Top Ten Tuesday #28

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want to Visit

Oh this is a really original topic! I like it! Anyways, there are so many fantasy worlds I would love to visit, just because, well duh, they're awesome! And of course, some are better than others. But then there are also real life places I would love to visit because of books. Though I might not have a lot of them on my list, at least I tried! 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente - I actually would love to be in Fairyland! I mean, it seems that September was able to get through without hurting herself. 

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson - I actually prefer the world of Elantris over the Stormlight Archives, even though I know they are in the same universe. Well, at least Elantris itself in the earlier days, where Aons still work and Elantris is a land of "gods", not the part where everyone is half dead. Nope.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - I would be super surprised if everyone doesn't have this on their lists! Although I've been to the Harry Potter World in Universal, I really want the real world to exist! To be sorted, take classes, practice magic! I'm Gryffindor by the way, haha.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor - Actually, I'm not talking about the Eretz, but just Prague itself! Having the story take place in Prague in Europe actually made me want to go visit it, rather than the fantasy world counterpart. I mean, who wouldn't want to eat at the Poison Kitchen!

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards - I'm going to cheat here and say that I'm gonna be able to use the portals they have all over the galaxy (some Earthens can't get off Earth). So yeah. BUT TELEPORTATION. Basically. Though to other galaxies and planets too (even though everyone is human). This world skipped the whole warp speed phase haha. And then all the landmarks on Earth were wiped off, but that's okay, right?

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - NEW BEIJING LETS GO. Wait. I don't want to get letumosis. BUT SHIPS! ANDROIDS! YES! Oh I'm also not a huge fan of Lunars destroying Earth, but you know, the idea of visiting sounds cool!

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner - Okay, so we don't actually get to know about the rest of the world, since This Shattered World hasn't been released yet, BUT SPACE. And huge ships! I'm a sucker for sci-fi space travel worlds.

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes - So I'm not sure if the town itself is real, but Hazelton is seriously everything I've wanted in my own town, with a torture pancake house, and a teen dance club. So I guess it isn't really a place I would want to visit, but a cool place to live! 

Splintered by A. G. Howard - So there's no way I would survive this trip, but I would love to visit Wonderland. Sure it'll be super creepy, but there has to be one world on this list that will kill me.

The Mediator by Meg Cabot - MY FAVORITE SERIES. And also I've always wanted to sunny L.A. (or was it L.A.? I don't even remember, all I know is that it was in California) because of where Suze goes to school. Like seriously, they mention the beach all the time, and I'm here sitting in the cold. I've never been to California, and I want to go.

I've changed my mind, this was a really hard topic. There are so many awesome places that authors have come up with, but then there's the whole dystopian thing going on (like the Hunger Games), or war (The Book Thief), that I just don't want to deal with that, and it hasn't made me want to visit the place at all. 

Oh. And Dangerous Girls. I would've loved to go to Aruba. But nope. Not anymore. Nopity nope. I do not want to get stuck outside of the US. Or get involved with the law regarding homicide. Nope.

Though I've been to Germany twice, and loved it! But it wasn't The Book Thief that inspired me haha!

Anyways. I can't wait to check out your TTTs, because this was pretty hard!

Review: Scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles #2
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Source: 
Date Read: 9/12/14 to 10/10/14
452 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Marissa Meyer, I will honestly read anything by you. I don't care the topic.

Seriously, I cannot believe I waited THIS long to continue on with the series. What was I thinking??!  I even spent a month on it because I wanted to savor the writing. I didn't skim or skip ahead, and instead I read every single word on each page.

For the readers that have not even touched Cinder yet (my review here), here are a couple reasons on why you must pick up the book now.

• The author is a genius, no joke. Her writing is perfection. The futuristic world is portrayed through show, and not tell.  
• And speaking of the world of The Lunar Chronicles, it is everything I ever wanted in a series. Nothing is underdeveloped, I can envision everything in my head, and I'm never left asking for more. Because it's already there, even in the first book.
• The characters, do I even need to explain this? Cinder is awesome, and original. A cyborg, genius mechanic, what more could you ask for?

Now here's my review of the next book, Scarlet. Feel free to skim, but just letting you know there aren't any spoilers! 

Scarlet blew me away, and it was honestly just as amazing as the first book, though probably even better. There were a decent amount of new characters introduced, such as Scarlet (well, duh) and the ever mysterious Wolf.

The main reason I loved Scarlet, was not only did it expand on the world-building (and also Paris!), but Meyer did that one thing that I love the most. She took both pairs of characters, developed them separately, and then forced them to meet in the end. I'm such a sucker for those things.

And then there was the lies and and the deception! Wooo! Even though it made me sad when it happened, it was a good kind of sad. Even I was sometimes fooled. I kept on changing my mind on whether I should trust certain characters or not.

ALSO. FAIRY TALE RETELLINGS. Red Riding Hood isn't even that popular, but Meyer still made it more awesome. She wove the characters and subplot into the main plot so neatly, with absolutely no plot holes or "what just happened" moments. Basically, this awesome sci-fi world with comms and ships and reimaginings of cities, but in the future, just grew larger and more amazing. I really just want to immerse myself in this world, and learn more and more and more and more.

