Internship + BookTube-A-Thon | July Wrap-up & August 2016 TBR

July is now coming to a close, which makes me so sad, because it means that we're halfway through the summer and that my internship is over. Time is flying by and I feel like I have no time to really enjoy it. I've been in a blogging slump for the last few weeks, because I was so tired when I came home that I hadn't the will to read/blog/catch up on TV shows… I hope I'll do better in August, even if I'll be working at a local library as a summer job (but with all the books, I should be motivated, right?).

During the whole month, I was still at my internship and it was great! I learnt a lot while I was there and it helped me to really know what I wanted to do in the future. I'll need to study hard for the next few years and it will be a little complicated (but I should talk about it more in September I think, so stay tuned for that), but I'm getting excited about the future, which had always lacked in my life.

While I was at this internship, my boyfriend got me flowers (it was the first time and it was so nice!), then we grabbed some lunch and we'll definitely go back to this restaurant again (the juices are so tasty). My tutor also got me a book, which I wasn't expecting and it made me so happy, because you know, BOOKS! Well, it's in French (translated from German), so I won't be able to talk about it here, but I'll spend my August reading it, which might take a while, as it is 1126 pages long. I'm really interested to read it because for the past few years I've only been reading YA fiction and I would like to diversify my reading life. I also went to Sceaux, where a 17th century castle was destroyed during the French revolution, so the 19th century castle there isn't amazing, but there were still remains of the 17th century domain, so it was great!

With my boyfriend, we've been on multiple adventures during the week-end and it was so much fun! We went to the Musée d'Orsay for the exhibition about Charles Gleyre, a 19th century French painter, which I loved, especially all the paintings that represented the Orient. We explored Montmartre in Paris and it had been such a long time since I had been there, so I was ecstatic, because I love the atmosphere of this place, you definitely don't feel like you're in Paris. Finally, as I had free tickets, we went back to Vaux-le-Vicomte, the 17th century castle I had visited in May (and I might go back soon-ish, but we'll see what the future holds).

 During the third week of the month, I also participated in BookTube-A-Thon, because I was so bad at reading and needed a little motivation. It definitely worked very well, because I managed to finish seven books during that week (there were two short stories there, but still), so I was very happy with that, because it's the only reason I have a decent amount of books I read this month (for me I mean, haha).

My internship ended on Friday and I'll always be grateful for these seven weeks. I'm really sad about it though, because I felt like I kinda belonged there and it makes me optimistic for the future. This week-end, I met up with my best friend and we went to a restaurant, before going to our local bookstore, where I got her the French version of Six of Crows for her birthday! I'm so excited for her to read it!

I'm now trying to get back into the swing of things, I want to read and blog as much as I can, because I think next year at uni will be crazy... So I need to read all the books before that.

The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott 3 stars

How It Feels to Fly by Kathryn Holmes 4 stars

The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves #2) by Morgan Rhodes 4.5 stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 4 stars

Taste of Darkness (Healer #3) by Maria V. Snyder 4 stars

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan 4.5 stars

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3.5 stars

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab 4.5 stars

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany 5 stars

E-NOVELLAS & SHORT STORIES

Phoenix Ouverture (Newsoul #2.5) by Jodi Meadows 4 stars

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell 4 stars

REREADS

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1) by Roald Dahl 4 stars

The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson 4.5 stars

Flights of Fantasy: 50/50. I've read fivebooks for this challenge this month, the Alchemyst, the Darkest Magic, Taste of Darkness, This Savage Song and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, so I'm done, let's party!

Retelling challenge: 10/20. Oops, it seems like I still haven't read any book for this challenge this month, I need to get back into it, but most retellings I want to read will be released in the Fall, so here is my excuse. *hides*

'16 Debut author challenge: 13/20. Well, it seems like I haven't made progress in this challenge either. But look, reading's been hectic so I've been choosing books I was 90% I would love and fly through. But I'll try for next month, I swear!

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson

The Jeromin Children by Ernst Wiechert (in French)

#ReadThemAllThon TBR:

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

PS I Like You by Kasie West

The Magician by Michael Scott

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent

How is your summer so far? Have you read an amazing book lately? Have you been able to go on vacation?

