Top 5 Tuesday | Someone Buy Me These Books

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

The holidays are here! So naturally, like the true bookworm that I am, all I want for Christmas is books. And maybe more alone time to read said books. Today’s prompt is all about the top reads on my Christmas list, and maybe if I send out good vibes to the universe they’ll end up under the tree.

The Infernal Devices – Paperback Spine Set

This is my lease favorite Shadowhunters series, but I have all the other pretty spines in the series so of course I need these to finish off my set. Behold the spine artwork in all its glory.

Harry Potter – Hogwarts Spine Set

Another set of books that I already own, but that I need the pretty spine artwork. There’s no such thing as too many editions of Harry Potter. I currently own the original hardcovers, the 20th anniversary editions, the first 3 illustrated editions…and I want more.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief Illustrated Edition

Are you sensing a theme yet? I don’t want to spend my own money on books I already own (because I want to spend it on new books, duh) …but I wouldn’t mind if someone just so happened to gift them to me. Percy Jackson is one of my favorite middle-grade series and I would die for an illustrated edition. I LOVE Greek mythology and seeing the gods in all their illustrated glory is all I’m asking for.

Glass Sword Collector’s Edition

I want the pretty cover, the silver painted edges and the exclusive content. That is all.

Red Scrolls of Magic

This isn’t even out yet…but I’ve seen ARCs out in the wild and I want someone to send me more Shadowhunter stories STAT. How am I supposed to go an entire year without any Shadowhunter stories?? (HINT: I CAN’T)

Talk To Me

What did you think of my picks? What books are on your holiday wish list? Any I should add?

Top 5 Tuesday | Books I Didn’t Get To In 2018

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Where has 2018 gone?! According to my Goodreads, I’ve read 72 books and counting this year. But, apparently, 365 days isn’t enough time to get through all the books I wanted to. The struggle of a never-ending TBR list is real. Which leads to today’s topic…the top 5 books I didn’t get to this year (but really, really, really wanted to)!

Godsgrave (Nevernight #2) By Jay Kristoff

I read Nevernight this year and it was Uh-mazing. I made the unfortunate mistake of trying to start Godsgrave right before Kingdom of Ash came out…and so it sits on my shelf…still unread. And it makes me sad.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

I got Vicious in my first ever Bookoutlet haul and I’ve been staring longingly at it for months. I know this book came out in 2013 and I’m late to the party – so I’m ashamed that this is still on my TBR list!

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Everyone has been raving about this one and I have yet to pick it up! I’ve put myself in the box of shame for not getting to it this year.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Zombies + Civil War = Epicness that I wasn’t able to read about this year. It’s still on my TBR…I’ll get to it eventually. But until then…

Roar by Cora Carmack

All the things I’ve heard about this book have been great. Why it’s still sitting in my bookcase. Unread. Collecting Dust. Since my birthday. I don’t know. Maybe writing this post have given me inspiration to pick it up next…maybe.

Talk To Me

What books are still on your TBR this year? Any I should add to my list?

Top 5 Tuesday | Book Titles!

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Today we’re talking about favorite books titles. This is something I’ve never actually given much thought to, so I’m excited to get into this…because I had to think long and hard, reference all the books on my shelf, and then hit up my Goodreads “Read” list just so I could actually decide what my top 5 titles actually were. So…

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Is this cheating to include an entire series as one? I LIVE for alliteration and let’s face it, Lemony Snicket is the king of alliteration. He’s also like a built-in thesaurus. Who would have thought to give a book a title like The Penultimate Peril or The Carnivorous Carnival?  Literary geniuses, that’s who.

How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself

This book title speaks to my soul. I love doing nothing with no-one all alone by myself.

The Raven Boys

I didn’t really appreciate the title of this book until after I read it, but Maggie Stiefvater knows her stuff. I go around wishing I had my own group of Raven Boys. They have their own aesthetic and magic and I need it in my life.

Go the F**k to Sleep

I don’t have kids, but if I did you bet I’d be reading this to them at bedtime. Come on, it’s hilarious and they don’t understand anyway…right? Either way, this title should be on everyone’s favorite list.

Bossypants

Tina Fey has the best autobiography title and again, I relate so hard.

Talk To Me

What did you think of my picks? What are some of your favorite book titles? Do we have any of the same faves?

Top 5 Tuesday | Worlds I Want To Live In

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Today’s topic is all about worlds I’d want to live in! I’m so excited to take everyone on a trip through my favorite fictional places.

The Los Angeles Shadowhunter Institute

It’s no secret that I LOVE anything Cassie Clare writes. While my love started with The Mortal Instruments, I have a soft spot for The Los Angeles Institute – the setting for some of The Dark Artifices. I’m an LA girl and can’t help but imagine all my favorite places in the city as magical (or Julian and Emma sitting in traffic next to me). Can anyone else imagine taking a trip to the beach in Santa Monica and seeing some demon-slaying, half-angel warriors sunbathing next to you or riding magical, flying faerie horses? Because I CAN.

Artwork by Cassandra Jean!

Henrietta, Virginia

The fictional town where The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater takes place. There are psychics, magical forests, Welsh kings, bee-like demons, and, of course, Aglionby Boys. Who wouldn’t want to live in a world where you can literally make your dreams a reality.

Hogwarts

How can I not add Hogwarts to my list? Fantastic beasts, magical sweets, flying cars, and spells that can clean my house! Everything about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter calls to me. But can we petition to get JK Rowling to allows dogs as pets?

Velaris

I just want to live in the City of Starlight, where everything smells like fresh air and jasmine and I’m surrounded by mountains and rivers and all the magical faerie things. Seriously, I even have a tattoo because I am obsessed with all things A Court of Thorns and Roses and Sarah J Mass.

Hobbiton, The Shire

I’m already the size of a hobbit, so why wouldn’t I want to spend my time wandering rolling greens hills, eating and drinking all day? Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper…I want them all! Let’s not forget about being besties with Gandalf!

Talk To Me

What did you think of my picks? What worlds do you most want to live in? Do we have any in common?

Top 5 Tuesday | Books I Almost DNF…But Ended Up Loving!

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Today we’re talking about hate to love relationships with our books and I can’t wait to talk about all the times I’ve been wrong! I’m one of those readers that won’t DNF books because it feels like failure. I’ll push through even the most boring stories, just so I could say I didn’t waste my time starting a book and putting it down. And sometimes my stubbornness actually works out, because I find a book that I actually end up loving! So, without any more rambling, here are my top 5.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

This one wasn’t technically an almost DNF, but I refused to read it for so long. One of my sisters tried to get me to read this series for probably a year and I kept denying her because contemporary love stories just aren’t my thing. But, I finally decided to give them a chance (mostly because Netflix and Noah Centineo) and may I just say I can’t believe I had missed out on Peter Kavinsky for soooo long! He is a dream boat and Lara Jean is such a lovable dork. My number one regret was waiting so long to read this series.

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought the first book in this series was a 3-star read. I didn’t hate it, but there was just something about it that seemed off. BUT, of course I bought the rest of the series because I need to know all the things, and BOY WAS I IN FOR A TREAT. A Court of Mist and Fury is one of my all time favorite books and I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this series after book one like I almost did.

Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Okay, so I didn’t end up actually loving this one, but the ending of this book definitely did save the entire thing for me. I was so bored for a good two-thirds of this one but I’m so glad I kept reading because that plot twist at the end was amazing. Cruel Prince still didn’t live up to the hype for me, but I am totally going to read Wicked King solely because of the last 100 pages.

Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This was another book that took too long to get going. I had heard so many great things about it, but it took me forever to get through the first half. I almost stopped reading, but I’m glad I kept going because, once again, the ending made it worth it.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

3 triplets, all with super powers, destined to fight to the death on their 16th birthday. The concept sounds great, right? Because, it is! It took me awhile to get into the story, but it picks up and when the fighting goes down things get intense.

