Top Ten Tuesday: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Finally doing another one! These are the last ten books that I have acquired. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish. I have not read any of these books, but I am looking forward to getting to them soon (especially The Heart of Betrayal).

1. Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen

2. City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

3. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

5. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

6. Entwined by Heather Dixon

7. Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

8. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

9. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

10. A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes

July TBR

I know it's a little late in the month to post a TBR, but here it is! Surprisingly, I've already read five books this month. I'll be leaving those out of this list and just include the other books I want to get to. I've been wanting to do a read-a-thon for SO STINKING LONG, and I thought I was going to be able to do the Booktube-a-Thon, but it got moved to a week when I'll be on vacation.

So much disappointment.

BUT! The TBR Takedown 2.0 read-a-thon is going to be happening during the week Booktube-a-thon was originally planned for, so I will be participating in that! It's happening July 25th-31st. I'll be joining in on the tweeting, so look out for that. Here's the link to the video if you're interested: #TBRTakedown 2.0. I'm super excited!

Here are the challenges for the read-a-thon:

1. Read the first book in a series.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

2. Read a sequel.

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

3. Read a book that's out of your comfort zone.

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

4. Read a book that's been on your shelf at least one year.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

5. Read a book from your most recent haul.

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Besides those/before the read-a-thon, I would also like to get to:

1. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

2. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

3. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore

4. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore

June Wrap-Up

June felt like it dragged, but I did read some really great books! I never made a TBR, so I focused on reading some sequels in order to catch up on various series. I'm not going to post my March-May wrap-ups because it would honestly take way too long. If you're curious as to what I read during those months, check out my Goodreads page! Anyway, here's June!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

4.5/5 Stars

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

4/5 Stars

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

3.5/5 Stars

Of Triton by Anna Banks

3/5 Stars

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

5/5 Stars

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

3.5/5 Stars

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

4/5 Stars

Blue Lily, Lily Blue  by Maggie Stiefvater

5/5 Stars

Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

The hiatus is over! Time to post! What better way to get back into blogging than by doing a negative tag, am I right? Let's face it, us book lovers like talking about books we hate, too. It's a fact of life. Why not have fun with it? This tag was created by The Book Archer. Please don't take any offense if I didn't like your favorite book or series; I promise it isn't personal.

1. What is a popular book or series that you didn't like?

I don't know how popular they are, but I didn't like the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr or the Immortals series by Alyson Noel. As for popular books, I'm not a fan of The Giver by Lois Lowry, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Landline by Rainbow Rowell, or An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Sorry!

2. What is a popular book or series that everyone else seems to hate but you love?
I have a few for this one. The Gone series by Michael Grant and the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore are two of my favorite sci-fi series. I don't hear too much about them from other people, but when I do, it's typically negative. I don't love it, but I didn't hate the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick as much as other people did. I also didn't have any problems with Allegiant or Mockingjay. (Please don't hate me!)

3. What is a love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you didn't want them to end up with or an OTP (one true pairing) that you don't like?
For the love triangle, definitely The Hunger Games. I was not a fan of the end result. Maybe the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo as well, but that one I'm on the fence about. Disliking an OTP kind of goes against the meaning of the phrase, but I'll play along: Jace and Clary from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and Percy and Annabeth from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Not a fan of those couples.

4. What is a popular book genre that you hardly reach for?
Paranormal and historical fiction. It's not that I dislike those genres, they just don't top my list.

5. Who is a popular or beloved character that you don't like?
Definitely Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, too. I wasn't a huge fan of June from the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu, either.

6. What/who is a popular book or author that you can't seem to get into?
I've tried almost all of David Levithan's books, but I can't get into his writing. I really, really dislike Ellen Hopkins, though. 

7. What is a popular book trope that you're tired of seeing?
I think I'm getting tired of betrayal. I love a good plot twist, but I think I've just read too many books lately that have someone betraying the main character and ruining everything. It's getting predictable.

8. What is a popular series that you have no interest in reading?
The Fallen series by Lauren Kate, the Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner, and the Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles.

9. What movie or TV adaptation do you prefer more than the book?
I definitely like the Warm Bodies movie much more than the book. I could not finish the book; it was just so boring. I wasn't a big fan of The Fault in Our Stars, but I really enjoyed the movie. That's all I can think of!

Book Review: Cruel Beauty

Author: Rosamund Hodge
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2014, Balzer + Bray
Rating: 2/5 Stars

Nyx is promised to marry Ignifex, the evil, deal-making ruler of demons. Her father is the one who is sending her to this fate, but he has trained Nyx her entire life to kill Ignifex. When Nyx turns 17, she marries him. Her plan is to destroy him and his castle, which will in turn release the kingdom from Ignifex's curse. However, Ignifex isn't what Nyx expected. As she learns more about this mysterious man and uncovers his secrets, Nyx must make a choice that will either save or destroy the kingdom.

