Fairy Tales in Real Life Book Tag

I saw this and it looked new and fun so I decided to do it.

FAIRY GODMOTHER: A contemporary trope where a motherly/fatherly figure guides a misguided protagonist. 

Okay, so the character I'm thinking of isn't exactly a parent, but they do guide the main characters. That person would be Mrs. Peterson from Perfect Chemistry. Now, while there is an adult in each book in the series, the one my mind always goes to is Mrs. Peterson, mostly because she is their chemistry teacher and chemistry is in the name... Also because she is the OG.

PRINCE CHARMING: A contemporary character who takes on a heroic “quest” or “act” for his or her love interest. 

I chose Bo from a World Without You. He thinks that he accidentally sent his love interest to a different time, so he spend the better part of the book trying to save her and get her back. He doesn't, but it's the thought that counts.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: The contemporary trope of giving in to temptation.

I chose the Bourbon Thief. Now this one is a huge spoiler so I can't say much, but just know that it's there.

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT: A contemporary trope where the characters must fear an impending moment.

I chose A Monster Calls, now this book I am counting as a contemporary because all of the "Fantasy" elements, I feel, are more in the protagonist's head.

THE BIG BAD WOLF: An antagonist so powerful that the hero feels helpless against it/her/him. 

I chose Perks of Being a Wallflower because there are times in the novel where you can tell that Charlie is completely at the mercy of his mental illness. He can't control it and at times it controls him.

THE POWER WITHIN: A contemporary example of unexpected power from a character who imagines themselves to be ordinary. 

I chose Aysel from My Heart and Other Black Holes, she spent most of this book planning to die, she just felt worthless and hated herself. She thought everyone around her hated her or didn't care, but she then decided by the end of the book that she could do it. She could handle life.

THE GRAND BALL: A contemporary trope wherein a character faces a major moment in “fitting in”. 

I chose 13 Reasons Why. Everything that happened in this book happened because Hannah couldn't quite fit in, she had her name run through the mud, people thought she was this huge slut. She wasn't and no matter what she did, that reputation continued to follow her around. 

FAIREST OF THEM ALL: A contemporary pressure for outer beauty that challenges the importance of inner beauty.

I chose the Summer I Turned Pretty. It's literally in the title. Pretty. I loved this book, but the one thing that really bothered me about the book is that the main character had to change her looks, become "Pretty" just so that guys would notice her. Every Summer and they don't care about her, well they do, but just as a friend, then they realize that she looks good and suddenly they both want to be with her. 

THE EVIL STEPMOTHER: A contemporary character who invokes anger or resentment for stepping into another’s role. 

I chose Anna from Anna and the French Kiss. Okay if you haven't read the book yet, I would suggest looking away. This one was a bit different than most stories because the main character was actually the one who stepped into someone else shoes. Anna comes to this school and makes these friends. They used to be this tight nit group until one of the girls Elle, went off to university. Anna takes her place and she ends up having so much conflict with some of the group members. It was intense.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER: The contemporary belief in finding happiness at the end – even when the road to get there had its struggles.

I'll Give You the Sun is without a doubt a sad book, actually it was really, very sad, but it was all resolved in a believable way. It wasn't like everything was perfect in the end, it wasn't, but the characters were happy. I finished this book with the biggest grin on my face. I was full of this internalized joy. It was perfect.

Three Dark Crowns Book Talk

Three Dark Crowns 
by Kendare Blake

Release Date: September 20th 2016

Spoilers

Synopsis:

Every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

If only it was that simple. Katharine is unable to tolerate the weakest poison, and Arsinoe, no matter how hard she tries, can’t make even a weed grow. The two queens have been shamefully faking their powers, taking care to keep each other, the island, and their powerful sister Mirabella none the wiser. But with alliances being formed, betrayals taking shape, and ruthless revenge haunting the queens’ every move, one thing is certain: the last queen standing might not be the strongest…but she may be the darkest. 