#ReadThemAllThon TBR

I don't play Pokemon Go yet (I know, I know) because life is crazy right now and I'm already struggling to read and blog, I can't add something else in the mix, sadly. Nevertheless, I'm a fan of Pokemon, especially the first generations, I was part of those kids who were collecting the cards without knowing how to play but still played the video games. 

The #ReadThemAllThon, as well as the graphics in this post (except the trainer card), were created by Aentee @ Read At Midnight and will run from August 14th to September 4th. You can click here for all the explanation and the sign-ups (#lazy). This read-a-thon seems like so much fun and I can't wait for it to begin.

CHOSEN POKEMON

1. Read the first book in a series

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye. This book is one of my most anticipated reads of 2016 but I have yet to read it. I also should hurry up, because there is a lot of hype around it already and the title for the second book has already been announced. I'm so fascinated by Russia, I'm so pumped to get to this one.

2. A book that might make you cry

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. I barely know anything about this book, except that it's a contemporary and not a fantasy book with snakes, hahaha. I didn't want to read it because I was assuming the wrong things at first. But anyway, I've seen a lot of people reading this (especially on Twitter) and saying it crushed them. I'm scared.

3. Read a book with thunderous hype

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. I think we can't actually do better than this one, right? I'm planning on getting an ebook version, read it, and then buy a physical copy if I love it, because I'm scared. I want to know what will happen because let's face it, I will be spoiled if I don't read it, but I'm not a fan of all these additions to canon (except the Fantastical Beasts movies <3).

4. Read a book featuring diversity

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour. I read You Know Me Well this month, which Nina LaCour co-authored, and I loved it so much! Because of that, I want to pick up more of her works and I've heard AMAZING things about this one. Except You Know Me Well, I think I've never read a book with a F/F romance, I need to remedy that.

5. Read a book with an epic romance

PS I like you by Kasie West. Kasie West is one of my favourite contemporary authors, she writes cute and fluffy romance novels that I fly through and gives me feels (which isn't that easy, as I'm not exactly a romantic). PS I Like You just came out on July 26th and it's summer, it'll be perfect.

6. Read a book with fantasy or supernatural elements

The Magician by Michael Scott. After years of putting it off, I read the first book in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series last month and while I wasn't impressed, I feel like this series has a lot of potential. I don't want to forget all about The Alchemyst by the time I'm reading the second book, so it'll definitely be happening in August!

7. Read a book with a red cover

Heartless by Marissa Meyer. Well, it doesn't have an actual red cover, but it's the best I can do, so we'll make it work, right? I won this ARC in a giveaway last month (I still can't believe it!!!!) and I'm so excited to finally be reading it. I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and Marissa Meyer is great at fairy tales retellings, so this book is bound to be amazing. ;)

8. Read a book with post-apocalyptic settings.

The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent. I have literally no post-apocalyptic book on my TBR at the moment, because The Flame Never Dies will only be released on August 16th, during the readathon. That was close, or I wouldn't have been able to choose a book for that challenge. Anyway, I cannot wait to get my hands on this one, because while it was a dystopia, the society was quite unique (it involves religion and demons and burning people and I'm dying here don't you see????).

Are you planning on participating to this read-a-thon? Have you read any of the books I'm planning on reading? Do you play Pokemon Go? 

Monsters are gonna come and eat you all | This Savage Song

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by V.E. Schwab

Published: June 7th 2016 by Titan Books Ltd

Genre: young adult, dystopia, paranormal

Goodreads summary: There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

REVIEW

By now, you must know that Victoria Schwab is one of my favourite authors, and she never disappoints. Sure, I don't read all of her books 5 stars, but it's still so pretty damn close every time.

To be honest, I would love to see what is happening in Victoria Schwab's head, because she always crafts such unique and dark worlds I'm deeply in love with (but living there wouldn't be the best idea, right?). This Savage Song was a post-apocalyptic novel where monsters appeared because of all the violence that we, humans, perpetrated. This idea is so interesting considering what happened in the world in the last few years, but also so disturbing. While the idea of this world was creepy, I was engrossed by it, because I love when there are monsters in a world, as it means so many possibilities. There also was a song about it in the book (like Lila had a song in A Gathering of Shadows <3), which I'm totally digging and you should too.

