Wednesday 7 January 2015

T5W: Anticipated 2015 Releases

Hey, guys! I'm back with another Top 5 Wednesday post. I really want to try and do these more often this year. If you're interested in more information or participating in Top 5 Wednesdays, all the information is on the Goodreads group here :) This week's topic is more anticipated releases for 2015 and boy, do I have a few I'm excited for. So without further ado, let's do this! (Note: I usually put pictures of the covers next to books I'm talking about but half of these don't have ones yet so I just decided to scrap the idea)

#5: Winter by Marissa Meyer
I'm still reading the Lunar Chronicles but what I've read so far has been really great so I'm excited for the release of the next book in the series, even if I haven't quite caught up to the series yet. Plus, this is released quite late in the year so I've still got a bit of time to catch up.

#4: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
I've still got the Heroes of Olympus series to finish off before I can be really excited for this release, but I'm excited nonetheless. Rick Riordan's books haven't disappointed me yet and the idea for this one sounds awesome (+ Norse mythology, heck yes!) so I can't wait!

#3: |A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Just the fact that this is written by Maas has me excited but it also just sounds like a really interesting book. And if it's anywhere near as good as the Throne of Glass series, than there's a lot to look forward to.

#4: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead
This one is really close to being released and I just can't wait. Funny story, I'm actually going to be coming home from a vacation the day that this is released so I don't think I will be straight on the bandwagon like I was with Silver Shadows but once I've recovered I will definitely be picking it up asap. Anyhow, I'm really excited to see how this series is going to be concluded, if not also really sad that I will have to finally say farewell to this world.

#5: Untitled Throne of Glass Book 4 by Sarah J. Mass
I know that Maas is focusing on her other book release at the moment (see two above), but I just really more info on this one. We don't even have a title yet, or a release date. I have been literally dying to get my hands on it since finishing Heir of Fire and it's definitely my most anticipated release of the year.

So, are your most anticipated releases of 2015? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!
Jess, xxx

Friday 2 January 2015

2015 Resolutions

Every year I like to set myself goals because it really motivates me to make changes in my life for the better. I've set myself a handful of these goals and I thought I'd share the ones that relate to reading and this blog.

1. Read 100 books (I've set my Goodreads challenge to this)
2. Post on this blog at least once a week
3. Attempt the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge
4. Read more diversely
5. Get my TBR pile that I own down to less than 25% of all books I own (it's currently just below 50%)

These are the prominent goals I have set. What are your aims for reading/blogging in 2015? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,
Jess, xxx

Thursday 1 January 2015

2014 Favourites!

Well, as 2014 has come to a close (in my timezone anyway), I thought it'd be a good time to talk about my favourite books/series I've read this year. Let me start by saying that this year was an amazing reading year for me. I've been in a massive reading slump since about 2012 and I have finally re-discovered my love for books. Also, I beat my reading challenge by a tonne (I read 75 when I was aiming for 50, yay!). But anyway, my top 5 books for this year are as follows:

#5: A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin 
I think this is a favourite half because I genuinely enjoyed and half because I'm so glad I have finally caught up on this series. I started reading it back in 2011 so it has taken me a good 3 years to read it. It wasn't because I wasn't enjoying, but that the books are so long and the story is so heavy that sometimes it can become overwhelming. But I need Winds of Winter right now!

#4: Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
This series is really unique. It puts a bit of a different spin on fantasy and the writing is just gorgeous. I fell in love with it and I wish Rothfuss could give us an idea of when he will release the last book because the wait is killing me.

#3: Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
Not only do I associate this series with my first booktube-a-thon but I will never forget how fast I read these books. If I remember correctly, I read all 3 books in 2 days. I am a relatively fast reader but that is still insane, I just couldn't put them down. The story just caught me so hard and it has definitely become one of my all-time favourite series.