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 4.5 stars. I can honestly say that I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It was a bit slow at the beginning, but it did eventually pick up and it was amazing.

I expected all of the sisters to be really sneaky and to be huge backstabbers, but they really weren't. It was a happy surprise. I'm still a bit on the fence about liking Katherine, but I really like Arsinoe and Mirabella. None of them want to die, but they have different ways about going through all of this. 

I liked how all of the sisters had very distinct yet different personalities. Katherine was a bit naive, but at the same time she was still very ambitious. She was very vulnerable and let Peityr in and that didn't exactly have a great outcome. She has learned from this and I'm looking forward to seeing how she develops in the next book.

Arsinoe is strong. She doesn't care about being good looking, more about keeping the people she cares for safe, and hopefully surviving through the trials. She is fiercely loyal and will fight anyone and anything.

Mirabella was the greatest surprise. We don't get to hear about her until after we have read from her sisters' points of view first and it seems as if she is the cold and calculating one the one who will surely survive the trials, but then as we delve deeper into her head it is revealed that she isn't a bad person. Not at all, she still thinks about her sisters all the time. She worries about them and hopes they are safe. She cares for her close friends so much. Loves them so dearly. She really doesn't want anyone to die.

I feel like it has become a trend for me to sort the main characters of books into Hogwarts houses so I think I'm going to do that. Katherine is in Slytherin, she is into learning things that could help her, she has also proven to be very ambitious. She wants to win and become the queen.

Arsinoe is a Gryffindor, she will do what she has to do to protect her friends, even face a huge fricken bear and fight it off. She's courageous and that's what I love most about her.

Mirabella is a Hufflepuff. She just cares about everyone so much. She isn't evil, she believes in the good of people. Also, she found Joseph when he needed her the most *wink*.

Now the whole Jules, Joseph, Mirabella thing was a huge clusterfuck. At first I was really hardcore about Jules and Joseph, I thought they were so cute together. They were childhood friends, they never stopped loving each other, it was like it was meant to be. Then all of a sudden Mirabella finds Joseph after he almost drowns. They have their whole love fest and when I found out who he was, I gasped so loudly and yelled "DRAMA!" so loudly I startled my friends. I really love Joseph with Mirabella too. I mean they have so much chemistry together, they just can't seem to be able to stay away from each other. I just wish that Joseph hadn't cheated. I hate cheating. 

Now as much as I ship them together, I just don't think it will last. I think they are just in lust, not love. I don't know, it could head in the love direction, I can't know since I'm not the author, but you never know.

I loved that one part of the book where Junior came to bow to the Queens, but he didn't bow to Katherine or Mirabella, just to Arsinoe. I just loved it. It was just such a sassy thing to do. I love sass. 

My absolute favourite part, however, was the scene when the Priestesses decided that Arsinoe had to die and they were about to kill her and then Mirabella was like, "Um, I think not." and jumped in front of Arinsoe and had all her elements and stuff manifest themselves and she scared everyone away and the two of them had a little talk and it made me smile. Arise seemed to be determined to kill Mirabella later during the trials, but I think in that moment it was proven to her that her sister was not who she thought she was. I don't think Arsinoe will be able to kill Mirabella if the time comes.

When I first finished the book I didn't even realize that there was supposed to be a sequel so I was just sitting there like "What the hell? What happens next? What?!?!?!?!?" I finally calmed down enough to search it up and thankfully there is going to be another book and I'm so sad that it has to come out a year from now. I read it too soon and now I can't wait.

Quotes:

“His eyes, when they meet hers, are like the storm. Perhaps he is not a boy at all, but some elemental thing, made by the crashing water and the endless thunder.” 

“I want revenge." She whispers, and her fingers trail bloody streaks down Natalia's arms."And then I want my crown.” 

“Three dark queensAre born in a glen,Sweet little tripletsWill never be friends
Three dark sistersAll fair to be seen,Two to devourAnd one to be Queen” 

Top 5 Misleading Synopsis'

Okay this is more of my perception of the book being different because of the synopsis. Like, I read the synopsis and I thought it was going to go one way but it went in an entirely different direction. I couldn't really think of bad synopsis' so this is what I'm going with.