Cruel Beauty is marketed as a "Beauty and the Best" retelling. That's pretty much what drew me to the book, and I found myself very disappointed at the lack of parallels. I gave this book 2 stars because I did enjoy some parts of it, but I didn't really like it overall.

Let's discuss the issues. First off, Nyx was a terrible main character. She was SO ANNOYING. She had very few redeeming qualities, if any. I might have said this before: I can get over an irritating main character if I really enjoy the story, but alas, that was not the case this time.

How I felt about Nyx.

I love "Beauty and the Beast," but Cruel Beauty felt pretty far removed from that story. Some of the names were so weird that they felt weird just for the sake of being weird, you know? That's not the most important thing in a book to me, but it was odd.

My other big issue with the book was the lack of world building. It was so freaking confusing. Hodge throws around all sorts of terms relating to the world, but then they're never explained. The Greek gods were still worshiped, which is super interesting, but she never did anything with it. I was confused about a lot of stuff. I didn't know why the kingdom was cursed or what exactly the curse was. Ignifex was just a confusing character altogether. The ending of the book was unclear and rushed; so many things could have been better. It seemed like Hodge started writing a dark, magical world but never fully developed it. 

I don't think I can recommend this book to anyone unless you don't mind underdeveloped, confusing stories. I'm pretty disappointed. The writing was repetitive and choppy and I'm not about that. It was just weird.

March TBR

I have a lot of books I want to read this month. A lot of them are series that everyone has been loving, and I really want to be in on it! I have a week off for spring break, so hopefully I can finish at least the majority of these books. I'll be doing a review for Cruel Beauty once I finish it (hopefully tonight) and for most of my TBR books as well.

1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
2. A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
3. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
5. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
6. Cress by Marissa Meyer
7. Legend by Marie Lu
8. Prodigy by Marie Lu
9. Champion by Marie Lu
10. The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
11. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
12. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
13. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
14. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
15. Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
16. In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
17. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
18. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
19. Saga Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

February Wrap-Up

February was an okay month for me. I feel like I didn't read much, but I think I got a decent chunk done. I didn't get to all of the books on my TBR; I'm about halfway through Cruel Beauty and there were three more books I never started. Anyway, here's what I actually accomplished!

Saga Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
5/5 Stars

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

4/5 Stars

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

5/5 Stars

Earth House Hold by Gary Snyder

2.5/5 Stars

 In the Sierra: Mountain Writings by Kenneth Rexroth

3/5 Stars

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

4.5/5 Stars

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

2/5 Stars

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

3.5/5 Stars

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

5/5 Stars

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

4/5 Stars

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

5/5 Stars

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

3/5 Stars

Kaddish and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

2/5 Stars

 Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

2/5 Stars

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

4/5 Stars

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac

2.5/5 Stars

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 2014. Simon & Schuster
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Lara Jean writes one letter to every boy she falls in love with. She keeps them safe in a hat box that her mother, who passed away when Lara Jean was young, gave her. When the letters are accidentally mailed to the boys, Lara Jean must do some damage control. Through this fiasco, Lara Jean learns more about herself than she thought possible.

This book was a delight; I smile every time I think about it. This is the first book by Jenny Han that I've ever read, but now I want to read all of her books. I love the way she writes - it just feels so real and relatable.

I felt like I identified with Lara Jean quite a bit, at least personality-wise. She's pretty quiet, and she prefers to spend time at home doing her own thing over going out and partying. Lara Jean, a high school junior, is the middle child in her family: Margot is a freshman in college and Kitty (Katherine) is in third grade.

I don't have any sisters, but this book made me wish I did. I love the girls' relationship and how they interacted with each other. It seemed like they got do a lot of fun things together. I was jealous. The family dynamic is part of the reason I liked this book so much. Lara Jean's family isn't perfect, but whose is?

I don't know. J Law doesn't know.

I really don't want to give anything else about the story away; it's got some surprises! I loved nearly all of the characters, which is super strange for me. The story flew by so quickly that I stretched out my reading, which was difficult for me; I just didn't want it to end. To All the Boys I've Loved Before has definitely become one of my favorite contemporary books. I seriously can't wait for the sequel! I would recommend this book if you like Stephanie Perkins, Colleen Hoover, or if you're looking for a fun, fluffy, romantic read.

Book Review: The False Prince

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2012, Scholastic
Rating: 4/5 Stars

The False Prince is the first book in the Ascendance trilogy. In a country on the verge of civil war, a nobleman named Conner decides that it is his duty to save the kingdom. Conner recruits several orphans to serve in his plan to present one to the court as the long-lost (and presumed-dead) prince. Sage, one of the orphans that Conner acquires, is wary of the plan. He distrusts Conner greatly, but he knows that he must be chosen to play the part of the prince or else he will be killed. Everyone has their own agenda, and no one can be trusted. Secrets, lies, and deceit ensue.

