Winter | Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Published: November 10th by Feiwel and Friends

Goodreads summary: Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

MY THOUGHTS

What can I tell you, except that this is the book I've been waiting for since Cress was released? I need it in my life since then, but sadly, it wasn't published in February (which seems so far away)... I hope this book will be worth it and live up to my expectations, because it is the last book... I can't express my feelings, because I'm a little too excited (more than for Queen of Shadows, so I'm scared).

Are you excited for this book? What do you think of the Lunar Chronicles? Which book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Creatures of the Night | Book Tag

This tag was created last year by the Booktuber Katytastic, I thought it would be a great time to do it, because you know, Halloween is coming and everything. I must resist the urge to post Nightmare before Christmas' gifs but it's HAAAAARD. This tag is really easy to do, because you just have to pick a book for a paranormal creature. 

VAMPIRES

When I think about it, that's all I was reading back in the day, but now, vampire books aren't working for me anymore (like The Coldest Girl in Coldtown). But, two years ago, I read Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and this is the best vampire series I've ever read! Even if it took a lot of dedication (it is six books long and Bloodlines also has six books), it was totally worth it! I love the turn took on the vampire, it's inspired by folklore and it was SO GOOD. The main character is totally kick-ass, you will swoon over her love interest, aaaaand... There is Adrian Ivashkov so you should be sold!

WEREWOLVES

IDK why but I don't really remember werewolves books I read (yes one but it's spoilery^^) except for Twilight obviously. I'm gonna cheat a little and choose the Need series by Carrie Jones because there are shapeshifters and a werewolf among them! There are a were-tiger, a were-bear, so that's pretty cool! In fact, there are all sorts of paranormal creatures because there are pixies and even Norse mythology! I never read the last book because I spoiled myself BUT this book was cool because it had a list of phobias.

ZOMBIES

I've read one zombie book in my life and I finished it about... Yesterday (I'm not kidding guys). Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard is set in 19th century Philadelphia and it was amazing!!! I still haven't gathered my thoughts about it so I can't tell you more except that I was soooo stupid for not reading this sooner! Also, I tweeted to Susan Dennard after I finished the book and she thanked me for reading it, she's so adorable! I'm becoming a Hungry and will eat this series 'til the end of times. Also, the next book is set in Paris, so there's that! :D

GHOSTS

I read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake two years ago and it's a must-read for Halloween! The atmosphere is totally creepy, I looooooved the way it was an urban fantasy and the main character was a ghost hunter! The cover is stunning, I have the UK edition so it's part of the Books with Bite collection, which makes me laugh so much.

WITCH/WARLOCK/SPELLCASTER

HARRY POTTER! MAGNUS BANE!

It's so obvious I had to mention it, of course... More seriously, the magic system of Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms is on point, they have a magic academy near the military academy, there are amulets and everything... And of course there's Han who is a great main character who also happens to be... A thief. So yes, the spellcasters in these books are GREAT.

FAIRY/FAE

I was brainstorming when I remembered... *suspens* A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (how did I forget?). This book had such a great world-building with the Courts (Winter, Fall, Summer, Spring, Day and Night), I loved it. It was a really good book anyway, the last part of it took me by surprise because it was less "Beauty and the Beast" than the beginning, but it was as amazing. I can't wait to see the characters when A Court of Mist and Fury is released.

DEMONS

The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent is a dystopia with demons. Oh God, this book was so great and took me by surprise. People that are believed to be demons are burnt in front of the all town so that's quite gruesome and scary and awful. 

ANGELS

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand has a special place in my heart because it was such a cute series. I was such a Clara/Tucker shipper (because Carrots ♥), I cried sooooo much (I cry for every single book she wrote anyways). No but honestly it was such a beautiful book with hope within it... *sighs dreamily*

ALIENS

I haven't read a lot of books with aliens in it, like there is The 5th Wave (mixed feelings for the second book), Alienated (ugh) and the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I adored the Lux, I know it was cheesy and everything but I loved it about these books! Compared to JLA's other paranormal books I didn't like (White Hot Kiss), the plot was important and so was the world-building. Of course, it was also a lot about Daemon and Kathy's relationship but I was rooting for them! And she was a book blogger so it excuses everything! 