5. Under Different Stars

This book was way more sci-fi than I thought it would be. I don't know, maybe it was the way it was described, but I thought Trey and Kricket were going to be two teens who met on earth and were for some reason stranded, Kricket liking it there and Trey hating it and wanting to get home and trying to get Kricket to go with. That is nothing like what happened.

4. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

From the synopsis I just sort of assumed that all of the girls were going to clever and conniving doing whatever it takes to get the thrown away from all the others. Sort of like a book starring three Cersei Lannisters. Now wouldn't that be a treat.

3. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

From reading the synopsis I thought that the world as a whole was going to be a very different thing than it was. This was just because my mind likes to play tricks on me and once I get an idea in my mind of what something will be like, there's no stopping it.

2. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I read the synopsis for the novel and in my mind I thought it was going to be a lot more lighthearted, I had a very Sally Marshall is Not an Alien feeling that went along with it.

1. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

I just went through the book thinking that it was going to be full of instalove and that the main character was going to be a spoiled princess. That was not what happened, not at all.

Waiting on Wednesday

Okay so this one doesn't have a cover yet, but that's because the first book just came out last month, I haven't even finished my review for the first book yet, but I'm doing this one anyway because I don't know if I can wait a year.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

The first book was so good. Give it a read! I highly doubt you will regret it.

October Wrap Up and November TBR

I think that I have managed to have a successful reading month, it was a bit slow at first, but I made up for it in the last week or so.

1. The Year of Second Chances by Jessica Sorensen

I gave this book 5 stars. I have been looking forward to this book for so long that I'm glad I finally read it... It's the last book in a trilogy so I really can't say much other than it's a contemporary romance and it's really good.

2. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

I gave this book 5 stars. I really enjoyed it, it was cute and fun and I really hope that there is a book that comes after this one.

3. Entranced by Jessica Sorensen

I gave this book 3.5 stars. So basically this was just the month that I read a lot of Jessica Sorensen books. There are more to come. This book is a bit of a spoiler, so if you haven't read the Fallen Star series then I would suggest not reading this yet unless you want to be spoiled. Don't even read the synopsis on Goodreads.

4. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

I gave this book 5 stars. This was the fourth and final book in the Raven Cycle series. It was so good! I loved it. I loved all the twists and turns. I am ready for Ronan's trilogy. I'm running out of Maggie Steifvater novels to read.

5. The Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat

I gave this book 5 stars. This is the first book in the Captive Prince Trilogy. I'm not really going to get into this, I just did a review for the series, so you can go check that out if you want to know more.

6. The Prince's Gambit by C. S. Pacat

I also gave this one 5 stars.

7. The Kings Rising by C. S. Pacat

This one also got 5 stars from me.

8. Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl by Jessica Sorensen

I gave this book 4 stars. It was a good book, not the best she has ever written, but still good nonetheless.

9. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I gave this book 5 stars. Magnificent and heartbreaking. This is the second book in the Six of Crows duology I loved and hated this book. If you want to know more I did a review.

10. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

I gave this book 5 stars. I loved how stereotypes were flipped around and the world was amazing. I cannot wait to continue on in the series.

11. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

I was just having such a good reading month, this was another 5 star book.

12. Entangled by Jessica Sorensen

I gave this book 4 stars. This is the last Jessica Sorensen book I read this month. I swear. This is the sequel for Entranced. The same follows. Be aware of spoilers if you plan on reading this.

13. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

I gave this book 5 stars. Okay I haven't posted my review yet, but I'm working on it. It should be up either today or tomorrow. I finished it on Halloween. That's why I waited to make this post.

Okay time for my TBR! The best time of the month.

1. The Hammer of Thor

Because I just started reading this.

2. A Torch Against the Night

3. Rebel Spring

4. The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes

5. The Bell Jar

Fingers crossed that I actually read all the books that I want to this month.