Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish

Hey guys! It is time for another TTT! This weeks topic is top ten books that I wish had more/less X in them. Now, I read this and I was literally stumped. So, I’ve decided to change it up just a little bit and I am going with top ten books that needed that little extra spark! I’m going to explain my reasons for each book! So, in no particular order:

10.  This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab – I read this and I thought that the writing was absolutely fantastic… but I felt like the plot was lacking and it missed that extra spark to push it over the edge.

9.  Never Never Part Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher – The first two books in this series were absolutely amazing and they had me turning the pages and wanting to know more. However, when the explanation came in this final instalment, the spark sort of fizzed out because I feel like it was a complete cliche.

8.  The Accident Season by Moira Fowley – Doyle – I had heard some really great things about this, so I was really excited about getting around to it. However, I felt like the plot was a little slow and it lacked originality… which affected the spark!

7.  Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova – I feel like the relationships between some of the characters was really lacking, and I think that is one of the most important things in a book!

6.  Shooter by Caroline Pignat – I was expecting so much more from this book, but I was left disappointed. I expected something a little more to do with a school shooting and less to do with teenage angst. I feel like this book suffered because of it!

5.  The Leaving by Tara Altebrando – This book was completely underwhelming in so many ways because it just lacked the spark in the sense that it lacked originality…

4.  With Malice by Eileen Cook – I feel like, had Dangerous Girls not been published earlier this might have been successful, but it lacked the spark because it was just too similar!

3.  The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine – I feel like it lacked the magic of the original and I was severely underwhelmed by it

2.  The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye – I think maybe this suffered the hype monster because it just wasn’t as good as I thought it would be

1.  The Heir by Kiera Cass – I absolutely loved the first three books, but I feel like this book in particular lacked the magic the first three because I disliked the MC.

That’s it from me! Do you agree with any of these?

The Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Hey guys! So, I was tagged by Beth @ Reading Every Night for this tag – so thanks for that! So, I guess without further ado, let’s start!

Best Book you’ve Read So Far in 2016:

 Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog

 A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Ok, I couldn’t pick one, so it’s a tie! I loved Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog (which is being released later this year), and ACOMAF… well, I don’t think there is any explanation necessary!

Best sequel you have read so far in 2016:

 ACOMAF

Yes, this book again! But it truly was beautiful!!

New release you haven’t read yet but want to:

 Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.

Ok, so, technically this only came out today, but I still need this book in my life!

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

 Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.

I know, Maas again! But seriously, I love this series and I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

Biggest Disappointment:

 Never Never: Part Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Ok, this series had an amazing strong start and I was loving everything about it! However, the ending and the explanation given were weak and it ruined everything for me!

Biggest Surprise:

 Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

I was surprised at how things went down in this book! I was not expecting to feel the emotions I did and so strongly! I think everyone who has read this book will agree, there are literally no words to describe how you feel when reading this book and how you feel when you finish this book! I finished it and I was gob smacked it took me forever to actually write a review because I no idea how to formulate what I was feeling into words! It is that good! If you haven’t read this book… then why the heck not?!?

Favourite New Author (Debut or New to you):

 This is Betsy Schow! She was a new to me author when I read her book Spelled and I loved it! I was snorting and earning weird looks from my dad, but it was all so worth it! i look forward to more of her writing! She is currently writing the sequel (I Believe) to Spelled and I cannot wait!!

Newest Fictional Crush:

 Rhysand from ACOMAF.

Ummm… hello!! Rhys! Do I seriously need to explain this amazing specimen of a character???

Newest Favourite Character:

 Lada from And I Darken by Kierstin White

Well, she scares me and she is not a character that I would want to cross… but, she isn’t your everyday, wishy washy damsel in distress turned amazing hero. She was strong and stubborn and strong willed from the very beginning and I feel like she is a step above every other strong female character that I love because of this fact. She has never needed saving and I love the about her!

Book that made you cry:

 If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin.

Quite a few books have made me cry recently, but I think this book hit me the strongest! There you sit, watching these two characters fall in love and it is cutesy and feels full and bam! That ending… Box of tissues needed if you are going to brave this book! The worst thing is, you know from the very beginning what is going to happen, but that does not stop you hoping that it doesn’t!

Book that made you happy:

 Wrecked by Maria Padian

So, if you clicked the link, you’re probably thinking that I some kind of really weird psycho for thinking that this kind of book could ever make me happy… BUT… the outcome made me happy! I was rooting and I rooted right! Again, this book is being released later this year!

Favourite book to film adaptation:

Technically, tv show… but they are so epic!! I haven’t actually read all of the GoT books, but I am getting there! I love this show!

Favourite post you have done this year:

I don’t actually have a favourite post that I have done this year, but I did like sharing random facts about myself in TTT this week!

Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year:

 Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.

I bought a physical copy of this book not too long ago with this cover and it still makes me drool every time I clap eyes on it!

What book do you need to read by the end of the year:

 Winter by Marissa Meyer

There are so many books, but I would have to say the ultimate goal is this one! I have had it on my nightstand for ages now, but for some reason I keep procrastinating!

My tags:

Jamie @ Watch Game Read

Jesse @ Books at Dawn

Olivia @ Heir of Glitter

Kat @ Kat Impossible

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books

and you! If you want to do this tag feel free! Link me up so that I can see your answers!

Never Never: Part Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never: Part Three by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Published: January 19th 2016

Together, Silas Nash and Charlize Wynwood must look deeper into the past to find out who they were and who they want to be. With time ticking down, the couple are in a race to find the answers they need before they lose everything.