I think the one thing that bothered me a little was that there was less Cinder, and more Scarlet. I mean, I still loved Scarlet and Wolf, but you know, I wanted to more about Captain Thorne. ALSO PRINCE KAI. I still think he's "eh" but whatever. I do want him to be part of the action in Cress, or I guess Winter.

But anyways, I'm already reading Cress with Holly @ Part of Your World, which may be a bad thing since I'll be finished with it before Fairest and Winter come out. But I'm going to read it anyways. I'll just have to find something to distract me in the mean time.

Stacking the Shelves #12

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

This week, I got a huge pile of books ready to be read, and I have no idea if I'll be able to get to all of them. BUT STILL. I have them and they are mine, except for the library books.

I actually finally, finally, FINALLY bought Throne of Glass from Amazon like I said I was going to, a month ago. 

And then the next book on my must-buy list was Anna and the French Kiss, which is why I also bought a copy of that as well. SO YES.

Then there's this beautiful hardcover, Cress, which I will be buddy reading with Holly @ Part of Your World, because we are both awesome. And also I finished Scarlet, so good thing I have this!

And with the release of the paperback of The Dream Thieves, I bought that as well!

My book club book for the month is I Am The Messenger, who is by the same author that wrote The Book Thief! So I'm expecting awesomeness.

And I could not help myself in the library, and also picked up Parallel as well. This has been on my TBR for so long and I can finally read it now! 

I also discovered the beautiful-ness of the online, digital library, which apparently is also linked to Amazon. Basically, the library I'm with now not only has a huge YA collection in print, but also online as well! And I can send them to my Kindle, which I didn't know I could do!

So because of that, I borrowed The Falconer from the library. 

Also, apparently there are books on hold online as well, which doesn't make sense because it's an ebook? I just don't understand why it's like that, but I'll request something and see what happens. 

GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS I GOT APPROVED FOR BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE!

I honestly don't know how this happened, but good thing I bought The Dream Thieves off Amazon, because I had no idea this was going to happen? In any case, thank you Scholastic for sending me Blue Lily, Lily Blue!

I have a dog.

I've never had a dog before.

Well, it's not my dog personally, but me and my roommates somehow scored a doggy! Here's the story. The dog we are getting was found by one of my roommate’s mother’s co-workers. It was just sitting there in front of a store, with no lease or tag or anything. When she asked inside the store, a worker said that the dog had been sitting there for hours. In the end, she took the dog home and reported it as lost.

Basically, no one claimed the dog, no one picked up the phone that was left by the tracking chip inside the dog. And although there’s a senile lady saying she knows the dog, she’s also telling two different stories, one in that she gave the dog to her daughter, and the other in that she put the dog down. Even so, she has not claimed it.


So now he's ours! And his name is Ollie! And he is old, but adorable! 

So yeah. AMAZING WEEK. Busy, but it's now Fall Break and I have Monday and Tuesday off! Yay!

The Seven Deadly Sins Tag

So I have another tag here, and I have been tagged by Ely @ A Book So Fathomless to do the Seven Deadly Sins Tag! So this is going to be a lot of fun, getting to know all the bad things about myself and books! Well maybe, I haven't looked over these questions yet, so I'm going to just wing it!

Greed - What is your most inexpensive book?

Uh. Um. I don't exactly remember? Does this count free books from Christmas? e-books? This question is pretty unspecified, but Ely and Chami counted that as free, so I'll just go with The Book Thief, which I received for Christmas.


Wrath - What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

I honestly have not read many books by the same authors, so if I were to go with someone off the top of my head, it's gonna be John Green.

Even saying his name, I feel bad for putting him on this list, but then not at all! I did love TFIOS, but I didn't like how it's so hyped up. And then I didn't really connect with Looking for Alaska, even though I went to boarding school myself.

Sloth - What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

Oh I know this one. 11/22/63. And then there's also Shatter Me, but I had the huge Stephen King book for over two years now, and it's just waaaaaay too many pages for me at the moment.

Pride - What book do you like to talk about to sound like an intellectual reader?

Definitely Pride and Prejudice. It's basically the only classic I've read (though it was required) and I enjoyed. OH and also the Quiet book. 


Lust - What attributes do you find attractive in male or female characters?

SEXYNESS AND HOTNESS YES.

Ok, but for real, probably someone who has courage and is dark and mysterious in some way? Yeah, you can tell I haven't had many book boyfriends. Or I just love everyone (or hate them).


Envy - What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

EVERY BOOK THAT EVER EXISTED JUST GIVE THEM ALL TO ME!

I do want Clariel, you know, the one with the Australian cover. Thanks. *hint hint*

Tags:
Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination
Paula @ Her Book Thoughts!
Alma @ Journey Through Fiction

Two tags down, three more to go! Also, I checked you guys' blogs, and you have not done this tag yet! Therefore YOU ARE REQUIRED (just kidding) to fill this one out! Muhahaha.

Of course, this tag is open to anyone else who wants to do it! It's fun fun I promise!

