Top 5 Books as Event Themes

I like this topic. Mostly because it came at possibly the best time, because today is actually my birthday, so this is pretty apt. So basically the topic is which books would be the best themes for parties and events. So I'm about to tell you which ones I would love to go to.

5. Mythology

I just generally like mythology, so I would love a party themed after it. Dragons, gods, nymphs. It would be so cool!

4. The Hunger Games

I feel like this may be in bad taste, but I feel like a Hunger Games themed party would be really entertaining and exciting.

3. ACOMAF - Starfall

You know what I'm talking about if you've read the book. The star fall thing. It sounded so pretty and exhilarating. I would love to have a party or even a prom themed after it.

2. Game of Thrones

I'm not the only one, people have Game of Thrones parties all the time.

1. Harry Potter / Yule Ball

I would love any Harry Potter themed party, but I would love to go to a Yule Ball. My sister was telling me about how she went to a Yule Ball in University, and I was completely jealous. It sounds so fun.

What books would you love to be a party theme?

A to Z Book Tag

It's been a while, let's just sit back and do a tag.

A: Author You've Read the Most Books From

Jennifer L. Armentrout. 40 books and counting.

B: Best sequel ever

A Court of Mist and Fury is probably the best sequel I've ever read.

C: Currently reading

Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes

D: Drink of choice while reading

Coffee in the morning. Tea any other time.

E: E-reader or physical book

Physical book

F: Fictional character you probably would've dated in high school

High School Jessie dating anyone? Yeah right. 

G: Glad you gave this book a chance

A Great and Terrible Beauty. This book was barely a blip on my radar until I saw it at the bookstore for like, 4 dollars and decided to give it a try.

H: A hidden gem book

Under Different Stars. This book was so good, this entire series was out of this world. *wink* It's a bit harder to get if you don't live in the U.S. but I think it's worth the shipping price.

I: Important moment in your reading life

The first time I read Harry Potter. That was when I decided that I really did enjoy reading and it was something I wanted to spend my time doing. I was totally okay with it consuming my life.

J: Just finished

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray.

K: Kinds of books you won't read

Books with outright love triangles. Unless everyone loves it and it's totally worth suffering through a love triangle or has one of the rare good love triangles I won't read it. If I read the synopsis of a book and it basically seems like someone just deciding between love interests I won't bother.

L: Longest book you've ever read

Currently it is The Order of the Phoenix, but I have Under the Dome on my shelf and I plan on reading it very soon.

M: Major book hangover because of

Queen of Shadows

N: Number of bookcases you own

3

O: One book you've read multiple times

The Outsiders

P: Preferred place to read

My bed

Q: Quote that inspires you or gives you all the feels

R: Reading regret

I regret waiting so long to start reading. I feel like I was late to the game, even though I did start reading for pleasure at 11, it just feels like everyone else was reading their whole lives.

S: Series that you've started and needed to finish

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I think I read the second book last year before winter break. I don't really remember what happened. All I know is I have the last book and I really should read it soon before it all escapes my brain.

T: Three of your all time favourite books

I'm gonna exclude Harry Potter because that is a given.

• I'll Give You the Sun
• Queen of Shadows
• The Outsiders

U: Unapologetic fan girl for

Harry Potter, I've probably annoyed a lot of people with my obsession, but I'm beyond caring.

V: Very excited for this release

The final Throne of Glass book. I'm not as excited for the Chaol book, I mean it will probably be good, but I'm much more excited for the Finale.

W: Worst bookish habit

Starting a book, getting  partway into it, then ditching it for a new release and having a hard time getting back into it.

X: X marks the spot pick the 27 book on your shelf

Since I have three shelves, I'm just gonna go with the one in my room. So that would be Soundless by Richelle Mead.

Y: Your latest book purchase

I recently ordered four books on Indigo, those being A Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes, Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Gryffindor Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Z: Zzz book that kept you up all night.

The one book that always comes to mind it The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker. I read that back in the day, when I first started getting into reading. I started it with no intention of actually finishing it but I ended up staying up till at least 1 in the morning to finish it.


Anyway, I tag you whoever you are.

A Great and Terrible Beauty Review

A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray

Spoilers

Synopsis:

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy—jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 3.5 stars. It was a surprisingly quick and easy read. I had a good time reading it and I'm excited to continue on in the series. While it's not the best, I still thought it had a great atmosphere and characters that I could relate to.

