The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Synopsis:

In a world where travel between East and West is forbidden and punishable by death, the dragons stir from their thousand-year-old slumber, endangering all of humanity should they wake. The only hope lies with the line of Berethnet queens, who much each conceive a daughter to carry on the line. However, Queen Sabran has not done so yet, and the entire kingdom of Inys is growing anxious. Meanwhile, Ead Duryan, a lady-in-waiting loyal to the Priory of the Orange Tree protects Sabran with her forbidden magic. 

In the East, Tané trains to become a dragonrider, a dream that she has held since childhood. However, a decision made within a few minutes may change the course of her life and the others around it. She must make a choice as to what to do, and soon.

My Thoughts:

First of all, this book seems like a mix between Eragon, Seraphina, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Throne of Glass. Those are some of my favorite books/series, so I had high expectations for The Priory of the Orange Tree. However, it didn't exactly live up to my expectations. It wasn't as good as the other series that it seemed to resemble, but I did still enjoy it.

In the beginning, it was a little slow before the action began, but after that, I didn't think that it was boring or slow at all. It was also a little confusing at the very beginning of the story, because there were so many different names and histories and religions and places but it did get a little bit better after a while (although by the end of the book I was still a little bit confused about some things). 

I enjoyed the worldbuilding (although, as I said above, it was a little bit confusing) and I especially liked how there were so many different cultures and religions in the story, which made it more exciting and interesting. The cultures and religions were really well developed so I liked that as well. I also liked the different personalities of the characters, and how there were a number of gay relationships and it was just a casual thing instead of a big deal.

One of the things I didn't like was that there seemed to be several "main conflicts" within the book and a lot of them seemed built up to be this big climax and a big deal and then it was resolved really easily and I just kind of felt like I had been let down by the conflicts being resolved much too simply.

Overall though, I did really enjoy this book. I think that it's a great read for teens, but it is long (over 800 pages) so you should only pick it up if you enjoy reading longer books. I don't know if I would reread it, but I certainly liked the time I spent reading it.

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

June TBR

June is on its way, and with it comes summer and more time to read! In preparation, I've created my TBR (using Goodreads) for June. I'm probably going to end up reading WAY more books than just this, and I'll be reviewing some of the new books that I read (I'll definitely be doing Pride and Prejudice and The Priory of the Orange Tree). Since June is pride month, I decided to include some books featuring LGBTQA+ characters as well. I'm also planning to read some middle grade books but didn't end up including them on this list because they'll take me a day or two to finish. So, without further ado, here's my TBR for June:

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
2. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
4. Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (reread)
5. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (reread)
6. All for One by Melissa de la Cruz
7. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
8. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
9. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (finish it)
11. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
12. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (reread, although I read it a long time ago)
13. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

What's your June TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Harry Potter Inspired Recipe: Butterbeer

    Recently, I looked through the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, and it was very cool to see all of the recipes that come up in the Harry Potter books. Unfortunately, the cookbook didn't have butterbeer, the drink that Harry and his friends enjoy when they go into the Wizarding village of Hogsmeade. So instead, we decided to find a recipe for butterbeer online and make it. It turned out really well, so I wanted to share the recipe and how we made it, as well as how it turned out on this blog! 
    The recipe came off of delish.com and can be found here. It is not my recipe, we just decided to use it. So without further ado, here is the recipe and my review:

Ingredients Needed (makes four servings):

• 4 cans of cream soda (1 for each serving)
• 1/4 cup of butterscotch syrup 
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of melted butter

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, combine the cream soda and butterscotch syrup and stir them together. (This is the drink part and is incredibly easy)

2) In a mixer/different bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the sugar and the vanilla, then the melted butter until no longer streaky. (This is the topping part and is a bit harder)

3) Pour the butterbeer into glasses and then put the cream mixture on top.

(The picture is my own)

    All in all, the butterbeer did not take that long to make, and the ingredients were pretty easy to obtain (except for the butterscotch syrup, but we ended up ordering it off of Amazon). The butterbeer looked amazing and tasted amazing too, although personally, I feel like it was really rich so you could actually divide it up into more than four servings because I didn't finish all of mine and it's pretty hard to save it. I would definitely recommend making this recipe if you or someone you know is a fan of Harry Potter!

YA Books I'm Excited for in 2018!