Top Ten Tuesday #27

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Five Books For Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels

This might be a little hard on me, since I haven't read that many books, and truthfully, I can only think of one, maybe two, distinguishable novels that focus on character development. So, I'm just going to be super picky, and just give you the best of the best. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I can now spell Maggie's last name without looking it up, simply because her characters are always so developed in every way possible. And The Raven Boys is no exception. I am in love with every single character in the series, and I'm happy to say, that I have recently purchased The Dream Thieves. So go me!

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - There is no way this 1000 page monstrosity doesn't have character development (look at me, double negatives haha). But yeah, Sanderson is not only amazing at world-building, but with characters as well! (You might as well dump every other one of his novels here too, though I haven't read all of them.....yet)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - Like Sanderson's, all of Rowell's novels also focus on character development as well. And a great example is, of course, Fangirl. 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - I thought about this for two seconds, and I'm already on the verge of crying. But yeah, beautifully written story with beautiful characters that break my heart. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz - Yes. This coming of age story is definitely an amazing character driven novel. It's also beautifully written, and everything in this book can be quoted. I am not joking. I loved Ari and Dante, and their families, and Legs the dog.

That's all I have for this week! I know it seems short, but out of all the books I've read so far, these five are definitely the best. The rest I have read also focus on fantasy and plot and action, etc. etc. 

So yeah, there you have it!

Any character driven novels you can recommend? Link up those TTTs please!

Review: Dangerous Girls

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 16th, 2013
Source: Library
Date Read: 10/1/14 to 10/4/14
388 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.

As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

what.

what.


WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAAAAAAT.

(That was my initial reaction after I finished. Yeah. This should just automatically convince you to read it.)

This has been on my TBR list since the hype surrounding Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys. Does it live up to it? Yes, yes, yes, yes.

To keep it short and simple, Dangerous Girls centers around a group of friends spending their summer break in Aruba by themselves. Everything is fun and all, until one of them gets murdered.

To be honest, I had some major, personal issues that I had to deal with while reading this book. First off, it gave me major stress because I grew super attached with the main character, Anna. I absolutely hated how her friends betrayed her while she was standing trial. There were just so many emotions and feelings going through me, that I had to pause in between chapters to process what was happening. I really wanted everything to be okay.

Honestly I had so many theories. I just kept pointing fingers at everyone, yet still, STILL, I was tricked, lied to, and everything that I thought was true, wasn't.

The changing of the present, past, and the time on the island was executed very well. Each chapter focuses on a scene from a different time, like the trial of Anna which takes place in the present, Anna's high school days which is the far past, and then the time on the island before the murder took place, which is the past. The best part of this, is that each chapter connects to the next, even though they take place in different times. It's very well done, though to be honest, I was constantly looking forward to the chapters on the trial, because I really wanted to know who did it. WHO MURDERED ELISE?????

Or course, when I found out, it was just......oh man. I don't want to swear, but it was a mindfuck.

Even now I'm still not exactly sure. I need to talk to someone about this hahaha.

The Gif Tag

I've been tagged by Mo @ Monique's Books and also by Jazmen @ This Girl Reads A Lot to do the gif tag, where they provide me with a list of books and I have to match a gif to each of them. I'll be mushing these two lists together, so I'll do 5 from each one! For the books I haven't read or heard of yet, these gifs will be my first impressions on each book.

This is going to be tons of fun, I can just feel it. I LOVE GIFS!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Going to be starting this trilogy soon, the first book is on my shelf! Even though I've read mixed reviews about it, I'm still excited to read this because I've had it for so long. It needs to be read

Matched by Ally Condie

I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, but I haven't heard many good things about this series, and I'm not sure I'll try it.

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I'm not sure about this one either?? It's not ringing any bells though. Sounds interesting though!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The ONLY book I've read on this list! And I loved it! So there you have it! But I'm not sure I'll be continuing with the series, just because I keep on hearing about how the author is overdoing the whole series. I mean, I don't know.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I BOUGHT IT TODAY MUHAHAHA. It will ship soon.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Running running running running MAZE

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Yay for death and revenge and THE RUSH FOR THE THRONE. Though I think this is what it's about? I haven't read OR watched it yet. But I'm thinking of watching it first before I read it so I get to know all the characters. Or just never read it, because ya know, it's like 700 pages.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

To be honest, I'm not really sure what The Immortal Rules is about, but every time I hear about it, all I think about it vampires and high school drama. Yeah, I'm most likely confusing this with Vampire Academy. My bad.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I apparently need this book in my life, because so many people have said that it was awesome. And obviously I need to go into it blind.

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

I'm a bad person, but I don't think I'm ever going to read this. It just really doesn't interest me that much. But I know a lot of people do love it! And wait, this is the third book? I haven't even read the first one yet!

I have about 3 more of these tags to do, and I'll be doing them once a week, so I'll try to make it so not everyone is tagged in everything! If you've already been tagged or don't want to be tagged, then my bad!

Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight
Megan @ Adrift on Vulcan
Nobody @ The Story Goes...
Holly @ Part of That World

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Splintered by A. G. Howard
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen