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!

Why You Should Not Read Shatter Me

Warning: this review will contain spoilers. 
This book is quite possibly the worst I've ever read (and I generally like most books that I read). I picked up Shatter Me because I had read mixed reviews and wanted to see what it was like myself. And it absolutely sucked. 
I put tabs in the book, color-coded, to mark where I wanted to come back to for this review. And almost every single page is marked. So let's start from the very beginning:
First, the weird strikeouts. It was very hard to read and understand what was being said. For example (and I couldn't get the strikeouts to work, so I'm putting the words that are in strikethrough in parentheses): '"You're getting a (cellmate) roommate,” they said to me. “(We hope you rot to death in this place) For good behavior,” they said to me. “(Another psycho just like you) No more isolation,” they said to me.' (And can we all agree that "they said to me" was used WAY too much here?) I'm pretty sure that the strikeouts were used to show what Juliette was really thinking, but it never said this explicitly in the book, and the strikeouts just kind of went away as the book went on, which was a bit odd.
Next, the author seems to have periods of little to normal description of the setting, and then she does something like this: 'I always wonder about raindrops. I wonder about how they're always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It's like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn't seem to care where the contents fall, doesn't seem to care that the raindrops burst when the hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.' WHAT IS THIS. This isn't a book of poetry, it's a YA novel that has a plot (well, in theory) and characters. And there are only a few places where the author does things like this, which makes it even weirder.
Then, there's literally an entire page that just says 'I am not insane' in strikeout, and when I saw this I literally almost threw the book across the room because WHY WHY WHY???
The society that they live in seemed really intriguing, and I feel like a lot was said about it in the first few chapters and then nothing, which kind of frustrated me.
My second biggest problem with this book was the love interest and then freaking love triangle. I HATE love triangles. And the two boys in the love triangle weren't even likable characters. Adam seemed to be there just as a plot device and to give Juliette something to fight for because he's just the perfect man that will do anything for Juliette and is so hot and amazing and everyone loves him!! (Yeah, right). Not to mention that he's conveniently the only one who can't touch Juliette! WHAT A COINCIDENCE!!! (Oh, and Warner can touch her too, again, HOW CONVENIENT). And don't even get me started on Warner. Everyone who likes the book seems to love him, and since I haven't read the rest of the series and have no plan to, I could be missing out on some huge character development in later books, but from the way he behaved in the first book, I just don't see why anyone could like him. He's self-centered, power-hungry and egotistical. Like when he gave Juliette that test with the child and her two options were to let the child be skewered on spikes or die from Juliette's touch, and Warner just says, "Absolutely amazing." And Juliette even says, 'Possessive is not a strong enough word for Warner.' And THEN Warner says THIS: "Admit it, we're perfect for each other. You want to power. You love the feel of a weapon in your hand. You're... attracted to me. Don't lie to yourself, Juliette. You're going to come back with me whether you like it or not. But you can choose to want it. You can choose to enjoy it." And then a few paragraphs later, "But I love you." And a few paragraphs after that, "God I'd love to just take a bite out of you." This does not sound like Warner loves Juliette, it sounds like he has an obsession with her and just wants to control her. In no way would this be a healthy relationship and just reading that made me feel disgusted.
That whole part where Juliette is told she has special powers and blah blah blah just felt SO overused. How many times have I read this before in a YA dystopian book? And that brings me to my biggest problem with Shatter Me: it was just so predictable: she's going to fall in love with Adam, they're going to escape, then they're going to find the rebels and Juliette will be used to fight against the Reestablishment but she'll fall in love with Warner and then they'll topple the Reestablishment together. I have no interest in reading the rest of the series, and even if I did I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen anyway.
All in all, this book was absolutely terrible and I recommend it to no one, unless, of course, you're looking to torture yourself.