    “Monsters, monsters, big and small,

    They're gonna come and eat you all.

    Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw,

    Shadow and bone will eat you raw.

    Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly,

    Smile and bite and drink you dry.

    Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,

    Sing you a song and steal your soul.

    Monsters, monsters, big and small,

    They're gonna come and eat you all!” 

Schwab is so talented when it comes to world-building, because you never feel overwhelmed with all this new information to process. Indeed, she gives you hints on what is going in but doesn't deliver the whole information until her reader actually needs it. This book was about the notion of good and evil and how complex it was, especially in such a terrible world. You couldn't exactly tell who was "right" and who was "wrong", because the situation was unique. Her writing is so vivid and she can writes such amazing sentences, I fall in love with it every time. It feels like her characters are coming off the page, which can be a little frightening at times, because Kate Harker would definitely scare me to death.

The book started on a quote of Vicious, Schwab's first adult novel, and I loved that so much. It made me laugh, because you need some nerve to do that, but she can totally get away with it, as it was one of the best books I've ever read. While the prologue totally hooked me (because OMG, Kate), it took me about 100 pages to really get into the story, because there wasn't much happening. The first third of the book built a lot of the initial situation - so the synopsis is actually spoiling something happening almost halfway through - but the book was so worth it after that. It was so action-packed and fast-paced and I couldn't stop reading, because I was rooting for the characters and was scared for them at the same time. I loved the last twists Schwab used, because I hadn't seen that coming at all, and I'm pretty excited for Our Dark Duet, the sequel, because while it didn't end on a cliff-hanger, I'm intrigued by the direction the book will go.

The characters were so complex and I was so in love with them. On one hand, we had Kate, who was so kickass and willing to prove her father that she was worth it, she was a Harker, but realized, during the book, that the notions between good and evil weren't as simple and maybe her father wasn't the good guy. On the other hand, you had August who also wanted to prove himself, but was so insecure and willing to be human. He was so, so cute. Except when he was dangerous? But even then. Also he was playing the violin and lured his preys thanks to it, how cool is that (except for the preys, oops)? He was becoming so strong near the end of this first book and I can't wait to see who he'll become. So basically, it was about these teenagers trying to figure themselves out in a messed-up world and went through so much character development. Moreover, Ilsa, August's sister, was such a scary but precious cinnamon roll.

You might have seen a lot of reviewers mention that, but there is no romance in this book. None. Kate and August are coming together not even because there are friends, but because their situation is calling for it, and then, of course they become friends, because it's a life or death situation. But that was all. I loved their relationship, because they came to be so loyal to each other, no matter how awful the situation was and thinking about it…  It is praiseworthy.

Overall, this book was amazing, but it took me some time to get into it, because I was waiting more from the plot. But once I went through this, I was completely addicted to This Savage Song and didn't want it to end. It had such complex and relatable characters on top of a unique and scary world. I don't read dystopian novels that much these days, but you forget it's one while you're reading it, because it doesn't really use the tropes of the genre. I would 100% recommend this book to everyone, but be warned that it could take you time in the beginning.

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it? What's your favourite book by Victoria Schwab (it's close between Vicious and A Gathering of Shadows for me)?

August 2016 Releases | Grabby Hands #8

Grabby Hands is a monthly feature where I talk about all the books I'm excited for that will be released in the next month. When I first started writing this post, I thought it would be a book a week, but apparently nope, I'm still trying to get crushed by my TBR. #bookwormproblems

                                                                         August 2nd                                                                       

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson - I'm so excited for this finale, you have no idea (also, it's 688 pages-long, I'm screaming!). If, at first, this series seemed to be a lot about the love triangle, I was delightly surprised to discover it was so much more complex than that. The world is rich, the characters complex and it's so compelling. Even the prequel novella (Morrighan) added to it, can you imagine? I'm so dedicated I decided to reread the first two books before the release of the last one, that's how dedicate I am. I was already so excited for The Heart of Betrayal last year. I fell in love with Mary Pearson's writing (especially with bits like The Song of Venda), so I'm also looking forward to read her next projects. I'm definitely team Rafe, so I hope I won't be frustrated at the end of the book. 