SUPERPOWERED HUMANS

I thought about The Flash and then X-Men and then Heroes, but that's not books! Anyways The Darkest Minds features kids that have superpowers. The adults are actually scared of them and send them to camps, apparently to cure them, but in reality they never come back because no one knows what's happening. The part about the camps was absolutely dreadful, but in the second book, an organization works with the characters as a team and it was soooo X-Men I loved it!

Tell me your list for this tag, I'm always looking for more recommendations :)

The Accident Season | Book review

Title: The Accident Season

Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle

Published: August 18th 2015 by Corgi Children

Goodreads summary: It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

REVIEW

So let’s raise our glass to the accident season,
To the river beneath us where we sink our souls,
To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling,

One more drink for the watery road.

This book was really addictive and I read it in one sitting, because once you're sucked into the mystery, you just want to keep reading to know what the ending will be. The writing was beautiful, blurred the lines between reality and magic, so that you kept asking yourself if what was going on was real or not.  

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, because who doesn't love a good mystery? It was gripping and scary because of the scenery. This book is set in Ireland, with bridges that crumbled under your feet and a frozen river beneath it, but also a creepy abandoned house. I was on the edge of my sit, because I was expecting anything: the thing is, with this accident season, anything can happen, people even DIE. The twists blew my mind tbh, I know it's not everyone case, but just WOW. 

Mrs. McCarthys turns to Bea. "Miss Kivlan," she says. "We are not in Hogwarts, we are in fifth-year French. So you can now lead the class in a chant about irregular verbs."

The characters didn't really stand out to me, but it didn't bother me that much, because they made me laugh so much. I liked that Bea was the kind of girls who read cards and all that jazz. Actually, the best thing about the characters wastheir dynamics, because three of them leaves in the same house, they're all like siblings. I enjoyed the romance, but I don't think it added anything to the story (even if I had feels).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was teary-eyed toward the end, because it was so moving when everything was revealed. At the same time, it was really cute. If you enjoy books about family, this one is definitely for you!

Have you read this book or are you interested? What did you think about it?

Never Never | Book review

Title: Never Never

Author: Brianna Shrum

Published: September 22nd 2015 by Spencer Hill Press

Goodreads summary: James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does. And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan. Except one.

REVIEW

At first, I was really intrigued by this book and really wanted to know more of Hook’s backstory, which was a success, but this book didn’t captivate me, I had a hard time finishing it. I felt the story was a bit slow in the beginning, I wasn’t hooked right away, but it was better when we got into Neverland. I liked that every aspect of Neverland was a child’s dream – James Hook’s is the pirates, of course. It was interesting to see how James starts from being a Lost Boy to the captain we all know about, it’s the aspect I enjoyed the more.

                                                                                  

It was great to see a lot of Tiger Lily, I loved her character. The other characters didn’t really matter, in my opinion, I expected so much more from M. Smee. At first, I really enjoyed the romance, it was original, but at some point it was just DRAMA, it was so frustrating… Ugh. It’s sad because I really shipped the characters together. I had a hard time connecting with Hook, unfortunately. However, the scene with Timothy made me so emotional.

Another problem I had with this book is that it started as middle-grade to switch to young adult. The line between this two genres wasn’t drawn very well, it was a little confusing. Moreover, while reading the book, I was wondering how this would end, because honestly, Hook and Pan’s fight can go on forever, it’s Neverland, after all. The ending was five lines long and I didn’t really care…

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Illuminae | Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)

Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

Published: October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads summary: This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

MY THOUGHTS

The synopsis sounds sooooo intriguing. Every person who got an early copy of this book said it was amazing and it sounds amazing! This book really looks like one Kaufman can write, because of the Starbound trilogy. Because I know the work of this author, I'm really looking forward to read this, and to discover Jay Kristoff.

Are you excited for this book? Have you read other books by this author? What are you waiting for this wednesday?