The Summer of Jordi Perez Review

The Summer of Jordi Perez
Author: Amy Spalding
Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Synopsis:

    Abby doesn't think she'll ever be able to get a girlfriend -- no one in their right mind would ask her out. But she's okay with that for now: she's got a blog called +style about plus size fashion, and is starting an internship at her favorite local clothing store, Lemonberry. Then she meets Jordi Perez, the other intern at Lemonberry and falls for her -- hard. This and the fact that she and a new friend are trying to find the best burgers in Los Angeles makes Abby feel like she's no longer the supporting character in her own story.

    But when Jordi's photography thrusts Abby suddenly in the spotlight, Abby feels that the spotlight is too much. Will she be able to make amends?

My thoughts:

    First off: more positive LGBTQIA+ representation! Yes!! But also, this book was incredibly well-written, and the romance wasn't at all forced or unrealistic like some books. I felt like I really got to know the characters, and that I would be able to have a casual conversation or even become friends with some of them. Also, everything was really well described, and even though I'd never been to Los Angeles, I felt like I had a clear picture of what it looks like in my head. 

    I'd recommend this book to middle grade readers and above, even though this book is YA.

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda Review

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Author: Becky Albertalli

Publisher: By-the-Book Pub.

Summary:

    As Simon himself would say, he has a pretty great life. He's just like everyone else, too, except for one big thing: he's gay. And no one knows it except Blue, the boy that he's been emailing since August. But that's about to change. When someone reads Simon's emails and threatens to leak them to the whole school if Simon doesn't do them a favor, Simon faces the possibility of being outed to his entire school, and jeopardizing his relationship with Blue, who is a very private person. Not to mention the fact that things within his friend group are becoming more strained. In addition to navigating normal high school life, Simon has to find a way to dig himself out of the hole that he was pushed into.

My thoughts:

    I started reading this book because I was going to see the movie (which is also really good and follows the storyline of the book very well) and wanted to read the book first, and I was not disappointed. It was so good! I enjoyed reading about all of the characters, and I was very intrigued by the plot, although I'm very glad that the story is fiction because that seems like an awful thing to happen to anyone. And although Simon doesn't have to deal with homophobia like if the book was set twenty years before now, there still seems to be a stigma around gay people -- not fear, more of like a well, they're different and that's weird thing going on, which shouldn't be the case, but I think that most people that end up thinking like this do so unconsciously.
    Overall, I really liked this book and was excited to find out that there was a sequel (which I will also be reviewing).
    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Queer, There, and Everywhere Review

Queer, There, and Everywhere

Author: Sarah Prader

Publisher: HarperCollins

Synopsis:

    This book is a nonfiction book about 23 famous people throughout history who either identified as or might have identified (because there were no words to describe what they were yet) as LGBTQIA+. These include people such as Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay politician to be elected to the government, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who probably was not straight. 

My thoughts:

    Because June is Pride Month, I decided to review a book about LGBTQIA+ people throughout history. Some of them I hadn't heard of, but others (such as Eleanor Roosevelt) I was surprised to see in the book. I think the reason that people don't often know that some famous people they thought were straight and/or cisgender were not was because you learn about these people in school but they go ahead and let you assume that they were/are straight and/or cisgender.
    I think this book was very educational and everyone should read it!
    Rating: 5/5 stars!

Satellite Review

Satellite

Author: Nick Lake

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

   Leo and his two friends, Orion and Libra, were born and raised on a space station. Once they turn sixteen, they are allowed to go back to Earth. But life on Earth is not what they have been imagining, and readers will begin to wonder if it would have been better for these three to stay in space.

My thoughts:

    First of all, sorry for the abnormally short synopsis. I feel like that's really all I can provide without giving away spoilers! Anyway, this book was okay. I'd read it again, but I feel like it could have been a lot better. For example, I thought that the book would actually be about space, instead of about this kid who spends most of his time moping about being on Earth instead of space. The plotline was also a bit confusing to follow, and there were some things that seemed really important early on and then everyone completely forgot about them without resolving the issue (Santiago, anyone?).