A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody - I've seen this book everywhere on blogs lately, and it got me intrigued. The premise of this book is quite interesting, because it's about a girl living the same day over and over and over and trying to fix what went wrong during the original day. I've seen movies with this concept so it's not exactly new, but I'm looking forward to read it. It seems like a fun and quick read and well... It should help for these times when our Mondays are indeed that bad (but let's hope they aren't!).

Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia - This book sounds like a regular coming-of-age contemporary novel, but I got attracted to it because it deals with the publishing industry, the main character wanting to write and then publish a book. It's something I like to read about, because I'm so passionate about this world (if I lived in an English-speaking country I would want to work in this industry, but I wasn't born in any of them *sigh*).

                                                                          August 9th                                                                       

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff - I feel like everyone and their moms have been reading their ARC copies of this lately, because it's all I see on Twitter and Goodreads. I don't mind that much, since I'm so excited for this book. The cover is beautifully scary and I want the US cover! Last time I checked, it was so expensive on Book Depository though... *sobs in a corner* The world sounds so creepy ("a city built from the bones of a dead god" <--- I'm in love already) and it involves assassins, so what could go wrong (um, people could die in the book, you idiot)? Jay Kristoff is one of the masterminds behind Illuminae, so I can't say I trust him (because evilness), but I have high hopes it'll be great.

The Chase (The Witch Hunter #1.5) - I'm not a huge fan of novellas, but this one is about Fifer and Schuyler, where is it? I must have it. Like yesterday. Side note: It's the same sword than the original cover of Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman, which I found funny. But honestly, who cares about enovellas' covers?

                                                                         August 15th                                                                      

The Architect of Song (Haunted Hearts Legacy #1) by A.G. Howard - I have to confess I still haven't read the Splintered trilogy by this author, and I'm ashamed, because it's Alice in Wonderland, but I had heard mixed things about it. I'm planning on giving it a go at some point, but in the meantime, I'm excited for the author's next projects, The Architect of Song and RoseBlood. I need this book in my life because a) the cover is beautiful b) it's set in Victorian England c) the main character is deaf d) it's a new adult fantasy and I have faith in the genre thanks to A Court of Mist and Fury (yes, I'm rambling) e) but also a gothic novel involving ghosts. You know you want it (*whispers* because I do).

                                                                         August 16th                                                                      

The Flame Never Dies (The Stars Never Rise #2) by Rachel Vincent - Okay, I barely read dystopian novels anymore, but The Stars Never Rise surprised me in the best ways last year, so I'm really excited for its continuation. What totally sold me on this must have been the demons, I confess. But Rachel Vincent managed to involve them in such a unique way, that took me by surprise and left me begging for more. There are exorcists in the book, okay? The first one didn't end on a cliff-hanger, but I'm still so excited for this one, especially now that I learnt it was a duology, because it's so rare, and I need help with my TBR.

                                                                        August 23rd                                                                       

Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter - By scrolling on Goodreads I just found out this isn't the last book?!? Oh my, I'm so relieved, because those are great. The first book was pitched as "Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes" and it was just right. Of course, it's set in the Victorian era (we're talking about me, after all), but in America. I'm ridiculously excited because Jackaby and Abigail will be investigating Jenny's murder (their ghost landlord) in this book. I'm amazed at how well William Ritter is intertwining folklore and murders, it's so peculiar.

                                                                          August 30rd                                                                     

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi - *see the cover* Okay, take my money. I don't read a lot of middle grade novels, but sometimes I'm surprised and love them (like Keeper of the Lost Cities), it could definitely be the case with this one. I really enjoyed Mafi's first trilogy, Shatter Me, and I was looking forward to see what was next for her. I like that it's about a world where everything is in color but yet this little girl isn't. I'm so curious about this book.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) - Remember that time when we weren't sure we would get a sequel for AEITA? Well, the book gods granted us, because A Torch Against the Night is coming. I'm so excited for this book, because AEITA was one of the best debuts I read last year (along with The Wrath and the Dawn obviously), and I want to know what will happen to Elias and Laia next.

Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West - I haven't seen reviews on this one yet, but look, a shiny baby debut, I need that. No, but honestly, this book is inspired by a bunch of fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty but also stories like Hua Mulan or Emma by Jane Austen. It intrigues me immensely.