#2: Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
So I'd never  really heard about this book series until I found the book community online and while I don't think the first book lived up to the hype, the next two (and the series as a whole) definitely do. It has easily become one of my favourite both this year and in general. I'm so glad I started this series and I can't wait for the next book. I couldn't recommend this one enough for fantasy lovers!

#1: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Not only do I love this book a whole lot but I mark this book as a tipping point in my reading. It brought me out of my huge reading slump and it was the first book in a long while that I read for the first time in one sitting. Also, it introduced me to the amazingness that is Rainbow Rowell. If you want more of my thoughts of this one, check out my review here (it was my first review I ever posted on this thing, too!).

How was your reading this year? What were your favourites? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,
Jess, xxx

Monday 15 December 2014

Book Review: Wonder by R J Palacio (NO SPOILERS)

Title: Wonder
Author: R J Palacio
Goodreads Summary: My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review:
(I’m keeping this spoiler free because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone)

This book was gorgeous. So, so gorgeous. I tried to not find out too much about the novel before I went in but I did start with high expectations – something I really don’t like doing – because I had just heard so many good things about this novel. But I was still not disappointed in it at all. The prose was really lovely and the story was just as beautiful as it was important. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter their age or background, because I think it is both something that people should be aware of as well as the fact that it is told in a style that can be appreciated by the masses. This is a novel that will tear your heart out, but not also from heartache but also because sometimes it was just really wonderful and touching. I turned the last page with tears streaking down my face.

If I was to give one critique about the book, it would be the fact that I felt like the multiple perspectives, at times, were a bit useless and something off-putting. The reader is first introduced to the story through the eyes of the main character – Auggie – and just as I was beginning to really get into his story, it changed point-of-view. I felt really jarred from it and didn’t quite want to let his story go yet. Despite this, I did find that it really helped the story at some points, giving the story more depth by added more voices to tell it. Basically, it was good and it wasn’t. Sometimes, I felt like it really added to the story. Other times, I felt like the perspectives were useless and/or boring and didn’t need to be included. I do think that if you can, get your hands on the copy with the added Julian chapter. I found that I strangely loved it.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book so, so much and I need you all to read it. I feel like this should be a book that should be used in schools because of its easy prose and the fact that it explores bullying. One of the easiest 5 star ratings I’ve given.

Have any of you read Wonder by R J Palacio as well? What were your thoughts? Love it, hate it? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Jess, xxx

Monday 1 December 2014

November Wrap Up

Okay guys, it’s that time of the month again – wrap up time! I think I did fairly well this month considering it’s been NaNoWriMo month (Side note: Did any of you participate? Did you win?) and I spent a good lot of my time either writing or thinking about writing, haha. But I did fit a good lot of reading in as well. I read 9 books, which are as follows:


#1: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
So, I love, love, love the Kingkiller Chronicles. I only read it earlier this year and absolutely fell in love with it. It quickly became one of my favourite series. And then I found out Rothfuss was coming out with a novella about Auri (AKA one of my favourite characters from the series) and to say I was excited was an understatement. But maybe due to the fact I went in with high expectations or that it doesn’t follow a normal novel structure, I’m not sure, but I found that I wasn’t overly impressed with this little novella. The writing was just as gorgeous as Rothfuss’s standard, and I found it interesting to be given more insight into Auri’s life, but I just felt like it wasn’t what I wanted from this short story. I had been hoping that it would give more information about Auri’s past, which I am really interested in knowing. But it was more like “A Week in the Life of Auri”, which was interesting but not what I wanted. I know this has gotten a lot of mixed reviews for it but I would say that to any fan of the Kingkiller Chronicles should definitely give it a shot. It’s only a small little thing and it’s good in some ways, just know that I don’t think it’s for every fan. I gave it 3/5 stars.