Library of Souls | Book review

Title: Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar's Children #3)

Author: Ransom Riggs

Published: September 22th 2015 by Quirk Books

Goodreads summary: The adventures that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued with Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls.

As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. 

Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography.

REVIEW

First of all, guys don’t read these books on an e–reader, because it’s REALLY awful (I tried, once), the pictures are much better quality and creepy in physical copies. I read Hollow City more than a year ago and I couldn’t remember the details very well, when Library of Souls picked right after it. The glossary was helpful, but not enough.

I was glad to be back in this creepy world, I really enjoyed the setting in Devil’s acre (I think it was Victorian era? Even better!). Riggs added a lot to his world, for example tales about peculiardom, it was scary but essential in this story. We got to know the truths behind hollowgasts and wights or meet characters we had heard about. We also learned why Abe was powerless against hollows when he dies or why he left the peculiar’s children.

However, this book had a big flaw, like the others: the chapters were way too long. Despite the pictures that took a lot of place, some of them were 60 pages long; I didn’t have THAT much time to read. Riggs’ writing is very dense, I always have a hard time to concentrate because of it, and it would really help if the chapters were shorter. For example, here, it was a 458 pages long book for eleven chapters.

The plot was fantastic; there wasn’t a moment to be bored. The book focused a lot on the dynamics between Jacob and Emma; I came to enjoy them more together. Addison is my fave, I don’t remember what he looked like so I picture him as Dough from Up!

The ending was simplistic in my opinion, like “boom” everything is resolved.

Have you read this trilogy? What did you think of it?

The Reading Habits Tag

I saw this tag some time ago on Isha and Hanna's blog, Two Sisters Bloggin and I love doing tags! I haven't done one since... Chris Pratt Book Tag I think in June or July. Anyway now I'm in the mood for a tag, so let's do this :)

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

I almost always read in bed, but I have an armchair in my room to read! Sadly  the cat claimed it and yells at me when I'm in it.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I'd rather use a bookmark when they're not lot somewhere but these days I do most of my reading on my e-reader so I don't have any problem. ;)

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/a certain amount of pages?

I hate stopping mid-chapter, it drives me crazy when my boyfriend stops to read when he hasn't finished a chapter! But sadly, sometimes I don't have a choice and have to stop reading at once... *sighs* and when I come back to it I don't know where I stopped...

Do you eat or drink while reading?

TEA, TEA AND TEA, JUST LOOK AT MY URL ;) I don't often eat while I read, because it's hard to do these two things at the same time when I'm reading on a physical copy. Drinking tea is everything, though. I'll admit that sometimes, when I was to finish a book read bad and don't have anything to watch on Netflix let's be real, I'm taking dinner while I'm reading, but I don't really recommend you to do that, because my clothes are sometimes angry with me.

Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

I have three little brothers so I don't mind reading if there is music or TV around, because it happens all the time when I'm at home and not in my bedroom. However, I'll never put music or TV willingly.

One book at a time or several at once?

Most of the time, I read one book at a time, it's a face-to-face and I don't want a third part involved ;) BUT sometimes it's more convenient to read a physical copy and an ebook at the same time, because I don't like to take my hardcovers and paperbacks at uni, but I love to read there so yeah the struggle.

Reading at home or everywhere?

(... But in the car because it makes me sick)

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head because sometimes if I read out loud I kinda don't understand what I'm reading. I know, it's weird, it's just that my brain doesn't try to understand...

Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Sometimes I spoil myself accidentally because I'm turning the pages for the feeling or because I wanna know how many chapters are in this book. But I confess I read HP and the Deathly Hallows' epilogue because I wanted to know! 

ALL WAS WELL ♥

Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

In a perfect world I would never break the spine but sadly... It happens sometimes!

Do you write in your books?

Nope, except for Clockwork Angel (when I reread I want kinda made and wrote every possible comment. I'll regret it when I reread it again^^) and A Tale of Two Cities (because "you are the last dream of my soul" ♥).

And I'm tagging YOU reading this post, if you haven't done this tag yet!

If you did it, post your links in the comments, I'll come read it!