This book was a fun time. It felt a bit Game of Thrones-ish, just a lot more kid-friendly. It's classified as a middle-grade book, but don't let that deter you - it doesn't feel young or immature at all.
The story is narrated by Sage. Sage very quickly goes from a thieving orphan to a prince-in-training at Conner's luxurious estate. I really enjoyed Sage's narration and personality, but not so much the other boys, Roden and Tobias. They were just alright.

Conner is probably one of my most-hated book characters ever. But I also liked him. It's complicated. He's just so terribly infuriating, but he was written so well! Props to Jennifer A. Nielsen. He made for a great antagonist.

My favorite characters were Sage and Mott. Sage was snarky and mischievous, which I always appreciate in a character. Mott was just such a cool guy, and I grew to like him more and more as the book went on. Imogen, unfortunately, doesn't make this list. She was so BLAH.

The plot builds very slowly and then BAM everything happens really fast at the end. This made the ending feel kind of rushed but also exciting, if that makes sense. This book is the first in a trilogy, so I'm guessing that everything is just set up for the next book.

I enjoyed this book a bunch, and I will definitely read the other two in the trilogy! I would recommend this to fans of A Song of Ice and Fire or to anyone who likes books about political intrigue in a fantasy setting.

Scootin' along to the next book!

Top Ten Tuesday: Book-Related Problems

I wanted to start doing this weekly feature last week, but I wasn't too keen on the topic. I can definitely come up with some stuff for this one, though! I'm posting this on Monday night because I will be busy all day tomorrow, and I want to make sure this gets posted! This is a list of the top ten book-related problems that I have. Of course, these aren't serious issues, just minor annoyances. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish. Let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns?)!

1. Space - I've officially run out of space for my books, which is a problem, because I want more books. Things are gonna have to get stacked in some really weird ways pretty soon. I really hate doing this, though, because then I can't see all the spines. I just need an in-home library.

2. Ugly covers - I hate looking at books with ugly covers. I admit it, I'm super judgmental. I judge books by their covers, and I like it. This doesn't mean that I'll pass up a book just because it has an ugly cover, but I'm prone to form certain opinions based on how a book looks. Ugly covers typically include some kind of close up on weird-looking person, usually a girl. Also, the colors are probably unpleasant. Some notable ugly covers: the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead, the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman, The Host by Stephenie Meyer, Mind Games/Perfect Lies by Kiersten White, Vicious by V.E. Schwab, and pretty much all of Alex Flinn's books (the people-on-the-cover versions).

3. Cover changes - This is the main reason why I like to wait until a series is complete until I buy it. I especially can't stand when the change is for the worse. For example, the Across the Universe series by Beth Revis. Just...why?

4. Mismatched formats - On top of matching covers, I also like to have my books match in format. A series needs to be all in hardcover or all in paperback. For longer series, I like to buy them in paperback to save a little money.

5. Waiting for releases - This means two things for me. The first is waiting for the next book in a series. Like I said before, I usually wait until the entire series is out because I hate waiting. If I read a new release and it's in a series, it's often quite a while until the next installment is out. This frustrates me. The second meaning is waiting for a book to come out in paperback. This only applies if it's in a series and I've been collecting it in paperback. It's usually about a year or so after the initial release date when the book comes out in paperback. That's a long, sad amount of time to wait for a book.

6. Different heights - This is kind of like mismatched formats/covers. Occasionally, I come across books in series where one is a different height than the others. Rage ensues. What? How does this happen? Same publisher, same edition, so why is it a different height? Can someone explain please!?

7. Sheer numbers - There are just so many books in the world. There are so many books that I want to read, so many that I want to own. If I could just win the lottery, then I could have all the books.

8. Indecisiveness - This goes along with the insane amount of books I want. Say, for example, that I want to buy three books. Okay, great, right? NO. I have over 200 books on my Amazon wishlist. How am I supposed to pick three out of that? It takes me hours to decide. Seriously, it does.

9. Hype - Hype can be a great thing - it means that a lot of people are really enjoying a book - but it can also be harmful. I fall prey to hype constantly. When I first discovered book videos on YouTube, my purchases were influenced by which books were the most talked about. Hype can either introduce you to a book you'll love or set you up for complete disappointment. There have been several times where I've thought I might have liked a book better if I hadn't heard all the hype; I had high expectations. Having no expectations for a book might be better than having insanely high ones.

10. Dusting - This may sound silly, but I like to keep my books in the best condition possible, and that means dusting fairly regularly. And I have a lot of books to dust. I just want them to be clean! No one wants dusty books, right?