Are you excited for any of these books? Which book are you most excited for that will be published in August (mine is The Beauty of Darkness)?

All the stories are true | The Alchemyst

The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1)

Published: May 22nd 2007 by Delacorte Press

Genre: young adult, fantasy

Goodreads summary: Read the first book in the New York Times bestselling The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, perfect for fans of The Maze Runner and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

REVIEW

After hearing my boyfriend talking about this series for two years, I finally gave in and read it. It totally felt like this book had been written almost ten years ago, so I feel like my younger self would have loved it so much more than my twenty years old self did, but it was still a good book. This book was written like YA was back in the day, but my expectations have changed, here was the problem.

Starting with the plot, this book was quite predictable, because it’s the type of book we’ve all read a thousand times before, with teenagers finding out our world is bigger than they thought and they’re special snowflakes meant to save it. I don’t think many things happened, it really felt like an introduction to this world, but it has so much potential for the rest of the series. As The Alchemyst was more of a set-up, the main storyline was pretty cool and I’m eager to see where the author is going with it. I enjoyed that this book had multiple points of view, especially with John Dee’s one, which was interesting, as he was the antagonist of the series and it’s rare to have it.

The world was interesting, because it was based off every lore of ever, which means the author has infinite possibilities, so I’m excited for this. He talked about Egyptian mythology, but also Celtic’s with the Morrhigan, which reminded me, in that aspect, of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. However, I was annoyed at the amount of info-dump there was during the book, which led to irritation and boredom while reading it. There was so much information I couldn’t process all of it, so it’s likely I’ll have forgotten most of it by the time I read the second book. Because of that, Nick’s point of view was one of the hardest to get through, because he was explaining the world All. The. Time.

I never understood how Nicolas had escaped Dee for so long, as his alias was “Nick Fleming”. It was so obvious that it was ridiculous. I think the author didn’t dwell too long on that, but because of it, I felt so convenient that Dee found him just when Josh and Sophie were there THAT summer. But whatever. I still need to give this book a bonus point because the author remembered his characters had parents and thought an excuse for them, because it rarely happens, you know? Nevertheless, I found the magic system to be amazing and I cannot wait to read more on that (but please, no more infodump).

While the main characters were deeply annoying, I think that Scott portrayed realistic teenagers. They felt hot-and-cold, being real clever at times and totally dumb at others, but well, I could understand it. It prevented me to care for them though… But maybe it’ll be better in the sequels. Nevertheless, I liked the situation the author put the twins in, because it will lead to so much tension in the next books. I cared more about the secondary characters, because they were mythical beings, which made them so much more interesting.

Overall, I took way too long to read this and because of that, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I still went through it pretty quickly, so it still had an addictive quality to it, but it was predictable and had tons of info-dump, even though the world was interesting. This book must be aimed at middle schoolers, even though the characters are fifteen, in my opinion. I have hopes the sequel will improve a lot, because the characters will get through some development, and the plot will be more exciting.

Have you read this series? Do you think it improves in the later books? Are you fascinated with alchemy and want more books about it?

Reading book series: yay or nay? | Conversations

Conversations is a fortnightly discussion meme hosted by Geraldine @ Corralling Books and Joan @ Fiddler Blue where the aim is to get to know other bloggers and to generate conversations, as the name of the meme suggests! It’s been a while since I joined the fun (because LIFE) but I’m digging this week’s, topic: Reading series: yay or nay!

First off, I’ve realized that I love fantasy series (that’s all I read, let’s be real), but I’m not a fan of contemporary series: I tried To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han last year and disliked it, but I have one exception, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, like many readers out there. So I think book series actually work better for certain genres.

I love reading series, I think it’s a more interesting format, because the author has so much more time to develop a world, her characters and create intricate dynamics and plotlines. I’m looking at my shelves at the moment and I almost only see series, if I’m being honest, so I’ll probably be biased.

Perks of book series

1) You can binge read said series (when all the books are already published).

Reading complete series can be great, because it means M.A.R.A.T.H.O.N.I.N.G. and it’s such a great feeling. For Christmas 2014, I got two entire trilogies: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, guess how I spent Christmas break? I read all of these books in a matter of days, I got completely engrossed in these worlds and fell in love with the characters. However, it’s so hard when you turn the last page of the last book in the series, crying because you feel you should have taken your time with it. I’m in denial every time.