Talk To Me

What did you think of my picks? What almost DNF books did you end up loving? Should I give them a try?

Book Outlet Haul

Loretta @ Laughing Listener recently won a Book Outlet giveaway on Twitter and loved me enough to share her gift cards! We both went a little crazy and chaos ensued, so we decided to share our antics with you, and the hauls we ended up getting.
Our texts while we waited for our boxes to arrive were intense….I had to share the mood swings we had while we impatiently waited for our packages to be delivered.

Here are the final breakdowns of each of our lists. Mine is on the left and Loretta’s is on the right. As you can see, we learned that each of us bought more than a baby’s weight in reading material. At least the mailmen that delivered our packages got a workout in!

My Thoughts on Loretta’s Picks:
Apparently she was really into witches and killers when she was making her choices. Also, is she just randomly picking series books and will fill in the rest later or does she have some of these randomly sitting on her shelf? I mean, I’d probably just buy most of a series and fill them in later if I were getting free books too…oh wait, I am😉 I’m also SO excited for her to read Warcross so I have someone to talk to about it!

Loretta’s Thoughts on My Picks:
Dev and I are so in sync. Not only did we both get An Enchantment of Ravens and Godsgrave (helloooooo! Signed first edition people), but right before I won this giveaway I bought The Wicked Deep, To Kill a Kingdom, and Shadow and Bone. Obviously we’re winning at life over here. And she has such a well rounded list! Her books have lady pirates, mermaids, witches, faeries, assassins, magic—I love it! It’s comforting to know I’m friends with an equal mystical creature opportunist. And I can’t wait to hear what she thinks about Caraval! I honestly can’t tell if she’s gonna be a lover or a hater, but I have popcorn ready for either outcome.

Here is your popcorn gif, Loretta 😂

How I Made My Picks:

I told myself I really, really needed that signed, first-edition of Godsgrave because I was buddy-reading (with Loretta as a matter of fact) Nevernight and was SUPER into it. I also realized my shelves were lacking mermaid & pirate books for some reason and decided I needed a bunch of those. They’re suuuuper trendy in YA right now, I guess. Side note: 10 points to Hufflepuff, since Loretta caught on to theme of my haul. The rest of my picks were randoms that I found while thoroughly scanning through the Young Adult pages on the site and the cross-referencing their ratings on Goodreads. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go attempt to get through my 84-year-long TBR pile.

Talk to me!

What did you think of our hauls? have you read any of our picks?

Top 5 Tuesday | Books With Magic

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Today we’re talking about books with magic! You’d think this would have been easy, but it was so hard to choose just five. I just love me some magical stories.

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

I know this is going to be on everyone’s list but come on, it’s HOGWARTS. Wands, magically appearing buffets for every meal, flying brooms, flying cars, floating candles…this list goes on literally forever. Rowling was one of the first authors to introduce me to an expansive fantasy world and I love her for it. The magical world of Harry Potter will never get old. How long will I love it? …Always.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The magical world that is Brakebills Academy is a darker, way more emo version of Harry Potter and the world of Filory is a way more messed up Narnia. Reader Beware: Magic doesn’t solve everyone’s problems in this series, it actually makes things worse most of the time. Which is why I kinda live for this series. If you want to test the waters, watch the show on SyFy! It’s so, so, so good.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

There’s a psychic, a dreamer, a magician, a ghost, some immortal royalty and demons. The Raven Cycle has every type of magic you can possibly imagine and it just works. Add in the Deep South setting of Virginia and some Ley lines and you have the makings of an amazingly magical story. If you don’t read this for the magic, read it for Gansey and his crew!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

I had to get this in here because KINGDOM OF ASH IS OUT TODAY, and who doesn’t love a fantasy series with every kind of magic you can possibly think of. It has fire magic, healing magic, immortal faerie blood magic, witch magic, demon magic…the list goes on. You get it right? If you like Cinderella and always wondered what she would be like as a badass Faerie QUEEN, you should read this.