    2017 may be almost over, but when 2018 begins, there will be a whole plethora of new YA book releases. Here are some of the ones I'm looking forward to the most:

A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas
    If you know me (or have been paying attention to this blog at all), you know that I am obsessed with Sarah J. Maas books, especially the ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series. The fourth book will be released on May 1st, 2018. I can't wait!!

The seventh Throne of Glass book, also by Sarah J. Maas
    It doesn't have a title yet, but this won't discourage readers from counting down the days until the book is released (sometime in fall 2018). And hope that no one we like dies.

The World of Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
    Seeing a pattern here? I honestly don't know what it's about, but I'm still excited. This book will be released on May 1st, 2018.

The Fates Divide, by Veronica Roth
    This is the sequel to Carve the Mark, which came out in January 2017. I have no idea what will happen, but I can't wait to find out. This book will be released on April 10th, 2018.

War Storm, by Victoria Aveyard
    This is the fourth book in the Red Queen series, and it's supposed to be released May 15th, 2018. I'm almost afraid to read it because I feel like a bunch of major characters are going to die. 

Legendary, by Stephanie Garber
    This will be the sequel to Caraval, which was released last January. I'm not sure how the story will be continued, since it seemed to have wrapped up pretty well at the end of Caraval, but I liked the first book, so I'm going to read the second. Legendary will be released on May 29th, 2018.

My Plain Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton
    I read My Lady Jane over the summer and absolutely loved it. My Plain Jane is about Jane Eyre, which I tried to read but ended up abandoning. Maybe reading My Plain Jane will lead to me reading Jane Eyre! This book will be released June 26th, 2018.

Book 3 in the Three Dark Crowns series
    This book is untitled, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending of One Dark Throne and I'm excited to read this book on September 4th, 2018, when it is released!

    I hope you got some suggestions for what to read in 2018 from this post, although all of the books are in a series, so I'd suggest reading the other books first. Feel free to add a comment telling me what books you are excited about in 2018! 

Hamilton Book Tag!

    As some of you may know, I am currently obsessed with Hamilton. If you don't know what that is, it is a very popular Broadway musical by Lin Manuel Miranda about founding father Alexander Hamilton, from his childhood up until his death by rival Aaron Burr. Anyway, when I found out there was a Hamilton book tag, I just had to do it! Because it is my first time doing a book tag, it might not turn out amazing, but here it is!
Be warned: spoilers ahead!!


You guys, I've got to say Harry Potter! I love Hogwarts, I love the magic, and I would definitely enjoy all the food! I think I would even do Hogwarts homework without complaining because I feel like even that would be fun.


    There are so many underrated female characters ("and Peggy!") but I'm going to go with Marlee from the Selection series, by Kiera Cass, which you should definitely read if you haven't already. She is so brave and strong from the second book onward, and really matured after what happened in The Elite. And she also proves how strong love is.



    Aelin Ashryver Galathynius from Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series, of course! She wants freedom? Boom, done. Revenge for her friend being murdered? Finished before you can say bad idea. A desire to eat chocolate cake at two in the morning? You can bet she'll sneak of to the kitchens to get some, or just get a servant to do it for her!

   (SPOILERS BELOW!!) 

There are several that I have in mind, but I've got to go with Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in our Stars (I mean come on, who didn't cry!?) and Celaena and Chaol from Throne of Glass. The latter used to be my OTP until they (SPOILER!) found other people, but how they broke up was completely uncalled for.



    I'm drawing a blank here so I'm just going to go with Snape from Harry Potter. If you have a better one, please leave a comment!



    How about THE ENTIRE A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES SERIES!!?? Literally the entire second and third books I was screaming and crying and throwing the book.



    Definitely The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer. If you like sci-fi and dystopian, you should totally read this series!!



    Every Soul A Star. If you have not read it yet, what are you doing?



    Even though I already said Harry Potter, I'm going to say it again for this one because it feels like it's already a classic!

    (MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER!!!!)

    I'm still not over Fred's death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Killing 1/2 of a twin, THAT IS LOW DOWN!!

    What are your answers to these questions? Leave a comment below; I'd love to hear it!!

Halloween Books to Read if You Don't Like Horror

    I always want to get into the spirit of Halloween and read some Halloween books, but I don't like to read horror. I get scared easily and have an overactive imagination and you can bet when I'm trying to fall asleep I'll start thinking about that time when the character heard footsteps behind them and no one was there. If you're like me and can't stand horror, I've compiled a list of books to read during October. And if you do like horror, feel free to comment your favorite horror book!

• Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeir (middle grade)

    When sisters Cat and Maya move to a new town in Northern California, they realize that there are ghosts in their town.

(Scare factor: the ghosts are more cute than scary)

• The Shiver trilogy, by Maggie Stiefvater (YA)

    When Grace Brisbane discovers that the wolves that live in the woods by her house are werewolves, her life changes forever.

• The Raven Cycle, by Maggie Stiefvater (YA)

    Blue Sargent, the ungifted daughter of a psychic, encounters four boys who are searching for an ancient medieval king, Owen Glendower.

(The photo features the Shiver trilogy and The Raven Cycle, as well as The Scorpio Races, also by Maggie Stiefvater, but not included in this list)

• The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling (all ages)

    The series follows the adventures of Harry Potter, a wizard, from the time he is eleven until he is seventeen and his quest to defeat Lord Voldemort.

(The photo doesn't contain the whole series, and the quote on the bookmark is wrong, but you get the idea)

    I hope you enjoyed my list of books to read around Halloween time if you don't like horror. If you have any other books that you think I should have included, feel free to leave a comment!

Three Dark Crowns Review

   As promised on my One Dark Throne Unboxing post, I have a review of Three Dark Crowns up, but instead of adding a summary, I made a book trailer. The images used in the trailer are not mine, and so at the bottom of the post I'm going to include all the links just so I make it clear I'm not plagiarizing. 

Three Dark Crowns

Author: Kendare Blake

Publisher: HarperTeen

Synopsis:

My thoughts:

   Overall, I really enjoyed this series! I think it had a bit of a slow start in the first book, but the pace got a lot faster as the book went on. I liked the characters a lot, but I feel like Katharine changed a lot from the first to second book and the change was rather abrupt. 

    I also thought that the ending was kind of anticlimactic, but I did like that there was a lot of action and suspense before the ending. I also had several guesses about how the book was going to end but it ended up being completely different than what I had originally guessed. 

    This book is a YA book, but I think that if middle grade readers wanted to read this book, they could, however they should be warned that this book is rather morbid. 

    Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Links to the images on the trailer:

The music on the trailer was one of the prerecorded ones on WeVideo.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwimoMTn0tTWAhWn44MKHYobBvEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fodors.com%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fnorthern-ireland&psig=AOvVaw0vLfkBROqa9Cs5B8ff9Bdd&ust=1507126740349447

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjSuZn11dTWAhUE8WMKHTc3A4oQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpierrebphoto.com%2F2014%2F11%2Fthree-little-girls-lots-laughs-montreal-portrait-photographer%2F&psig=AOvVaw0lAooVfNL4uuFbHuaIb_3Y&ust=1507127580201852

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwik0a3X2NTWAhVBx2MKHVHyA4gQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epicreads.com%2Fbooks%2Fviewmedia%2Fid%2F1679%2F&psig=AOvVaw0ygEfTPXHBqeoDLtmCV3hK&ust=1507128322747507

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi-xJnQ2dTWAhUM5oMKHWPqBucQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fit.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F479351954074320878%2F&psig=AOvVaw0R_iKU28I5UBfeyiWZjuwK&ust=1507128580774015

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwih3P7Y2dTWAhVJ6IMKHSAjBvAQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F226868899958546642%2F&psig=AOvVaw0R_iKU28I5UBfeyiWZjuwK&ust=1507128580774015

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiylsre2dTWAhUB04MKHWunCKcQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.dk%2Fpin%2F571535008951412708%2F&psig=AOvVaw0R_iKU28I5UBfeyiWZjuwK&ust=1507128580774015

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjvvJHk2dTWAhVG34MKHTj2D4kQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fdfdance_dogge%2Fthree-dark-crowns%2F&psig=AOvVaw0R_iKU28I5UBfeyiWZjuwK&ust=1507128580774015

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwip0oa-udXWAhUH6IMKHTXaBNUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvampirediaries.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AHand_of_fire.jpg&psig=AOvVaw1WsDkRVTu1xlt4PNCAjzXV&ust=1507154305487404