#2: Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
As you may know from last month’s wrap up, I have been trying to complete the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as the Heroes of Olympus series. This marked the end of the PJO series and I honestly loved it. I thought some things could have been done a tad better but I just felt like it wrapped everything up really nicely, but also left a nice space for the HOO series to carry on from. I can’t really say much without spoiling anything, but to recommend that anyone who hasn’t read this series definitely should. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it is a middle grade series, it’s good for all ages and it is fantastic. I gave it 5/5 stars.

#3: The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
I major in Sociology at university so I was bound to pick this up one day. I have always agreed with a lot Marx had to say and this was no different. It wasn’t actually much of anything new than I had read before, but it definitely showed him delving a bit more into his theories and I really enjoyed that. I gave it 4/5 stars.

#4: Wonder by R. J. Palacio
I actually have a full review coming of this one very soon so keep your eyes peeled. But in short, I absolutely adored this book. It explores important themes of bullying and self-identity and is equal parts heartbreaking as it is heart warming. I would recommend it to anyone. I gave it 5/5 stars.


#5: Young Avengers Vol. #1: Side Kicks by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
So, I read the 2013 run of the Young Avengers a couple of months ago and just fell in love with the characters. There isn’t much more on them so I thought I’d check the run that I probably should have started with: the first one. These comics are a great introduction to the characters and they’re really fun, as well. I enjoyed the 2013 run just slightly more, but I loved these a lot as well. I gave it 4/5 stars.

#6: Young Avengers Vol. #2: Family Matters by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
As a continuation from the last one, this one was also wonderful but I felt like it was trying too hard to complicate the story. It seemed as if it was adding too much to the plot to make it more complex and give it more depth, but it just seemed a bit overdone. Despite this, I still loved a lot about it and, as I’ve said before, I really adore the characters. So I still gave it 4/5 stars.

#7: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
I absolutely adore the movie adaptation of this novel, so, on a whim, I bought it the other month and I didn’t waste too much time in picking it up. It ended up being quite different from its movie counterpart but still a good book. Of course, it’s basically Cinderella but just slightly different so it’s not like the story is any sort of surprising but I still enjoyed it a lot. It was really fun and the all the magical creatures were so wonderful. I do feel like the story lacked a bit of depth and the climax fell a bit flat so I only gave it 3/5 stars, but I would still definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoy the movie.

#8: The Goblin Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens
I read this little short story as a part of the A Very Dickens Read-a-Long, which I heard about the day before it started and couldn’t say no to it. I actually haven’t read any of Dickens’ novels, despite having about three of them on my shelves but I thought this would be a good way to start. Also, I’m really excited for all the Christmas themed reads for December. But as for the novel, it’s clear that Dickens was a master at what he does. He really knows how to tell a good story and lay a heavy message on it, despite its short length. I gave it 3/5 stars.

#9: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
This is another novel I have a review lined up for (I was literally halfway done writing it when I went to go write this wrap up instead). But to quickly summarise how I felt about it, I enjoyed it but felt like it had more potential than it showed. The premise for it was really interesting but I felt that it got too caught up in the romance elements of the book. It was still good and I’m excited for the rest of the series, but it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it’d be. Also, the cover is absolutely beautiful. I gave it 3/5 stars.

So, that’s all I got done for this month. I’m about 150 pages out from finishing a Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin, which I’d really hoped to be able to include in this wrap up (since I have been reading it since April) but then I got caught up with trying to finish NaNoWriMo. But I’m proud of how many books I got through this month considering how much writing I have been trying to do. I’m hoping for a good December month, though, with all the Christmas-y reads.

Oh, just on that point, I will be participating in both the A VeryDickens Christmas Read-a-Long (which I already mentioned and has already started) as well as the Harry Xmas To You Read-a-Watch-a-Long-a-Thon (which, wow, that is long to say), which are both awesome events happening in December. I’ve linked info for both there so you should all check them out and join in the fun.

How did your Novembers go for reading? Good, bad, or were you caught up in NaNoWriMo like I was? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Jess, xxx

Monday 3 November 2014

October Wrap-Up!

Hey, guys! Sorry for being so quiet lately. My uni schedule is super crazy right now. I'm currently writing this wrap up in between study but I didn't want to post it 2 weeks late like in September. I've still got a few assignments to go for the year and I'm undertaking the NaNoWriMo challenge so who knows whether I will manage to get more active here, oops. But anyhow, I only read 7 books this month but considering how busy I've been, I'm really pleased with that.

#1: The Maze Runner by James Dashner 
I read this because I really wanted to read it before seeing the movie which has been just released (which I really liked FYI). I thought this book was alright but the characters were quite dull and there was a lot of issues I had with the story. It's got such an interesting concept behind it but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I still want to give the rest of the series a shot but I don't think this book was amazing. I gave it 3/5 stars.

#2: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Okay, I already did a full review of that here (spoilers!) so I won't talk a lot about this a lot but man, I just adored this book! Favourite of the series so far. I gave it 5/5 stars.

#3: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
So, I read Anna and the French Kiss (the first in this companion series) a few months ago and I was pretty disappointed by it. It wasn't horrible but nowhere near the level of awesome I'd been anticipating after what I'd heard about it. Although I still wanted to check out the other books because maybe they were better and that was definitely the case with this one. I felt like the characters were just more well-rounded and the story was better. Also, some of the scenes near the end were honestly so gorgeous. I ended up giving it 3.5/5 stars.

#4: An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green
Man, I really wanted to like this but I just couldn't. I read TFiOS by John Green (which I adored) almost two years ago now but I had never picked up any of his other novels. On recommendation from one of my friends, I decided it would be good to do so with this. Sadly, I was so disappointed. I found the novel, as a whole, really flat and boring and I had a huge disconnect to the main character. Granted, I have heard many people say this is their least favourite Green novel so I still plan to check out the others. I gave it 2/5 stars.

#5: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Okay, so I have decided that I want to try and finish the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series before the end of the year. I read the first two in this series about 2-3 years ago and have no idea why I never picked up the others. Luckily for me, my brother owns the entire series so I have easy access to them. I really loved this one! It brought so many new elements into the story and wasn't afraid to delve into darker stuff when it needed to. I had also forgotten how funny Percy's commentary is. I ended up giving this 4/5 stars.

#6: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
I felt like the start of this novel dragged on a bit but about a third of the way through it picked up and got really interesting. I loved the idea of the ever changing, magical Labyrinth! There was a really gorgeous scene at the end that I can't actually say what it was because spoilers but for those who have read the book, the thing with Grover! The really important thing! Ah, it's so difficult to mention anything but the point I'm getting at is this book was wonderful and fun and also genuinely heartwrenching for the last 60 or so pages. I gave it 4/5 stars.

#7: Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-Up
So, I am a huge fan of Grace Helbig so this was a must get for me! I actually ended up listening to the audio book because I found out it was narrated by Grace herself and thought it would just add a bit more of her touch to it. I definitely think listening to it was a good idea! Self-help books aren't really my thing so I think having it in audio form made it more enjoyable than reading it (not to say it was a bad book but the genre is not something I'm huge on). It was a fun read filled with witty and pun-y humour that is so Grace. It was also nicely insightful. It probably also appealed to me as I am right in the targeted age range for this novel. I would definitely recommend that you be at least 17-18 before picking up this novel because I think a younger audience won't appreciate it as much (although Grace's humour would still be enough to like about it). I gave it 3.5/5 stars.

So, there you have it. Not my best reading month but it was good enough. How did you guys go in October? Did we possibly read any of the same novels? And since the year is nearing its ending, how are you all doing with your reading challenges, if you had them? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!
Jess, xxx

Tuesday 14 October 2014

September Wrap-Up!

Hey guys!

Yes, I know. I'm a bit late with this wrap up, seeing as we are already halfway through October, but I just remembered this morning that I hadn't done it yet. I read 11 books in September and I'm quite proud of myself for keeping my reading up so well. October isn't going as well because I have a lot of assignments due but we'll see how it pans out at the end of the month. But now, back to September!