    However, I did wonder if the way that Leo, Orion, and Libra's bodies react to being on Earth for the first time is what would actually happen if you were born and raised in space and if so, how the author was able to figure this out. 

    Overall, this book was pretty average. I'd recommend it to teens, although as always, younger or older people could read it too.

    My rating: 3/5 stars.

    P.S. I've decided that I'm going to post once a week instead of never, because as anyone who runs a blog knows, it is pretty hard to consistently find new and interesting topics to post about.

R.I.P. It Or Ship It Book Tag

    For my next post, I decided to do a book tag. I was browsing a list and saw one called the R.I.P. It Or Ship It book tag. Basically, you just get a bunch of character names (they don't have to be from the same book or series) and put the names in a cup or hat or whatever works for you. Then, you draw two names and share if you ship it (wanting characters to be together) or not (hence the R.I.P. part of the tag). So without farther ado, here it is:

1. Tamlin from A Court of Thorns and Roses and Snape from Harry Potter  BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! If you've read both books, just... just picture that and... okay, I don't ship it, so it's a R.I.P. it from me.
2. Katharine from Three Dark Crowns and Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses                         You know, actually, I can picture it... kind of. Maybe Feyre from the first book, but not from the second and third ones. So... ship it, I guess? It's better than Feyre and Tamlin, that's for sure! 
3. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and Maxon from The Selection                                            I can kind of picture it. Maybe it would work out, maybe it wouldn't... so I guess it's undecided.
4. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter                      Yeah, no. Just, no. I feel like Katniss would murder Luna. It's definitely a R.I.P. it.
5. Harry Potter from, well, Harry Potter and Murtagh from The Inheritance Cycle                           Oh man, Harry would annoy Murtagh SO MUCH. Can you imagine? Definitely a R.I.P. it.
6. America Singer from The Selection and Eragon from The Inheritance Cycle.                                 Nope. America would absolutely detest Eragon. R.I.P. it.
7. Inej from Six of Crows and Celaena from Throne of Glass                                                               Actually, I think it would work out. Yeah. They'd totally bond over knife throwing techniques. I like this way better than Celaena and Dorian. I ship it.
8. Eadlyn Schreave from The Selection and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles.                                     No way would this happen. Eadlyn would hate Kai so much. R.I.P. it.
9. Grace Brisbane from the Shiver trilogy and Kile Woodwork from The Selection                             I ship it. I feel like they'd totally get along. That is, if they were both single. I think that if they were both dating they'd also make great friends.
10. Edward Cullen from Twilight and Cassian from A Court of Thorns and Roses                                *falls on the floor and dies laughing* R.I.P. it. But it would be funny to watch.

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

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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

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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

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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!

The Fault in YA

    Sometimes I really enjoy reading YA books, but other times, I feel like I'd rather stick to classics. Here are some problems I have with YA:

 No diversity.
    In a lot of the YA I've read (especially dystopian) have white, middle class, straight teenagers. I mean, not everyone is like that, so come on! Incorporate a little diversity into your book for the people that are not white, straight, and middle class! 

The romance.
    I think I said something to this extent in my These Broken Stars Review, and how that relationship was forced. But I still haven't read a book where the main character doesn't fall in love. Yes, I understand that YA is geared towards teens and young adults, and I understand that most teens and young adults are in relationships, but that does not mean that 100% of teens and young adults are. I have no problem with romance, I like reading romance, but sometimes I just want the main character to not find their "one true love" when they are a junior in high school. 
    In addition, a lot of plots center around the love triangle, which I absolutely hate. I once read a book where there was a girl having to choose between like 3 different guys who were all jerks. And it's like, this girl is sixteen or seventeen and she's choosing which boy she wants to be with for the rest of her life. 

The mystery in the romance.
    In a lot of books the main character notices the love interest and because the love interest is such a big mystery, the main character falls in love with them. What ends up happening is the main character falls in love with this idea of a person built upon the mystery surrounding them, so by the time the love interest isn't a mystery anymore (and in fact, is often revealed to be a jerk), the relationship falls apart.