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcy9P2utXWAhWj34MKHRV9CTsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwpnature.com%2Fpink-petals-fragrance-tree-scent-nature-freshness-branches-spring-flowering-season-blooming-blossoms-garden-leaves-wallpaper-flower-for-android%2F&psig=AOvVaw3Ty-99HJcz9m-kHOp4rDDC&ust=1507154693113296

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/92/8b/24/928b2437532e2cd6611888e498af721b.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwUk1M7Oszpzy3-26VIAe2dO-Qew_C2zyFmsViVAfrBuZIZBOM6gajzywHywT4o6oInj6SCidZxilhojlpBcxBy1alXMcLo2n25cDbbT7rTd5qQa1gpY0sXZzLBGO5ZnKilq6_W23qSg/s1600/71ARczy4URL.jpg

http://images.freeimages.com/images/premium/previews/5338/53388896-hands-reaching-for-crown.jpg

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/37600000/Reign-2x03-promotional-picture-reign-tv-show-37679360-333-500.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJE6LLTlVZ3eFOe1C_tQM8Hubci2_Zn1YaXWRJ6bBAvEaS4KivWA

How to Take A Library Book Jacket Off

    It's a fact of life that buying books are so much more efficient if you get them from library book sales. But they always have stickers on them and the library book jacket isn't very photogenic. So, having recently figured out how to take it off, I made a tutorial video showing how to do it. Enjoy!

One Dark Throne Unboxing!

    Apologies for not posting for so long! School started and it was hard to post consistently, but hopefully I will start posting regularly again soon!
    Anyway, today my copy of One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake came in the mail so I made an unboxing video! I wish the book could have arrived sooner but it was a signed Barnes and Noble exclusive copy and couldn't be picked up in the store. 

    I will have a review out for the Three Dark Crowns series as soon as I finish One Dark Throne.

    Have you read this series? If not, you definitely should!

These Broken Stars Review

These Broken Stars

Authors: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Publisher: Hyperion

Synopsis:

    The Icarus is a huge spaceliner traveling through hyperspace. Nothing could go wrong -- until it does. In a Titanic-like surprise crash, it crashes onto the nearest planet. No one survives, except Major Tarver Merendsen, a war hero, and Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the richest man in the universe. The planet is uninhabited by any people.

    Lilac and Tarver begin a long journey through the planet in search of some way to get help. They must trust each other or they will both die. But after a while, they begin to wonder: do they actually want to leave this planet?

    However, when they discover who is behind the whispering voices that plague their dreams --and even their waking moments-- Tarver and Lilac realize that they might leave the planet, but they will not be the same people who crash-landed with the Icarus.

My thoughts:

    This book started out a little slow, but it got better as it went on. No, this wasn't why I didn't like this book as much as I felt that I could have. The problem? The romance. Now, I don't refuse to read books with romance in them. I like reading books with romance. But the romance in this book felt so forced. Like maybe the authors were collaborating and went, "What genre is this going to be?"

    "YA."

    "Oh, better have Lilac and Tarver fall hopelessly in love! And better yet, make them star-crossed lovers! This is geared towards teenagers, after all!" NO. NO. NO. I feel like this decision to have the main characters in love made the story a whole lot worse than it could have been otherwise. It honestly felt like they hated each other, and then they did something that improved their prospect of survival, and then they were making out and passionately in love. I don't know, maybe if Tarver and Lilac's relationship was given more time to grow, I would have liked it. 

    In addition, reading this book made me realize something: I have yet to read a single YA book where the protagonists do not fall in love. If you have, great! But every single time I read a YA book the characters fall in love! Yes, I get that YA is geared towards teens/young adults and they oftentimes are in relationships, but that does not mean every teen is! Can't there be at least one book where the girl and the boy are just friends and there is no pressure on either of them from the other for their relationship to develop into anything other than platonic?

    Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

How to Put off Reading A Bad Book

Do you hate the feeling of knowing that this book is bad? Do you want to find out what happens to the characters but you just can't stomach one more badly-written phrase? Yeah, me too (it's happening to me right now, in fact). Here's what I do to keep from reading the book:

DNF (do not finish) it.

This one is probably the easiest and simplest option out there. If you abandon the book, you won't have to read it. Problem solved. But if you still want to find out what happens, or you hate the book but it's required reading, check below.

Read other books.