So the first book I ticked off this month was the conclusion to the Across the Universe series. This series consumed me heart and soul for a good while there. It's definitely not the best series I've read but it is really addicting. I found this third book to be my least favourite of the series but I still loved it a whole lot and found it a fitting conclusion (even though I was quite annoyed at one particular part of the ending but I won't mention it because spoilers). I would definitely recommend this one to sci-fi lovers! You won't regret it! I gave it 4/5 stars.

Having put up my review for Heir of Fire the other day, it seems a bit odd discussing the first book in this series afterward but that shows how organised this blog is. I absolutely adore this series, although this book was definitely not the best. It is a good read but when put up against the rest of the book in the series, it dulls in comparison. It's still a fun ride and sets up what is quickly becoming one of my favourite series. I gave it 4/5 stars.

So, this starts my small train of comic books. I worked at two Oz Comic-Con events in the month of September and bought a significant amount of comics (check out the pile here). And this comic was fantastic! It's my first Black Widow comic and it was a great place to begin. The story is really nicely paced, Natasha is really interesting to read about and the art was magnificent. I'm really pumped to read the rest of this run. I gave it 4.5/5 stars.

Another first! I haven't read any Hawkeye stuff before and I kept hearing raving reviews of this new Hawkeye run so I had to pick it up and boy, am I glad I did! For me, this comic holds up because of Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. The characters themselves and the relationship between them is wonderful to read and is a very central part of what makes this comic so great. Would definitely recommend if you're interested in reading some Hawkeye comics. I gave it 5/5 stars.

These characters don't have a lot of comics to their name but I kept hearing good things, so I picked the first two volumes up on a whim. I am so thankful for that decision. These comics are so wonderful in so many ways. I got so invested in the characters and I finished the whole run in a day. I just could not recommend it enough. I will say that it might be good to read the previous stories first (there isn't a lot) just for a bit of back story. That being said, I didn't and I still got my head around it. I gave it 4/5 stars.

This one was even better than the first and I read it just as quickly. I gave it 4/5 stars. I gave it 4/5 stars.

My absolute favourite of the lot. I can't believe this series only got three volumes but I'm also glad it didn't run on for so long that I grew bored of it. It was a excellent conclusion, if not slightly heart-wrenching because of the last frame. I already wanted to go re-read the comics when I finished. I gave it 5/5 stars.

This book was everything I wanted from the Throne of Glass series. I was feeling a little doubtful after book 1, but this book just blew me away. It was fast-paced and emotional and epic. I'm still in denial about what happened at the end of part 1 but I love how the repercussions of that were dealt with and still are being dealt with. Once again, I could not recommend this series more. I gave it 5/5 stars.

As you can see, this month was the month for graphic novels. I've been dying to read this book for ages now and I am so annoyed that I picked it up just before going on a book buying ban. Only because now I have to wait to read the rest of the series. This book was so unexpectedly interesting and dark for a middle grade novel. The art is also just stunning. I would definitely recommend this one! I gave it 4/5 stars.

Well, this was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone a bit. I read this because I was actually meant to read it for a class earlier this year. I never finished it for the class but I did read half of it and got the urge to finish it (I hate leaving books unfinished). It was strange and creepy and everything you'd expect to see in a classic gothic novel and more. It's really interesting to read something like this although I can't say if I particularly liked or disliked it. I ended up giving it 3/5 stars.

Okay, so I'm not going to talk a lot about this book because I posted up a full review/discussion of the book so if you want to know my thoughts on this book check that out here. I will say that I liked this book but it was not as fantastic as I was lead to believe. I had quite a few issues with it but I liked a lot of parts, too. I ended up giving it a 3/5 rating.







Okay, so there we go. I did have quite a good month of reading. Most of the books were 4 stars or more which is always nice. How many books did you read in September? Were any the same as mine? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!
Jess, xxx