Monday, December 29, 2014

New Year's Resolutions + Gifs

With the end of December brings New Year's Eve and with New Year's Eve brings up the topic of New Year's Resolutions.


I always struggle with New Year's Resolutions. I always start off really good; I'm excited as heck to get started.


Then reality hits after maybe two weeks.


Can I really read a book every three days!?? Can I really exercise three times a week?! Eat healthier everyday?!!!
Then I assure myself I can.


Then life gets in the way.


It's always a constant battle with myself to complete New Year's Resolutions. But guess what? I still love having New Year's Resolutions. They always challenge me to be better. Be a happier person, overall. Even if I don't always meet my goals.


So, I'm still challenging myself to read 105 books in 2015. I'm still challenging myself to eat healthier, exercise regularly, and blogging at least twice a week. And it will be completely ok if I don't.

 

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

105 Challenge!

"waves hello" Again, it's been awhile! School always happens though...

(Nori from ReadWriteLove28 takes complete credit for this challenge!) I'm sure alot of you are curious to know what the 105 Challenge is, so I'll get right down to it. The 105 Challenge is basically a challenge where I'm going to try to read 105 books during 2015.


I know! Insane! Well, then I'm sure there's a couple of you like....


Okay, why 105 books? We have 12 months in a year, obviously, and further and further in the year you will gradually get less and less required books to read. So for example, in January you could read 12 books and December you could read 1 book. You can mix it up, as I know how much busier some months are than others. However, there is another catch. You have categories to challenge yourself even farther!


My categories:

"One" adult epic book(if you have any idea how big most of these books are, you understand)
"Two" young adult stand-alones
"Three" books to read(or reread) in a trilogy
"Four" winter-themed books
"Five" young adult historical books
"Six" debut books
"Seven" young adult contemporaries
"Eight" futuristic books(dystopian and such)
"Nine" 2015 releases
"Ten" ARC's or E-ARC's
"Eleven" fantasy books(any age range)
"Twelve" 2014 releases(I still have so many books to read from this year!)

And there you have it! I encourage everyone to challenge themselves as well! If you do join, send me a link to your post! You can read more about the challenge here.
 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award




Hello all! I was nominated a while ago by The Caffeinated Booknerd for this! By this I mean the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers. Thanks for the nomination!

Here's the questions:

What is your all time favorite book?
No, the dreaded question! There's too many books out there to pick just one. I'll name one of my 2014 favorites, since that'll make it easier. Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

What format of books do you have most of?
Easy! Hardcovers all around. If you look at my bookshelves, this is what you probably would see. I'm a hardcover hoarder.

(I don't own this photo. Citrus Reads takes the credit.)

If you could read any book right now what would it be?
If you follow on Twitter, you probably seen my freaking out about this book:

It's about Jinnis guys! How could I resist?

Are you a reader, writer, or both?
At this moment, I'm only a reader. I hope I can become a writer in the future though.

If you could travel to any book world(real or imagined) what would it be?
Oh, this is tricky.  I kind of want to be in the world of The Archived. Because being a keeper sounds pretty cool.

Is there a series of books that you would recommend to anyone because you loved it so much?
I'm simply horrible at finishing series, but one I would most definitely recommend is the Angelfall books.

Do you DNF books or see them through no matter what?
Eek. My answer to this makes me sad, because I do want to finish all the books I start, but lately it's been difficult to. So DNF.

How many books are on your TBR list?
Oh, I don't know.

Goodreads says it's somewhere around 400.

What is the worst book you've read?
See, I usually DNF books I hate nowadays, and I can't really 100% justify my hate for them, so I'll pick an older title. The Princetta by Anne-Laure Bondoux, which I'm sure barely anyone has heard of anyways. BUT THAT ENDING WAS RIDICULOUS.

What was the last book you bought?
Bought on impulse: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to participate, just link me up to your posts!
 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Discussion: Gay Protagonists in YA

Hi, guys! It's been awhile, and it's been even longer since I've done a discussion post(like, literally probably a year ago). Just by reading the title of this post, you're more than likely preparing yourself for harsh words or something, since this topic can be quite controversial(the bookish community is almost always great about it though). But I just want to clear that right up: I fully support gay rights!


Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, onto the actual discussion.
I have never, ever, ever read a book with gay male protagonists or female lesbian protagonists. "gasp"

I know, I know how horrible that makes me as a blogger; I should be exploring as many different perspectives, genres, etc that the YA category has to offer! But hear me out. I have of course read books with lesbian/gay side characters(see Unspoken and more that I can't think of at the top of my head), but, for some reason, I'm hesistant to read books with a female(or gay male protagonist, but since I mainly like to read from a girl's perspective...bash me for being discrimative, there, if you like)lesbian protagonist. I know, it sounds like I do not support LGBT rights, but that was the purpose of me clarifying it in the beginning...so no one would immediately start getting defensive.

