May wrap up

Hey everyone. So today I decided to post my May wrap up on here instead on my you tube channel. The reason for it is that my computer is messed up so I'm working on getting that fix and see where to go from there. During the month of May, I've read a lot during finals week at school (didn't have a lot of finals, just papers...), they were good for the most part. But, I have a small feeling that you may kill me with the list because some of the books are books I should've read during my childhood, but didn't because I didn't have a love for reading back then like I do now.. Let's get started shall we?

First I read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin and the sequel, The evolution of Mara Dyer. I borrowed them from a friend of mine before finals and both books were pretty interesting. In my opinion, they were both fast pace, the mystery and psychological thriller were on point and I wanted to keep reading instead of focusing on finals. But, my friend didn't own the final book so I couldn't read it.

Then I read The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. At first I didn't think I was going to enjoy them because I was disappointed with Shiver, but these two books were beautiful. The wording was unique, the characters were lively (Rowan<333), and the overall concept was really cool with their quest to find the Raven King. I have yet to read the newest installment, but I plan on it and other books written by her as well.

Next, I've read (don't kill me) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by J.K Rowling. (I'm using the UK name because it sounds so much better in my opinion). Now, I know what you're thinking here, but like I said before, I wasn't into reading constantly when I was younger, I was more or less into writing fan fiction for anime shows I started watching. But, I read it when I picked up from the library and enjoyed it. I plan to buy the paperback box set soon and enjoy the rest of the series. :)

Next, I've read Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, this is the second book to the Grisha trilogy and while it did take me a bit to remember everything from the first book, I did enjoy this one as much as the first one. This really shown how much Alina (I think that's how you spell her name, not sure sorry!) had grown as the sun summoner and I can't wait to read the last book and Six of Crows when it comes out.

I've also read Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky and Sparks Rises by Alexandra Bracken. Now, I'm not going to into my love for the Darkest Minds trilogy, but I will say that I fell in love with Sam's character and the story. It was heart-breaking much like the rest of the books. With Chobsky's book, it was one of those books I should've read back in high school, but didn't because none of my teachers assigned it to us. It was an okay novel with a interesting narrative, but considering that I'm almost 22 now, I couldn't fully embraced it like I probably would have in 9th grade.

Finally, the last book I've read was Switched by Amanda Hocking. I did a book review on here for this novel, so I'm not going to go into full detail about my opinion about it. But, I thought it was interesting and I'm currently reading the second book as we speak.

In conclusion with this odd cluster, I've read nine books in total. How many books did you guys read? Let me know in the comments below and I'll see you on Tuesday with a new blog post, happy howling.

Top Ten Fridays: Books Pt. one

Happy Friday everyone! Welcome to a new series on my blog, "Top Ten". I know you all have probably see this on a blog before, but it's my turn to do it. Haha. Alright so this series is pretty simple. Every other Friday, I'm going to post my personal top tens of whatever, but it would most likely be about books and book related things. Considering that I'm going to do the same thing for my other nerd-y blog as well. So, today I present to you the first part to many parts of my top ten of favorite books ever (and ever and ever...). This part is just a general top ten, there will be other others, but they will be very specific based on genres. Now with that being said:

(>'-')> ^('-')>  Let's get started! <('-')^ <('-'<)

 

(Declaimer: They are from 10-1, I love all of the books equally. But, these are the books that I've kept close to my heart, these are just a personal choice and opinion. You don't have to agree with my list.)

 

 

10. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Michelle Hodkin): This book was a pleasant read, dark and psychologically thrilling for me. I speed-demon read it and the second book. (I will be reading the third one soon!). It has an interesting mystery into it and the book had a good build up for the other two books and I can't wait to finish the trilogy.

 

9. Twixt (Sarah Diemer): I finally brought this book for my nook during the holidays and I was so excited to read this. I was not disappointed by it at all. It's a LBGT paranormal-fantasy stand alone and I couldn't put it down. The world is beautiful and haunting. And the ending, my word it was tragic.