Gorgeous characters.
    There's nothing wrong with having a character that is good-looking, but not every teen has to look like a model with absolutely no effort. Even in dystopian societies where the majority of people can barely afford to find something to eat, and yet are insanely beautiful. And even if the character thinks they don't look good, it's obviously clear that they do. 

    What are your problems with YA? 

Alex and Eliza Review

Alex and Eliza

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Synopsis:

    Albany, New York, 1777. As the threat of a revolution hangs over the American colonies, the Schuylers, one of New York's most prominent families, are holding a ball with hopes of getting one of their three eldest daughters --Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy-- engaged. Among the guests is Alexander Hamilton, a young aide to General George Washington. 

    Hamilton is there to bring bad news to the Schuylers, but he cannot help but notice Eliza Schuyler. And thus begins a romance that will change American history.

My thoughts:

    I'm pretty certain Alex and Eliza was written because of Hamilton the musical (in fact, to get in the mood, I'm listening to Hamilton as I write this post). I enjoyed both (the book and the musical), although they did have some differences, which means neither were entirely historically accurate, but that was okay, because it didn't make the quality of the story worse. I really enjoyed learning more about Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler and their lives because listening to the musical you get a feel for what happened, but it's always nice to learn more. 

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

    Have you listened to Hamilton? Do you like it? What's your favorite song? Favorite character?

Girl in the Blue Coat Review

Girl in the Blue Coat

Author: Monica Hesse

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

    In 1943 Amsterdam, Hanneke works with the black market to deliver extra rations of sought-after goods if the customers pay. Her work keeps her family fed, clothed, and sheltered. She has no desire to join the resistance movement against the Nazis, but she considers this her small act of rebellion.

    One day a customer comes to Hanneke and asks for help finding something. Only, it's not extra meat or lipstick, it's a person. A Jewish girl named Mirjam who was hiding in the house but mysteriously disappeared, leaving no clue as to where she could have gone. At first, Hanneke wants nothing to do with this mystery, but eventually ends up trying to find Mirjam. If Hanneke fails, both her and Mirjam will most likely die. 

My thoughts:

    I thought that the mystery in this book was very intriguing and I think the fact the Hanneke made several wrong turns in trying to solve the mystery made the story more realistic. 

    I also thought it was cool that there were so many ways that a civilian could perform small acts of rebellion and not be out there yelling that the Nazis were bad and immediately get shot. For example, a lot of people had hidden cameras that took pictures to prove after the war that the occupation really happened. There were also people that smuggled babies and toddlers out of the holding place where Jewish people were kept before being sent to the concentration camps. They took the babies and toddlers to new families so that they could have a chance to live their lives. 

    In conclusion, this book was action-packed, suspenseful and taught you a lot about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. I'd recommend it to middle grade readers and older.

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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!

My Lady Jane Review

My Lady Jane

Authors: Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Synopsis:

    The real Lady Jane Grey was crowned queen after her cousin, King Edward VI , succumbed to tuberculosis. After only nine days of sitting on the throne, she lost her head. End of the story. 

    However, the in-story Lady Jane gets married to Gifford Dudley, who turns into a horse every day and a man at night. King Edward somehow survives but fakes his own death, and Jane didn't die. She needs to get the help of the E∂ians (pronounced e-thee-ans, people who can turn into animals) to overthrow Queen Mary, Edward's brother, who wanted to take the throne instead of Jane. 

My thoughts:

    Because the authors basically threw history to the winds (in a good way) I did end up going "that didn't really happen" a lot. However, I still really enjoyed this book! I think a lot of people wouldn't know about Jane and this book had some true information, although it would be better off to research her if you are looking for some facts. 

    This story was comical and serious at the same time, and the characters were well written. There was even the right amount of mystery thrown in, which made for a book that I devoured within a day!

    Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

    The authors also have a website, www.ladyjanies.com!