I hate that when I'm reading a bad book I spend more time on my phone because I don't want to read. So I end up reading other books too (just the other day I read 3 so I didn't have to read a book I didn't want to).

Bribe yourself.

I once had a book that was required reading and it was awful. I ended up saying to myself, "If you can finish this chapter, you get to read something better." Reading that bad book was torture, but at least I got through it.

Go slowly.

This one seems kind of obvious too, unless you need to finish it by a certain date. I once had a different required reading book that I had about 3 weeks to read. I read like 5 chapters in the first 2 weeks because the book was so bad, and I had to cram the rest of the book into one week. But if there's no date the book has to be finished by, this is an okay tactic. Although it might get annoying that you're still reading it after a while.

Convince yourself it's not that bad after all.

Okay, fine, this one probably won't work. But hey, you can still give it a try!

    Do you have other things you do when you're reading a bad book? Share below in the comments!

Books Read on Vacation

    

    I recently went on vacation and that's why I've been kind of MIA on this blog. There was no Wifi and bad reception up there, so I wasn't posting on this blog at all.

    Anyway, being my usual bookworm self, I brought 15 books on vacation (they wouldn't all fit in the original bag I had 😂). After reading 8 of them (don't judge, I was quite busy up there!) I decided to do a blog post about which ones I read. Without farther ado, here they are:

Daughters of the Sea: Hannah, by Kathryn Lasky

Hannah wants to be normal but she can see the outline of scales on her legs, she gets seasick if she's away from the sea, and she knows a sea change is coming (upper middle grade).

Matilda Bone, by Karen Cushman

Orphaned Matilda is sent to work for a bonesetter in this novel set in medieval England. Matilda is very religious and could never imagine herself doing chores or helping patients (middle grade).

The Moorchild, by Eloise McGraw

Because Moql is half human and half Moorfolk and can't shape shift, the Folk sent her to be the "child" of two humans, switching her for their real child and making Moql forget that she was Folk. As Moql grows up, she realizes how horrible the Folk have been to her human parents, and sets out to find their real child (middle grade).

Blood Rose Rebellion, by Rosalyn Eves

In a society where the upper class has magic, noble-born Anna is born without it and even accidentally breaks spells (YA).

My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

We all know the real story of Lady Jane Grey: she was queen of England for nine days then was beheaded. But what if she, along with her cousin, King Edward VI, survived? The authors completely rewrote their story (YA).

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Amy and her parents are just a few of the many cryo-frozen passengers on the ship Godspeed, which is heading to a new planet. It will take the ship 300 years to travel from Earth to the new planet. Except -- Amy is woken up 50 years early. Who tried to murder her? (YA)

Eliza and her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia

Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of Monstrous Sea, a comic with millions of fans. When a new boy named Wallace arrives at school, he turns out to be one of Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writers. When Eliza's secret is revealed to the whole world, her relationship with everyone -- including Wallace -- is ruined. Will she ever be able to recover? (YA)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares

4 friends are spending the summer apart for the first time ever. After finding a pair of pants that somehow fits all 4 of them, they dub them "the Traveling Pants" and promise to mail them to each other over the summer to remind them of each other. (YA)

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon Review

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Synopsis:

    Every year on the same day, the people of the Protectorate sacrifice a baby to the Witch who lives in the swamp, because otherwise the Witch will come and torture the entire nation. In reality however, the Witch, Xan, does take the babies, but she finds good homes for them in the Free Cities. Along the way, to keep the babies healthy, she feeds them starlight. But one year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight and the baby becomes imbued with magic. So Xan decides she must raise the baby, who she names Luna, on her own.

    But as Luna's thirteenth birthday draws nearer, her magic starts to show itself -- and some of it has negative effects. Meanwhile a man whose child will be sacrificed sets out to kill the Witch and free his people from sacrificing babies, and a volcano ticks closer to the day it will erupt... 

My thoughts:

    I thought this book started out a little slow and got a little bit boring in the middle, but I really liked the plotline of this story. There was a lot of mystery surrounding magic and wizards and what had happened in the past, so I think it would be cool if there was another book where that was expanded on. I also think that another reason this book was cool was because it showed the power of a mother's love. I think a lot of people take that for granted, but it shows what a mother will endure for her child. I also thought it was cool that it told the story through a lot of different perspectives so you actually knew what the "evil people" or whatever you want to call them were thinking.

    Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars.

