T5W: Books I Wanted To Start Yesterday

Hey guys! Something happened with the scheduling of this post and I just realised that it never went up last week as it was meant to, so that's why this is weirdly late. But better late than never, as they say. 

This week's topic was books you wanted to start yesterday and wow, do I have a lot, if my massive 'to-read' shelf on Goodreads wasn't a big enough indicator. So, it's hard to put this down to just 5 books but I'm going to try, although not in any particular order. As always, T5W was created by gingerreadslainey and for more information, click here! :)

#5: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern [Goodreads link]

I feel like I never hear bad things about this book so I don't know why I haven't read it yet. I even received a copy in a Book Secret Santa over Christmas and I still haven't got to it yet. It's definitely a book I need to get to ASAP and see what all the fuss is about.

#4: Graceling by Kristin Cashore [Goodreads link]

This is another book I wonder why I haven't got to yet. I have heard SO many good things about it and I've owned it for a year or two now but alas, it still sits on my shelf collecting dust as I keep saying 'I've got to get to that one soon!'. This one is actually bothering me by how long it has been sitting on my shelf unread so hopefully I can get to it really soon.

#3: Black Sun Light My Way by Jo Spurrier [Goodreads link]

This book is from a series I have literally never heard anyone talk about - the Children of the Black Sun series/trilogy. I read the first book about two years ago and it was amazing. For some reason I didn't pick up the second (Black Sun Light My Way) for another year and I still haven't read it. I need to get back into this series ASAP because the first was one of my favourite fantasy books I've read. The author is Australian and I'm not sure if these books have been published internationally but I urge people to check them out!

#2: Vicious by V. E. Schwab [Goodreads link]

So, this is the only book on this list that I don't actually own so it's a bit harder for me to get to quickly but I need this book yesterday. It seems that everyone in the online book community can't stop talking about V. E. Schwab and I need to know what the hype is about. She's also just come out with her latest book - A Darker Shade of Magic - which is getting a lot of praise too, but I've decided I need to read Vicious first. I don't think I'll get to this one too quickly though, as I'm on a strict book buying ban until I get my TBR down a bit

#1: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson [Goodreads link]

And now we come to the last of the books and you shouldn't be really surprised by this considering it was also on my April TBR. Brandon Sanderson is another author that I just can't stop hearing good things about at the moment (particularly the Mistborn trilogy, which is why I'm starting there) and it's just made me really excited to pick up his books. I've wanted to read his books for a long time but all the recent hype has really pushed me to get to them. As I mentioned in my TBR post, I was going to wait until I finished the Wheel of Time series to start Brandon Sanderson's works but I'm just too impatient. Fingers crossed I get this down this month as planned! 

What books did you want to start yesterday? Any books you've had sitting on your shelves for what seems like forever that you just really need to get to? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!

- J, xxx

April TBR

So I'm only putting a small amount of my TBR list this month because I never like to plan it too much or I usually don't end up reading as many. So, I'm just keeping it to three books which are absolute must-reads for April.

#1: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the second book in the Wheel of Time series, which is a widely popular epic fantasy series that I'm determined to finish despite how intimidating it can seem. I'm actually roughly 100 pages away from completing this one but I've been reading it for awhile now so I think it's time to finish it.

#2: The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

This is a book of short stories that are prequels to the Throne of Glass series. Basically, I just really feel like hopping back into the ToG world and I've had this sitting on my shelf for awhile now, so it seems like a good time to do it. And hopefully this fix will be able to tide me over until Queen of Shadows later in the year!

#3: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I seem to be hearing nothing but good things about Brandon Sanderson lately and have decided it's time to dealve into his books. I've been meaning to do so for a loooong time but was going to wait until I finished the Wheel of Time series (which he finished on behalf of Robert Jordan) but I grew impatient and picked up the first book in the Mistborn series the other day. I can't wait to start this series!

Also, as a general goal, I'm going to try and continue on my book buying ban (which I broke this last week because it was my birthday but I only bought 3 books so yay!) and really focus on bringing down the amount of books I own but haven't read. The number is getting a bit ridiculous now (here's my Goodreads shelf here where you can see all of them). But what are you all planning to read this month? Have you got any suggestions of things you think I should get to first? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!

- J, xxx

March Wrap-Up!

Hey guys! Today I'm here with my first wrap up of the year (oops). My reading was pretty bad in Jan-Feb and I was also really busy so I just decided not to do any. But March was a bit better. Even though half of the books I read were either short stories or graphic novels, it's way better than the first two months of the year. I'm still trying to pick up the pace though because I'm currently 6 books behind on my Goodreads schedule :\ 

Anyway, let's get to the books I read this month!

Book Review + Discussion: Cress by Marissa Meyer (SPOILER WARNING)

Title: Cress

Author: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Plot:

So, we've had Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, where do you go from there? Rapunzel! Plot twist: she hasn't been stranded in a tower her whole life, but in a satelittle in space. Also, she's a really good computer hacker. I thought it was a really fascinating take on the story of Rapunzel and I think it wove in really well with the already established storyline. One thing I really love about this series is how well is does foreshadowing, which really came to light in this book. The previous books set up the introduction of Cress really well with things like the COMM chip Cinder's been carrying and the idea that Lunars could hide their ships from trackers with their Lunars gifts (which actually ended up always being Cress doing it). I just think it's really intelligent writing and gives the overarching story a much fuller feel. And I also think this novel did a lot of little things and dropped some hints to set up the grande finale of the series.