The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

I LOVE the Shadowhunter world and any chance I get to talk about it, I will. The magic in these books is based around demonic and angelic power, which makes it that much more enjoyable for me. I love a good angel vs. demon, good vs. evil story. Especially when the lines get all muddled and grey. If you’re magic because you have some demon blood in you, are you evil? Let’s ask Magnus Bane, Tessa Grey, Catarina Loss and all the other amazing warlocks of the world! (PS, I’m still in love with Jace Herondale.)

PPS: Magnus is awesome, but don’t ever mention the Shadowhunters show

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What did you think of my picks? What are your favorite books with magic?

Fictional Family Book Tag

Jess & Teagan from Fiction No Chaser tagged me for the Fictional Family Book tag, so here we are! Tagging Luana @ BookstormGirl and Ann Marie @ Anne Marie Swaim!

The Rules:

• Pick 8 books off your shelves (try to not pick just your favorites!)
• Arrange them into a random order (randomizers are good for this).
• In the order they are arranged, open them to a random page and write down the first name you see. Don’t mix up the names!
• In the last book, find the name of an animal/pet and write it down.
• Put the names in the right category.
• Tag people (spread the love) copy and paste these rules in your post, or write them out yourself.

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My New Family

Parent One: Thorne from Cress (The Lunar Chronicles)

LOL. I can’t imagine Thorne taking care of anything other than his ship, but he seems like he’d be a laidback parent. I think I’m okay with this.

Parent Two: Rhys from A Court of Mist and Fury

Honestly, I’m pretty salty that he has to be my parent and not the hot High Lord of my dreams, but he’s a feminist so I say heck yes.

Sibling One: Isabelle Lightwood from City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments)

Isabelle would probably get me into so much trouble! We’re complete opposites but that means it’ll probably work. She gets into trouble and I hide it from the authorities.

Sibling Two: Mad-Eye Moody from The Goblet of Fire

I wouldn’t be able to live under the same roof as Mad-Eye. We’re both too, well, moody. I’d probably walk around saying CONSTANT VIGILANCE! whenever he was in earshot.

Cousin: Farley from Red Queen

No thanks, Farley.

Boyfriend/Girlfriend: Jase Ballenger from Dance of Thieves

IF THIS ISN’T FATE I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS. I’ll gladly suffer Mad-Eye and Farley if it means I end up with Jase, AKA the hottest, baddest, most cinnamon roll mafia boss to ever live.

Best friend: Adam from The Raven Boys

Adam went from my favorite to least favorite Raven Boy in the span of book one but he’s magical, loves the forest and can fix my car, so he can stay.

Pet: Ella from The Son of Neptune

Ella the Harpy can memorize anything she reads! This means she can read all my books for me and I can take her on long trips and let her recite novels…like my own personal audiobook player. I’ll keep her forever.

Top 5 Tuesday | Books That Didn’t Live Up To The Hype

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Today we’re talking about books that didn’t live up to the hype and I am HERE FOR THIS. I’ve been holding back my feelings on some of these for so long and I can’t wait to let them free. Here. We. Go.

Cruel Prince by Holly Black

So, apparently everyone except me thinks Cruel Prince is sooo amazing. I, however, thought the first two-thirds of this book were super boring and it took FOREVER for any real action to happen. Jude is the worst spy ever and is annoying AF. Taryn is the worst sister ever and is also annoying AF. Prince Cardan is the worst person ever and is slightly less annoying than the others, but still…annoying AF. My little cinnamon roll Oak is precious though, and nothing better happen to him in Wicked King. The ending saved this entire book for me, but still…didn’t live up to the hype.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I was SO excited to read this duology, but for some reason it just didn’t resonate with me. The heists and con jobs are super slick – like The Italian Job but 100 times more intense -but the story itself isn’t that great. I also did NOT appreciate the ending of Crooked Kingdom. I’m still salty over that unnecessary death. Let’s not forget about Kaz Brekker and his crew. I didn’t connect with any of them or find Kaz to be the book boyfriend everyone hyped him up to be. Overall, I could live without re-reading this one.

