporaries. I love it so much! And if you haven’t read it yet, I really do recommend it. Then watch the movie adaptation as well as it’s really good too.

What are some of your favorite contemporaries? Which ones would you recommend? Have you read any of the ones on my list? If so, what did you think of it?

Stand Alone August Wrap-Up: The End is Here!

Well it’s finally September which means fall is just around the corner! I’m so happy we are now officially done with summer and can start heading towards my favorites time of year – cold weather! And yes, I enjoy the cold. It makes me feel all happy and think of Christmas which is basically the best time of year! But anyways, moving on…

Stand-Alone August was my way of trying to move a bunch of single novels off of my TBR to make room for the wayyyyyyy too many series that I have started but never finished. I prefer to binge read series but for some reason, this year I have started some but have yet to finish them (or at least catch up to the most recent book). So I decided to punch through as many of my standalones as possible first, and then proceed with Smashing Series September. This probably makes no sense to some of you, but I am my own kind of crazy and so it makes sense to me. 😉

August started a little slow for me, unfortunately. It took me a while to really find my reading groove, but once I did, BAM! My original plan was to read 13 books and while I didn’t quite achieve that goal, I did get pretty darn close. I finished 10 books which I think is quite commendable. And what’s even better was that for the most part – they were all really good! Unfortunately, I am still trying to catch up on reviews for all of them but I hope to get caught up over the weekend. Be on the lookout!

Finished…

The_Force_Awakens_novelization_final_cover

Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster – 3 stars
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton – 5 stars, REVIEW
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – 4 stars,
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – 4 stars, REVIEW
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – 4 stars, REVIEW
Uprooted by Naomi Novik – 5 stars, REVIEW
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma – 4 stars
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black – 5 stars
Da Vinci’s Tiger by L.M. Elliott – 4 stars
Asleep by Krystal Wade (currently finishing up today!)

Didn’t Read…

Yeahhhhh, looks like these babies will have to continue waiting for me to pick them up. Makes me kind of sad, actually. If you’ve read any of these 3 books, please let me know in the comments which ones I’m missing out on!

So what do you think about my Stand-Alone August? Have you read any really good standalone novels lately? Want to join in Smashing Series September?

Book Review: We Were Liars

I hope y’all don’t mind me continuing to use the bullet-style review, at least for a little while longer as I try and catch up on all of my reviews! And as short as We Were Liars by E. Lockhart was, I think it makes sense.

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

The Good

Such a unique and thrilling plot – the pacing is wonderful throughout the entire story.
Incredibly beautiful writing style.
Great characters that each had their own distinctive personalities.
THAT TWIST ENDING, THO! I’ll be honest – I ugly cried for about 15 minutes at that.

The Bad

The whole issue with this family is #firstworldproblems, which makes them extremely hard to like. And by family, I mean the adults.
Teenagers are incredibly stupid.
The ending might piss you off considering the reasoning behind it.

I really did enjoy this story. I thought it was unique and the writing was very beautiful, with a really interesting mystery. However, I had a hard time drumming up much sympathy for the family. The sisters were a bunch of greedy, lazy, manipulative bitches and I just couldn’t deal with them – especially considering what that behavior ultimately led to. Personally, I think this book would make a really good movie with a focus on the family dynamics.

Final Verdict: 4/5 Stars

What are your thoughts on We Were Liars? Did it live up to the hype? Are you still liking my bullet style reviews?

Stand Alone August, or My-God-I-Have-A-Lot-Of-Books!

I glanced over at my bookshelf the other night (and the two piles of books beside it), and realized that I have a ton of books that I have yet to read. There are literally two and half shelves dedicated to just my TBR, and if I count up the books individually, the total is 57! 57 books, people!!! And that’s not including the 3 that I just ordered from B&N, which would then bring my total to sixty. Sixty books that I have yet to read but spent money on. Now, that’s my fault, I won’t deny it. I just spent the first half of this summer in a reading slump which has put me behind a bit.

Now, I have another dilemma with my TBR shelves -they’re actually pretty full of series. Not even the entire series, but just one or two books from them. I’ve actually started quite a few series this year but I haven’t been able to get back to them. I’m one of those people who like to binge read series, and unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do that recently because I have just way too many books to get through. So, to combat this problem, I have decided to do Stand-Alone August followed by Smashing Series September. This month I will focus on reading as many stand-alone TBR books as possible, so that next month I can focus on binge-reading the series that I have. By reading my stand alone novels first, I will then be able to turn my focus (and money) to completing some pretty amazing series. This won’t make sense to some of you, but trust me, this will make my TBR so much easier to handle. Well, I hope that it does anyways!

Feel free to join in on the fun if you want to – the more, the merrier! You may use my graphic or create your own. Please leave a link to your post in the comments so others may see your awesome book choices, as well!