I was most surprised that I read this book quickly because I read it pretty much right after ACOWAR and I had no hitches. No book hangover. This is a very pleasant surprise. I'm glad that this book was here to save me from the dreaded book hangover.

It was refreshing to see the main character going to this new school and not instantly becoming friends with the outcasts and shunning the popular girls. Sometimes people do befriend the popular people. Have you ever seen Mean Girls? It happens. It was nice to see that these "mean girls" had redeeming qualities, they weren't completely terrible, they were just raised a certain way. They too had their own set of problems and the main character could see this and didn't just categorize them right off the bat. She gave them a chance.

I love books set in the time of corsets and gothic boarding schools, but I sometimes forget the things that always annoy me about them. Like the misogyny. I know that's a must in pretty much any book set before the 21st century and even still now, but every time I have to read about it I get really passionate, I should say. I could totally feel for Pippa and being forced into an arranged marriage by her parents to a guy more than twice her age. The very idea makes me queasy.

Every time Gemma let's one of her friends walk all over her I just want to shake her. It's honestly not even that far off from what most teenagers would do, I know I've let myself get peer pressured in the past. I just feel like Gemma getting peer pressured will lead to some terrible things that she may not be able to take back. Especially with Felicity. She's very power hungry. I can already predict that she will be used by Circe. I like Felicity, she's not all bad, it just feels like she's going down a dark and dangerous path.

I think the author did a fantastic job of displaying the setting. It felt right, the language, the society, the way the characters were treated and how they reacted. I think it was executed very well. Sometimes when writing during different time periods, authors seem to forget when they are writing in. They give their characters corsets and topmast and then they are done with it, so it was good to see that the author put more thought into it than that.

Overall, it was a great book, I'm really looking forward to reading the next book and finding out what happens to all these characters in the future.

Quotes:

“Because you don't notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right.” 

“How I'd love to get away from here and be someone else for a while in a place where no one knows or expects certain things from me.” 

“Felicity ignores us. She walks out to them, an apparition in white and blue velvet, her head held high as they stare in awe at her, the goddess. I don't know yet what power feels like. But this is surely what it looks like, and I think I'm beginning to understand why those ancient women had to hide in caves. Why our parents and suitors want us to behave properly and predictably. It's not that they want to protect us; it's that they fear us.” 

“I wonder how many times each day she dies a little.” 

“May I suggest that you all read? And often. Believe me, it's nice to have something to talk about other than the weather and the Queen's health. Your mind is not a cage. It's a garden. And it requires cultivating.” 

April Wrap Up and May TBR

Well, April wasn't as good as March, but honestly, March was a personal best and I don't expect that I'll come close to that for a while. I'm proud with what I did accomplish this month though.

1. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I gave this book 5 stars. It was a classic retelling of Norse Myths and legend and I had such an amazing time reading it. It earned every single one of those stars.

2. By Your Side by Kasie West

I gave this book 4 stars. It was a cute contemporary read that I devoured in pretty much one sitting. I haven't had such a fun time reading a book without all the heartache and drama in so long. 

3. Descendants by Rae Else

I gave this book 2 stars. It had so much potential, but overall, it flopped. All I could think about during the book was "When will this end? I just want to read other things!" Pretty much the whole time.

4. Cole by Tijan

I gave this book 4 stars. I love romance novels. It wasn't the most fantastic thing that's ever blown my mind, but I did really enjoy it. It was dark and steamy and I loved the characters in this story. 

5. The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani

I gave this book 4 stars. It was better than the second, but didn't quite live up to the first book. It made me dislike some of the characters I used to like and I didn't care much for the direction it was going in. I still liked the story though.

6. Stepbrother Catfish by Izzy Sweet

I gave this book 4.5 stars. This actually started out as one of my guilty pleasure reads that I never actually mention on my blog, but I enjoyed it a lot. I mean, it's still kind of a guilty pleasure, but the writing was actually not bad. Not cheesy like a lot of smutty romances. It was refreshing.

7. The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

I gave this book 5 stars. I didn't expect this book. It totally came out of left field and hit me. An amazing tale of love and loss and magic. 10 outta 10 would recommend.

8. Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson

I gave this book 4 stars. It was a lovely story. I loved how the main character was very concise. The moment she knew that something wasn't working she would change it to make it work, she didn't drag things out. Great character development.

9. 180 Seconds by Jessica Park

I gave this book 5 stars. I don't even know where to start with this one. It was a whirlwind. Despite it being a sad book I actually felt pretty happy while reading it. For the most part.

10. Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

I gave this book 4.5 stars. This series is definitely improving by the book. Still not my favourite series in the conceivable universe, but I'm still liking it more.

11. The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

I gave this book 4 stars. It was a cute little book that was actually very helpful. If I ever want to grow a vegetable garden I have all the information I need. The story itself was very heartfelt and I felt like I was growing right alongside the characters.

Now, onto my May TBR.

1. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

I figured I should include this since I've already finished it at this point, but it's still in May. Formality.

2. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

I don't know what these authors were thinking, releasing  two of my most anticipated reads of the year in one month. I can only hold so many feelings in my body at a time.

3. A Great and Terribly Beauty by Libba Bray

I've seen this around a lot so I figured I'd finally read it.

That's gonna be it for my TBR, I haven't really gauged what I feel liker reading other than these. I guess we'll see.

What books do you guys plan to read this month?

A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

A Court of Wings and Ruin
by Sarah J. Maas

Spoilers

Synopsis:

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places. 

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. Sarah J. Maas somehow always writes exactly what I want to read. She never seems to miss the mark and I love that. It was completely evident in this book. This story was a whirlwind of adventure and action. Would not change it for the world.

I lucked out when I preordered this because when they sent it out I ended up getting it a day early. Yay for me! I pretty much spent my whole day reading this book. Only took me about 7 hours to get through the whole thing. Sadly, I'm a bit ADHD so I couldn't read the entire thing through without taking breaks and such. I wanted to read it all the way through since it was very captivating, but 7 hours is kind of a long time to do nothing but read a single book. 

A thought that seemed to be on rerun throughout this entire book was "Tamlin, you bastard". Seriously, if you didn't hate him after ACOMAF, then you will definitely hate him after this one. Even though he ended up doing the right thing and helped them with the fight against Hybern, it doesn't counteract the fact that he's an asshole.

Unlike most people, I didn't really like Lucien at first. In the first book he was kind of an asshole who I didn't care about at all, and then in the second book he was even worse, but finally in this book he finally showed the part of himself that I actually liked. He was so unsure about his place int he world and a bit cranky about the way he was treated by his family. He just wants the best for his mate and those he cares about. He may be a bit misguided at times, but he means well.

I love Suriel. He just comes in every once in a while to give great life advice and then he disappears again. I was absolutely devastated by his death. Why did Sarah have to do that to us? Why????? 

My favourite part of this whole book was probably the plot twist near the end. I'm not gonna give away who this was, because I feel like you should find out for yourself, but let's just say that one of the characters that is part of a ship is interested in their own gender so that ship has sunk. I was totally not expecting it, I legit gasped when I read it. It threw me completely off guard, but I'm interested to see where this will go in the future.

What I never expected was to love Jurian as much as I did. I was really wary of him from what I'd read in the last book. He seemed like someone who would come in and just be very antagonistic and ruin some lives, but he wasn't. He seemed to be a total asshole, but he was an asshole spy. I appreciate him.

Feyre went through some major character development in the second book, and I loved that, but we finally got to see the aftermath of this development. Feyre was snarky and sassy, she didn't any fucks. She rolled her eyes when Tamlin said something misogynistic and I died laughing at some of her inner monologue. 

Feyre and Rhys were like an old married couple in this book. I know they've barely been together for a year, but it seems like they've been together for decades. They bicker, and they have really steamy scenes, and they just like spending time together. Relationship goals right there. They're just there trying to guide everyone else's love lives. Their like meddling grandparents. It's cute. Also, every time Feyre sees the Bone Carver, he's in the shape of Feysand's son. I'm feeling a lot of feelings about that. I hope they have a child during the series.

Overall, that was probably the most satisfying ending to a book ever. We finally got to see what Amren was, none of the main characters died, for long, and the ships happened. They happened!

Quotes:

“You belong to all of us, and we belong to you.” 

“And my heart shifted a bit in my chest as I said to him with no guile whatsoever, “I won’t tell anyone unless you say so.” The weight of that jeweled knife and belt seemed to grow. “I wish I had been there to stop it. I should have been there to stop it.” I meant every word. Lucien squeezed our linked arms as we rounded a hedge, the house rising up before us. “You are a better friend to me, Feyre,” he said quietly, “than I ever was to you.” 

“Lucien only nodded. But I felt his gaze on my back, fixed right on my spine, as I headed downstairs. To see Ianthe. And at last decide how I was going to shred her into pieces.” 

“It's a rare person to face who they are and not run from it - not be broken by it.”