 

8. Something Strange and Deadly (Susan Dennard): Normally I'm not a big of zombies in literature, but after reading her debut novel, I fell in love with her story and I'm dying to grab the rest of the trilogy. Susan Dennard is a brilliant writer and sweetest person if you follow her blog, newsletter, and on twitter.

 

7. Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison): This book is a powerful novel, the beginning was striking and the characters were so strong. I highly recommend this novel to you all.

 

6. Throne of Glass (Sarah J Maas): I adored this debut when I got the book for my birthday. Sarah J Maas is a fantastic writer and considering she worked on this series for 10+ years, the effort was shown in her words and the characters are kick ass.

 

5. Legend (Marie Lu): This book was a start to a dramatic and dystopian based trilogy. It was wonderful debut and I fell in love with Day and June. The story was great and fast-pace. One of the best novels from 2012.

 

4. Fan Girl (Rainbow Rowell): The author knew how to create such a realistic novel and when I read this, it was like I was a college freshmen again. I loved it and Cath, I wanted to hug her. A great stand-alone and if you are a nerd-y person like I am, you will enjoy this novel.

 

3. A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J Maas): One of my most favorite books of 2015, this retelling of Beauty and the Beast was beautifully written and the world building Sarah created was fantastic. For a new adult novel, it was an amazing read when I won an ARC copy of it in a contest.

 

2. The Darkest Minds (Alexandra Bracken): The first book to one of my most favorite trilogies ever. I literally almost cried when I was reading this book. The story was a great beginning novel and Liam. That's all I will say now, Liam.

 

1. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak): This book, it was so, so, so beautiful and it was told in the point of view of Death. I love the historical content and the characters were amazing to follow.

<('-')^ <('-'<)



So that's it, these are my top ten books to date. What are your top ten books? Tell me in the comments below and I'll be back with another blog post. Happy Howling!

Book Review: Switched

Switched (a Trylle novel): written by Amanda Hocking
Released date: January 1st, 2010 (self published in E-book)/January 3rd, 2012 (Official book form)
Publisher: St. Martin Griffin
Format of Book: Paperback (bind up of the trilogy)
Summary (from good reads): When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed- and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.. (First book to the Trylle trilogy)
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*I apologize if I'm out of practice with the reviews for a little bit, but I just got home from college so I'll get back in the full swing of things within a couple of days.*

So Switched in my personal opinion was an okay novel. It definitely presented itself as a build-up novel for the trilogy, which is fine by me, but as someone that just finished finals- I was impatient. The story itself was pretty cool in terms of the idea of it. I mean, I rarely see young adult stories about trolls other than Tolkin and J.K Rowling's stories, and I thought her using that concept was pretty cool. It was an original idea and Hocking has my respect for that, but I felt that the characters were a bit dry and no one was really progressing until the very end. Then again, this is a beginning novel for the trilogy, so Hocking did a good job keeping an open door for the characters to grow even more.

I did like how Finn and Wendy were progressing once they got to Trylle. They kept that weird humane emotion alive despite the fact Wendy's mother Queen Elora was a royal bitch for the majority of the book and the other characters were here and there during the lighter scenes. All of the characters had different personalities that blended with one another, keeping them fresh and have room to develop in the next two books.

The pacing kept me going for the book because I wanted to see more action from the characters and the changes within the political system. The political system in the Trylle world was interesting and I felt that it was the star point of the story, considering Wendy ends up going from normal teenage girl to future queen. I'm not one to enjoy these sort of things, but I still want to see what happens and how Wendy will change the system once she does become queen. The wording was also very simple and clear enough for me to keep going to read more about Wendy's adventure in this new land.

Overall, Switched isn't so bad, but its slow for a beginning novel to the trilogy in my personal opinion. I am going to read the rest of Wendy's story to see how everything turns out. But, I felt that this novel could've have a little more drama into it other than a bitchy mother and an over protective foster brother. I would also love to see Finn have an sudden ability, but maybe it will happen, maybe not. Who knows.

Happy Howling everyone.