City of Bones Review

City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Synopsis:

    When Clary Fray goes to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she expects to have a night of fun and dancing. She actually becomes a witness to a murder committed by teenagers!

    Soon after that, Clary's mother disappears and she encounters the same teenagers who murdered the demon (that's what the teens tell Clary it was), and reveal that they are Shadowhunters, and they hunt and kill demons. Clary knows that they are telling the truth because she witnessed a demon attacking her house, right after her mother had disappeared. 

    But Clary is an ordinary mundane girl -- so how is she able to see demons?

My thoughts:

    With all the hype around this book/series/books by Cassandra Clare in general, I really wanted to like this book. I tried so hard to get into it, but it only got interesting near the end. I really liked the plot idea, but the characters were just kinda meh. They just kind of stayed the same throughout the story, which didn't make the book that exciting. However, there were a few character surprises towards the end that made me keep reading!

    I'm debating over whether to read the rest of the series right now. Does anyone have any reasons why I should or shouldn't continue reading?

Twilight Saga Review

The Twilight Saga

Author: Stephanie Meyer

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

Synopsis:

    When Bella Swan moves into her father's house in Forks, Washington, she is not happy. She'd rather be in sunny Phoenix than Forks, where it is almost constantly raining. 

    On Bella's first day at her new high school, she notices a strange family of 5 adopted siblings that all look strangely similar to each other -- the Cullens.
    Later, Bella is invited to a party where an old family friend, Jacob Black, tells her legends about "the cold ones" (vampires). She begins to notice that the Cullens look and act similar to the legends, and finally Edward admits the truth: the Cullens are vampires.
    After spending more time with Edward, Bella ends up falling in love with him. Throughout the course of the whole series, there are various vampires that feel the need to kill Bella (probably for her smell, which is even more enticing than most humans).

My thoughts:

    Going into it, I thought Twilight was going to be the worst book I've ever read (it wasn't). It wasn't the best book I've read either. In the battle scenes in this book, I felt like it was just like "I sat in my kitchen, knowing that people were dying out there" and then it was just very anticlimactic because the characters spent all this time waiting for a battle and barely anything happened.
    I also didn't like the character of Edward. He was just too overprotective of Bella -- literally kidnapping her when he went out of town for a weekend so she wouldn't get hurt. And he also feels that he needs to do "what's best for Bella" even if it really isn't (this happens in New Moon, the second book).
    So overall, I feel that the plot idea of this series was a really good one, however it was not the best it could have been. I think that teens and adults would like this book, although again if someone younger wants to read it, they should be aware that there are some mature themes and ideas in this book (mostly in the later books). There is not that much swearing, however.
    Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
    What did you think about Twilight if you've read it? 

Heartless Review

Heartless

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Synopsis:

        Catherine lives in Wonderland and is considering opening her own bakery with her maid, Mary Ann. After all, the king thinks what she cooks is delicious. What's not to lose? Well, the problem with this idea is that her parents would rather Cath married the king -- and Cath is almost certain the king will ask for her hand. 

    At a ball when the king is just about to propose to Cath, the new court jester makes quite a grand entrance. After encountering Jest (the new jester) on his own, Cath is swept off her feet. Before long, they are secretly courting each other. Cath knows that if she was open about this relationship, she would risk offending both the king and her parents. And a creature called the Jabberwocky starts attacking citizens and endangering the kingdom, Cath must figure out whether to play it safe and marry the king or follow her heart and endanger her life.

My thoughts:

    I'm not a big Alice in Wonderland fan but the origin story of the Queen of Hearts sounded interesting, so I picked up Heartless. It amazed me how Marissa Meyer was able to expand on Wonderland, and I really ended up empathizing with Catherine, even once she became the Queen of Hearts. 

    I really enjoyed Cath as a character and liked how even though she hated the king she still pretended she would enjoy marrying him rather than let him down -- although maybe it was just because he was the king. 

    I think that sometimes we just accept villains and think "Oh, they were always evil," or something along those lines. Maybe we don't always consciously think it, but still. I think it's cool when someone writes a backstory for one of those villains, because most of the time, they have an actual reason why they became, or are, evil. 

    Because of the romance aspect of this book, I would recommend it to teens and adults, however I think that if younger readers wanted to read it, they could.

    Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

    Have you read this book or Marissa Meyer's other series, The Lunar Chronicles?