T5W: Worst Series Endings

Hi guys! Another T5W for you today. As always, Top 5 Wednesdays was created by Lainey and if you want more information click here.

This week, the topic is about the the worst endings to series we have read and oh boy, have I been disappointed by some series’ conclusions. So I’m just gonna get right into! There’s no particular order and no spoilers unless I specifically say there is.

#5: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

You know, I really debated whether or not to add this to the list because I couldn’t care less about this series nowadays but I am still bitter about how dumb this ending was, to be honest. For those who have somehow stay away from Twilight and/or don’t want to be spoiled for this one, please skip to my next answer because of spoilers.

So, firstly, Renesmee (is that spelt correctly? Who knows?). I’m just leaving that without comment because the name is ridiculous enough. Also, that confrontation with the Volturi was the most anti-climactic piece of crap I have ever read. Even when I was at the peak of my Twilight phase and adored everything that happened in the series, I was still frustrated at how lame that thing was. I mean, all that lead up made it feel like a big fight was coming and then nothing? Not even one death? Come on! The coolest part of the whole novel was all the other vampires with awesome powers, even though they still didn’t use them for the big ‘fight’. Oh and I’m still bitter Jacob and Leah didn’t end up together. Okay, rant over, onto the next one!

#4: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Okay, before I begin, I will say that I did actually love this book and the series it’s a part of. My big issue with it (and the reason it’s on this list) is to do with what happens at the very, very end. I don’t want to say it because it’s a huge spoiler but if you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about (think very last chapter if you're confused). Now some people may have loved it, but to me it felt like a huge cop-out and I’m still bitter about it. I just wish that Revis had decided to change just that one bit. Otherwise, this was a mostly satisfying conclusion to the Across the Universe series.

#3: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

I read the Inheritance cycle quite awhile ago now and I loved for a lot of things but I felt like the ending fell a bit flat. In general, I thought the first half of this series stood a lot stronger than the second half but I still hoped for a more satisfying ending than we were given. It’s hard for me to go into without spoiling anything but I just didn’t like the direction the story took at the end. On a positive note, Paolini has said he isn’t done writing in that world so here’s hoping he comes out with a new book that makes up for the disappointment of Inheritance.

#2: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

So I only just finished this book in the past few weeks and you can find my full review here. But in short, this series felt like it was going downhill from book 4. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but I thought it just wasn’t as good and the more I think about TRC, the less I like it. It felt like everything was resolved a bit too quickly and neatly and just left me wanting more from it.

#1: Mockingjay by Susanne Collins

This might actually be the one that disappointed me the most? I was so SO excited for this novel and eagerly anticipating it’s release and then I got it and it just fell so flat. The first half of the novel was alright but the second was just all over the place and felt really rushed. Also, the absolute ending and epilogue felt really…off. I can’t quickly sum up why the end felt so odd to me (it would require a separate post tbh) but it was just all-round really disappointing to what was an otherwise really good YA series. And in regards to the movie, I didn’t want it to be split into two parts because I felt like, although the novel was rushed, there still wasn’t enough story to draw out two full-length feature films. Which I still think is the case, as I didn’t think Mockingjay Part 1 was all that good.

So, there’s my top 5 worst endings to series. What are some of yours? Do you agree/disagree with some of my choices? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time!

J, xxx

Book Review + Discussion: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (SPOILERS)

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Plot:

As Cinder reinvented the tale of Cinderella, Scarlet puts a new spin on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I wasn’t aware upon picking up Scarlet that Meyer had intended to reimagine more fairytale characters to weave into the story but I am definitely impressed with it. At points, the plot felt a bit dry in the first half of the book but as the storylines of Cinder and Scarlet began to merge, the story became a lot stronger. I was concerned that bringing more fairytale aspects to the story might make it cheesy or predictable, but Meyer has succeeded in fusing these well-known characters into a world of her own creation and made it realistic, interesting and unique. I feel like the weakest point of the plot currently is the relationship between Wolf and Scarlet, but there is so much more going on that I can forgive that.

Book Review + Discussion: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead [Spoiler Warning!]

Title: The Ruby Circle

Author: Richelle Mead

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review:

NON-SPOILER SECTION

Okay, so I'm going to keep this non-spoiler-y section brief. This book is the sixth book in the Bloodlines series, which is a spin-off of the Vampire Academy series so, in short, it's hard not to spoil something. The series follows Sydney Sage, an Alchemist (humans who keep the world of vampires secret), who has been put on a mission to take part in protecting Jill Dragomir, a royal moroi (one kind of vampire - the good kind) and sister to the Queen, from danger. Throughout the series, we see Sydney figuring out how to work with and within the world of the supernatural as well as dealing with trouble from her own people, unlikely friendship and love. Overall, I really enjoyed this series. I absolutely adored the Vampire Academy series and while I don't think this held up to the same esteem, I do think it was good. However, I have felt slightly disappointed with these last two installments, this last book even more so. It felt too rushed and left much to be desired but I would still recommend people give the series a shot, especially if you liked Vampire Academy. Now, onto some more details in the spoiler section!

SPOILER SECTION