The reason why I'm hesistant to read lesbian perspectives? It was hard for me to pinpoint the exact reason, and I still haven't found one, main reason, but I keep coming back to this...I feel as if I'm afraid that I won't like reading from a lesbian or gay characer. And then I'll feel horrible, because if I didn't like a gay character, I won't deserve to call myself a LGBT advocator. But, what I've realized(I've had this discussion post circling in my brain for months, I kid not), is that it doesn't matter if I end up not liking a gay or lesbian protagonist. Because it's okay to hate characters! I hate characters in books and TV shows all the time. Even if I hated a lesbian character, it probably wouldn't be because they're lesbian orgay; it would probably be because I didn't like how the author illustrated the character. So, therefore, by the end of the year, I will be amending the statement "I haven't read a book with LGBT protagonists." to "I have read multiple LGBT books with lesbian or gay protagonists!"

These are some books I hope to tackle:
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These are less than half of the books I want to read, but I shortened up the list to some of my most anticipated books!

How about you? Do you recommend some of these books? Do you feel I should be bashed for not ever having read from a LGBT perspective?

 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Cover Reveal: The Trials

Hi, I'm excited to show you guys this fantastic cover today, but first, the summary(keep in mind since this is the 3rd book in the series, the synopsis will contain some spoilers)!

Summary:
After being on the run, Ariane Tucker finds herself back where she started—under the cruel control of Dr. Jacobs, head of the research facility that created her. Now she must participate in the upcoming trials; a deadly competition pitting her against other alien hybrids, each representing a rival corporation. 

But Ariane is no one’s weapon. She is prepared to die if it means taking down those involved in Project Paper Doll. They destroyed all that she holds dear, including Zane Bradshaw, the one person she trusted and cared for the most—the person she was forced to leave behind, bleeding and alone. 

As her plan takes shape Ariane will need to depend on, now more than ever, the other side of her heritage—the cold, calculated instincts born from her alien DNA. With Zane gone she has nothing left to lose.

With heart-pounding action, and plenty of surprises, the gripping conclusion to Stacey Kade's Project Paper Doll series delivers a powerful finish that will keep fans hooked to the very end.

And now...


...


...


...


...


I love it, and I hope you do too! If you haven't started this series yet, you should start it ASAP.

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $20 gift card to an e-retailer of your choice!
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, September 8, 2014

The Cure for Dreaming: Review+Photo Collage


17841138Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women.







First and foremost, I want to say that Cat Winters is now my favorite historical writer, very close to Libba Bray. The Cure for Dreaming is the first book I've read by Winters, though I also own her other young adult historical fiction book, In the Shadow of the Blackbirds(which I must get to soon). You're probably wondering, "Wow, she's only read one of her books, and suddenly she becomes her favorite historical author; that was fast!" However, Winters has completely shown me her emormously amazing writing skills and abilities to make me engrossed while reading The Cure for Dreaming.
The problem that I almost always encounter in historical books is infodumping. There will be ten different words in a page that describe clothing or the setting and it's usually an immediate turnoff. Winters does the opposite: She captures my attention with her beautiful, vivid details of the time era, 1900.
Now, the second problem I encounter most of the time in historical fiction is a bland introduction to the world. Here Winters does the opposite as well. The book starts off with a bang when Olivia Mead, the protanginist, goes to a hypnotist event for her birthday. She is then selected as a candidate...and well, you get the picture. Immediately, Winters has captured my attention!

"The hypnotist wrapped his fingers around mine and helped me climb to the floorboards above."

Let's talk characters. I've just mentioned the main character, Olivia. Olivia is a girl with many things to say, but too shy to usually say them outloud, especially to her father. She secretly defies her father by attending Women's Rights rallies. The main trait that Olivia displayed through the book was tenacity. She is a very strong-willed, capable, and independent girl. She goes through some transformations across the story, and I admired her more and more by the end.
Then there is Henri(or Henry). Oh, how I loved him so. In a time era where men put women beneath them, I thought it was a great feat that Henry defies what normal men think and believes that woman deserve equal rights just as men do. Henry is a great many things: sweet, understanding, kind, average-looking, smart, encouraging...I could go on. But, I don't want to point out his traits so much as the actions he performs to make him into these characteristics. He understands the way the world should be; and helps Olivia see that, even though Olivia didn't necessarily need it to truly see the world. He is evermore kind and sweet and gentlemanly to Olivia. He respects her in her own ways. He is only average-looking in the world, but for Olivia she can see everything; his distress, his beauty, his fatigue...
There are other important characters, such Genevieve, Dr. Mead, and Frannie in the book, but I won't go into depth about them. All I will say is that I admire Winters abilities to write real, human characters.
The setting of this book was honestly what I was looking forward to most, and it met my high expectations. The book is set in 1900, when Women are looked down upon by men. Winters also throws in an interesting twist in this world with hypnotism. Olivia is hypnotised into seeing the world "as it truly is." Olivia then starts seeing visions of people walking down the street that resemble monsters. This perspective really shows the originalty Winters has, while also dealing with real-life-current problems.
The ending to this book was perfect. It was left somewhat open for us to imagine what might happen next, but it also is a very satisfying ending.
Overall, I adored this book. Winters showed me her writing abilities, and I was impressed! The world and writing immediately captured my attention. She combined originalty with real problems and her characters fit the book perfectly.