Everless by Sara Holland

I was so sad when I finished this book because I was disappointed to the max. I had heard amazing things and the premise of time being bound to blood is interesting, but Holland’s writing seemed more like disjointed, semi-finished bursts of thought and it was a bit more juvenile than I would have liked. Now on to Jules, the “heroine”. She isn’t the brightest bulb in the bunch and most of the conflicts that happen could have been avoided if she would have just listened to literally everyone around her. I couldn’t enjoy the story at all because I couldn’t stop thinking about how slowly Jules caught on to important things. This is definitely one I won’t be recommending to my friends.

The 5th Wave Series by Rick Yancey

I’m not a big fan of alien stories but The 5th Wave caught my attention for some strange reason, so I gave the first book a try. I loved it but the rest of the series is so. horrible. This was another one that I had heard great things about and the buzz just grew once the movie came out, but it is not worth the hype. Another story where unnecessary death takes place and writing meant to be “thoughtful” just ends up being bland, boring and a bit confusing.

The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

This is another series where the first book is amazing but it all went downhill after that. The ending of The Death Cure seemed like such an afterthought to Dashner, like he just started writing before figuring out how it was meant to end and picked out an option from a bowl and said “yup, let’s go with this one. Seems legit.” There was such hype after the movies came out, but not even Dylan O’Brien could save this one. It’s still overhyped.

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What did you think of my picks? What books are overhyped for you?

Top 5 Tuesday | Tropes I’ve Had Enough Of

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Bionic Book Worm!

Welcome to my first ever Top 5 Tuesday. Laughing Listener mentioned these weekly prompts to me and how everyone participating was super friendly, so I decided to give it a go!

This week, we’re talking tropes I’m pretty much over at this point. This doesn’t mean I won’t read stories with these plot lines, but they have to be really special in order for me to enjoy them. Spoiler Alert: they all have to do with love in some way shape or form because apparently I have a dark heart and don’t enjoy happiness. Okay, that’s totally not true. My preferred love tropes just aren’t these! So, shall we being?

The Love Triangle

I know this is a popular one but the “I Feel So Badly Because I Have Two People Fighting Over Me Whatever Shall I Do” mentality is just not the biz. And if you let two people fight over you then it doesn’t seem to me like you really love either of those people anyway. (But for the record I’m totally #TeamPeeta even though the love triangle was unnecessary.)

Love At First Sight

Guys, I’m a Virgo and things just need to be logical, okay? How could one possibly know if they’re in love with someone they’ve never spent time with before? What if they chew with their mouth open? What if they snore? What if they’re actually evil and just using your shallow ways to get revenge on their enemies (I’m looking at you Gwen Grayson).

The Protagonist Doesn’t Realize Their Own Beauty

Let’s be honest, the characters who think of themselves as ugly and useless but are actually super beautiful are usually girls. It’s 2018, #GirlPower! I want to see more ladies like Isabelle Lightwood (The Mortal Instruments) and the true queen Aelin Galathynius (Throne of Glass). They know they’re beautiful and badass and they own it.

The Boy Who Pretends He Doesn’t Love The Girl (But Does)

Exhibit A: Edward Cullen. Why pretend to hate someone when you really love them? It just makes no sense to me. I have no other words for this one. That is all.

Lovers That Are Tragically Kept Apart

It’s not so much that I’m over this trope, but it always kills me when my OTPs are kept apart. I need my happy endings and I need them now! I will NEVER be okay with the ending of Empire of Storms. And if you didn’t cry at the end of Titanic it’s probably because you haven’t seen it yet.

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What did you think of my picks? What tropes have you had enough of?