I have the fondest feeling of binge-reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard. I feel like I’m talking about it every time, but it’s the last series I actually marathoned, I want to get physical copies because I read them on my e-reader, so it’ll sit nicely next to Truthwitch and I love it, okay? I want to reread it forever because it got my heart and my soul.

Five days of awesomeness, forgetting about school work, loving Daniel and Eleanor because OTP and sobbing at the end. I still think about it when I read it in October 2015 and we’re in July, that’s how obsessed I am.

2) You get to die wait for the sequel to come out and feel all the excitement.

I’m digging new releases because they’re shiny and new (obviously) and because of that, I’m waiting for sequels All. The. Time. I might be a masochist, because it means I’m dying every time, but series mean excitement! It means getting all the fan merchandise, reading all the fanfictions and fangirling over all the fanarts while waiting for the sequel to be released. Meaning: I need help since I finished A Court of Mist and Fury. Because Rhysand and the Inner Circle. <3

3) You can stay longer in this world.

When I start a new series, I’m being so engrossed and amazed by the world I’m discovering and when I’m done with said book, I just want to get back into it. Like many readers, I love to travel somewhere else, to travel like I read, and it’s such a good opportunity when you read book series.

You can even reread the previous books in the series before you get to the sequel, so you’ll be able to stay longer in this world. That’s what I did back in February when I reread A Darker Shade of Magic, before jumping almost straight back into this world made of different Londons with A Gathering of Shadows.

4) You get attached to the characters so much that they feel like family and you love to see them again.

When you read book series, you spend so much time with the characters that you care for them so much, they’re your precious cinnamon rolls and babies. You go through so much with them (um, I mean, they go through so much), which involves a lot of tears and feels, but it’s so worth it.

I’m so involved with the characters of The Infernal Devices; I struggle so much to pick up a favourite secondary character. For example, I love Jessamine Lovelace so much, she’s my precious baby, but so many people disliked her. I also love Charlotte, because she’s such a strong woman. And Henri and his explosions. And Sophie. And Cecily. And Gideon. And Gabriel. Look I’m dying there, because I love them so, so damn much.

Also, how can you keep a steady relationship with your book boyfriend if you’re reading a standalone?? *winks*

Disadvantages of series

1) Sometimes, I read the first book, wait forever to read the sequel and either forget everything or lose interest about it.

I’m great at reading a first book in a series and then forgetting about it altogether. I read Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger last month and I loved it (gave it 4.5 stars), but I have yet to continue with the series, when I own the next three books on my e-reader. I’m being ridiculous, I know.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve read many first books in series – especially debuts – but does it mean I will wait to the sequel next year? Not for all of them, because I’ll have forgotten all about most of them. Sometimes, I even dropped series in the middle: I know I’ll never read The Death Cure and I still have to work the courage to continue the Air Awakens series.

2) You can be overwhelmed by the number of books you have to read until you reach the end.

I have a few completed series on my TBR at the moment and I’ve noticed that I’m less excited about those than other series. It’s just that I can start the books anytime, and I won’t have to wait forever and a day to get the sequel, so where’s the rush?

It’s almost as if I have these books on my TBR so I’m not scared I will always have something to read (because at the end of 2015, I had nothing left to read and I freaked out!). Like many people, I’m also way more attracted to shiny new releases and forget about backlist titles… Which means series are complete and I still haven’t read them. Oops.

For example, if I wasn’t buddy reading the Healer trilogy with Geraldine (hi there! ;)), I know it would have taken me so much more time to get to it eventually.

3) Reading standalones 100% helps your TBR. 

As you know, there are so many books out there, just waiting to be read! When you complete a standalone book, don’t you feel relief because you don’t have to add the sequel to your TBR, which is already enormous? Because I DO. You also have this feeling of closure, because this story is over.

Overall, I’m #teamseries. It’s true, sometimes I’m giving up on them, or forget what happened in some books and need recaps. But I love spending more time in different worlds and with my favourite characters.

Do you prefer book series or standalones? How often do you give up on series?