Photo Collage:




 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

My Heart and Other Black Holes: Review



18336965Sixteen-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.


This book crushed me...in the best possible way. I don't know how to put any words down, really. Whenever I try to come up with some sophisticated way to describe my feelings, I can't. This book is beyond my words.

My Heart and Other Black Holes brings up an ugly but very much needed topic: suicide. It goes about doing this in a darkly humorous perspective. My Heart and Other Black Holes has spunk and humor! It made me chuckle while also tearing open my heart. There are just so many feels.

Our protagonist Aysel has been feeling depressed ever since her father committed murder. As the author describes in the book at one point, "a black slug eats away all of her happy thoughts."  I couldn't quite connect to Aysel, but I didn't even care because she was funny and real. It's only later in the book when I start to sympathize with Aysel's story and really understand her character.
Enter Roman: they meet up when they find each other on the suicide site. Immediately, I knew I was going to love him. And I did. I wish there were boys in real life that were as sweet and honest and everything as him. The feels.
The initial reason why I wanted to read this book was the storyline. This book just screamed tears and honesty and the difficulties of dealing with depression. Did I love this book as much as I hoped to? No. However, it came very close to that and I still loved the characters and all the feelings this book elicited out of me.
This review jumped everywhere, because I honestly don't know how to put down my thoughts in order. So don't mind the jumbled, messy review. I just want to convey that this book deserves appreciation when it comes out. It won't be for everyone, but I can applaud the author for exploring a not-nearly-enough talked about subject with humor and hope.

 

Monday, September 1, 2014

August Book Haul(In Which I Buy Way Too Much)


Hi all! This is a little different than what I usually do, but since I got a ton of books this month, I decided why not? All of these books I got sometime between August 1st to August 30th(since August 31st doesn't have mail).

Bought:
The Silvered by Tanya Huff- I saw this book while searching through Goodreads, and I needed it in my life. Bought through Amazon.
Forget Me by K.A. Harrington- I pre-ordered this book through Amazon.
Gilt by Katherine Longshore-I bought this book, because I love historical fiction! Bought through Amazon.
Tarnish by Katherine Longshore-And, yes, I bought the second companion novel. Bought through Amazon.
Brazen by Katherine Longshore- And, umm, yes, I bought the third companion novel. Bought through B&N.
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson- Stacie Cruz was selling some books on twitter, and I saw this and immediately bought it.
All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry-I also bought this from Stacie Cruz, because I've heard some great things.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein-The pb was selling really cheap on Amazon, and I've been meaning to buy it for some time.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke-This is just another book I've been meaning to buy and finally got around to it! Bought from Amazon as well.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness-Another book I've wanted to get and finally did. Bought from Amazon.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness-This was really cheap on Amazon, and I've only heard amazing, amazing things, so I bought it.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner-Alot of people have loved this, so I'm looking forward to finally reading it! Bought through B&N.
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb-Someone recommended the first book to me, and since I really enjoyed it I bought the 2nd book as well. Bought through Amazon.
Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb-And the third book. I honestly don't know when I'll get around to these beasts, but I will! Also bought from Amazon.
The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar-I needed this cute contemporary. Bought through B&N.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater-I wanted to have these beautiful hardcopies on my bookshelf and finally bought them! Bought through Amazon.
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater-Also bought from Amazon.


Won:
The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett-I won this in Lori M. Lee and Sarah Fine's twitter chat awhile back!
The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove-Won from Word Candy.
Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson-Won during Nikki Wang's GYDO  from Ri at Hiver & Cafe.
Sway by Kat Spears-Won from Alexis Sulcido on twitter.
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley-Won from Alexis Sulcido.
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black-Won from Alexis Sulcido.
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn-I won this quite awhile back from Chelsea Pitcher's Diversify Your Shelf giveaway.

So there you have it! I am really, really going on a book ban this time, because no more money for me ;) I'm not going to include any of my digital review copies, because too much there.

Monday, August 4, 2014

#ClearYourTBRPileChallenge Update

This is just a brief post to tell you how many books I've read for my goal. In my previous post, I wanted to read at least 4 books. I started a few days late, but I still think I'm on track for my goal. I have only read one book, which was Lirael(this book is hefty though-528 pages in the UK version which I read and 700 pages in the American version).
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I'm almost finished with Abhorsen, which is about 100 pages less than Lirael. "sign of relief"

I'm hoping to read another three books after Abhorsen(you can look at those books in my previous post), but it's alright if I only finish two more. These books are much shorter than Garth Nix's books, so I think I'll be able to achieve three books.

 

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

#ClearYourTBRPileChallenge

Well, it's been awhile. Again. I know. I'm horribly inconsistent. Anyway, this is my introduction post to the Clear Your TBR Pile Challenge.
Why am I doing this? Obviously, I have way too many books unread on my bookshelf. So, I'm doing this to give myself a bit more motivation to read the billion of unread books(just kidding-not all of them. That would take much, much longer.)
Tell me a little bit about this challenge. Well, this challenge actually started on July 28th, and I'm a little late to the game. That's perfectly alright though. You can still sign up too! Just go here for further deets.
My goals for this challenge aren't really high. As you can tell from my blog, my reading as suffered from either school or reading slumps throughout the last year.(Also laziness.) I'm not going to push myself towards a goal I obviously can't complete. Back on topic. I'm going to for sure try to read these four books:
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Lirael and Abhorsen are obvious ones for me, since I was already planning to binge read this series.(Just finished Sabriel and you should definitely try it if you love fantasy!) Not a Drop to Drink and The Beautiful and the Cursed are two books that I've been looking forward to read for some time, so I figured why not now?

Bonus Goals a.k.a. books-I-willl-try-to-read-if-I-have-time
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Sunday, July 6, 2014

The Bone Season: Review


17853114The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.










If I was to describe The Bone Season in one word it would be ambitious. Of course, I live for ambitious stories. They could arguably be my favorite type of book, if they are well done. Key word: if. The Bone Season did have a compelling concept, but some issues ruined most of it for me.
This book had quite a bit of publicity surrounding it before its releasing, and if I recall correctly, Samantha Shannon was hailed as the "next J. K. Rowling." Upon hearing that, I immediately felt wary. In my past experience books that were being called the next thing...usually fell flat. However, I was still intrigued because it sounded like it had a solid plot. The Bone Season was generally enjoyable, even with its major and minor problems.
The Bone Season is narrated by our usual strong heroine: Paige Mahoney. The problem with Paige is that she fell into the typical strong heroine type. What do I mean by that? The answer to that: While being strong can definitely be a good quality in characters, sometimes it feels like I'm reading the same character that I did in the last book(ex: Cecile in Stolen Songbird). Girl sacrifices herself in the face of danger. Girl ends up starting a revolution. You get the gist. I really want to see a girl in a book who feels unsure of herself during one point in a book. Paige was obviously different from everyone else because she was clairvoyant and all, but most of the time I didn't really feel like she felt different. Another problem with typical strong heroines: I really, really wish I could say that I would sacrifice myself for a stranger, but sadly, I'm not that brave, nor that courageous. The problem is that I just can't relate to strong bad-ass characters as much to an average teenage girl protagonist. It becomes even more of  a problem when your basic dystopian or futuristic novel consists of only strong heroines. I really wanted some character growth in this book. Disappointingly,  Paige didn't seem to have that.
If you remember, I called this book ambitious. Ambitious is entirely the correct word for the world Samantha Shannon created. The world is very in-depth and you can easily tell while reading that Shannon did her research. However, again, I ran into a major problem. The most common problem when you're introduced to a new world: infodumping. While maybe this wasn't a major problem for some people, it was for me. It was very disorienting in the beginning, and for that reason I had trouble getting into it. The beginning should have been compelling me to read more, but instead I felt extremely confused. The good side to this: After the initial confusion, I then(overall) enjoyed reading the rest of the book.
 One thing you should know before reading this book: THERE IS A GLOSSARY. Man, I really wish I could have known that before I started reading. It would have been majorly helpful.
The plot, along with Paige, felt like the usual dystopian novel. Government is evil. Girl starts revolution...blah blah blah. I will add that the action and side characters did compel me to read more. But, again I ran into a problem. The middle was action-packed and not too easily predicable, but the ending...yes, I knew the ending from the beginning. And because of that, it fell flat for me.
The romance was touched on a bit in this book, and I usually never say this, but I wish that the romance would have waited until the second book. For the first half of the book, Paige basically hates Warden, the love interest in this scenario, even if he treats her mildly okay.(You have to understand that he's pretty much an alien who is supposed to hate humans and especially clairvoyants. I think he treated her way better than all of his other people. But for some unknown reason, Paige had to hate him the most.) Then, suddenly, she understands him towards the end and his motives...and bam romance. It felt rushed to say the least.
In conclusion, The Bone Season was a very ambitious, imaginative novel. It held alot of potential, and it met most of that potential with a few exceptions. Fans of futuristic or dystopian books should give this a try.