Can they regain what they once had? And will it restore who they once were?

After the first two books, I knew that I had to read this book. The need for answers and explanations was too much, even with my monster headache! I have to say, thought, I was disappointed with the explanation that was given. I think the ending was anticlimactic and I sort of just sat there after closing the book and thought to myself “Is that really it? After all that, that is the explanation they went for? Really?”

I love the way this book carried on directly from the last sentence of the last book. I think it made things more authentic and it flowed nicely. Of course, I was left (as a reader) wondering why Silas had his memories from the last 48 hours, but Charlie lost hers all over again). Pretty sure Silas was wondering the same thing. I definitely enjoyed the way we got to learn a little bit more about Charlie’s back story (in connection with Silas’ family) because I feel like it gave a bit more depth into her character. I wasn’t expecting her dad to be the way he was because the entire series made it sound like it was a frame job. I obviously don’t want to give too much away, but it was a little shocking.

Of course, as mentioned above, I was left pondering why Silas had his memories from the last 48 hours and why he didn’t lose them all over again like Charlie did. It left me confused, until they decided to try out a particular theory. A theory that explained everything about the end and why these events were happening to them. When Silas mentioned said theory, I knew that this was what the authors were going to use to explain away everything that had happened to the characters. I still hoped that they wouldn’t, though!

I think this was probably the weakest ending to a series that I loved, ever. I didn’t (and still don’t) understand what they had to use an ending like that. It was definitely a roll your eyes and sick in a bucket moment and I was left disappointed. I wanted something extreme and exciting – something to do with the families, or someone around them doing something without them realising… but no. I get that! It was a weak ending and I just… ugh. Rant over.

What I did love about this book, though, was that (in the previous book, we watched Silas), we watched Charlie fall in love with Silas all over again! I loved the fact that he used old jokes that he managed to pick up from journal entries and letters that they wrote to each other, to make her fall in love with him again (it was all part of their theory and the theory that ultimately ruined the book!). It was really cute to watch and it definitely had me girly giggling in certain places!

I really wanted to love this ending, but it was a huge disappointment! I loved most of the other factors of this book, but with a weak ending, it amounts to nothing. I gave this book 3.5/5 stars.

Have you read this book/series? What did you think of the end theory?

Never Never: Part Two by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never: Part Two by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Published: May 17th 2015 

“Never forget that I was your first real kiss. Never forget that you’ll be my last. 
And never stop loving me between all of them. 
Never stop, Charlie. 
Never forget.”

Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can’t imagine, beckons to be found. 

“Where are you, Charlie?”

After the first book, I had to know what was going on. I, as a reader, was still no closer to answers and I literally had no insight to what it could have been that was causing the two MC’s to lose their memories every 48 hours. This book kept me as hooked as the last one!

We go back into the book with Silas, having just lost his memories, trying to figure out what is going on. What I loved about Silas throughout this whole book is the fact that we get to watch him fall in love with Charlie all over again throughout the book – through reading journal entries and letters that they wrote to each other back and forth. It was easy to see why they loved each other from the beginning and I loved watching him fall for her all over again whilst trying to find her.

We also got to see what Charlie was experiencing! By the end of the first book, Charlie had vanished and none of us, readers or characters, knew where she went. So when we go into this book and she is seemingly in a mental institute, you have to ask yourself how she ended up there! Of course, nothing was as it really seemed with this book (which you know, when is it ever??), but I don’t want to give too much away. I loved trying to figure out how she ended up where she was and who put her there etc. I think what made this story even better was the fact that the readers are stuck in the same boat as the main characters. We know basically as much as they do (except for what we found out in the first book), and I think that adds to the experience of reading this book.

The need to know what was going on was definitely the factor that kept me turning the pages. Normally, it can take me a while to get the next book within a series if it has already been released, but the mystery was burning my brain and I stayed up to read it! I regretted my life choices because I read the next one directly afterward despite the fact that I had a crushing headache. This is how much I needed to know what was going to happen to these characters and why it was happening. I think Fisher and Hoover have definitely earned a gold star for keeping me that interested and invested, that quickly!

I really enjoyed this book and I went on to read the last and final book straight afterward. I needed to know what was going to happen the MC’s and this book left me turning the pages! I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it? 

June Wrap Up

Hey guys! So, this is going to be the first ever wrap up that I have done, so you’re going to have to hang in there! I am doing this post on a whim, and if I like doing it, then it will become a regular feature here – hooray!! 😀

Read:

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. June 12th, 5 stars

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. June 18th, 5 stars

One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards. ARC provided by the publisher – June 19th, 4 stars

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig. ARC provided through Netgalley, June 23rd, 4 stars.

Schism by Britt Holewinski, June 24th, DNFed

Valley of the Moon by Bronwyn Archer, Review copy provided by the author, DNFed, June 24th

Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog, ARC provided by the publisher, June 25th, 5 stars

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin, June 28th, 4 stars

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarry Fisher, June 30th, 5 stars

Started Reading:

Air Awakens by Elise Kova, I started reading this today, but since I won’t finish it today, I am going to include it in my July wrap up!

I am a mood reader, so there is really no point in putting down what I hope to read in July, because it will most likely change!

So thats me! What did you guys get up to this month?

 

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarry Fisher

Published: January 7th 2015

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.

Complete strangers since this morning.

He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget. (Goodreads)

After seeing Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books going a little bit crazy over this book on both Goodreads and her blog, I decided to give this book a try myself! I have been meaning to read a book by Colleen Hoover for quite a while now, and while she co wrote this book with Tarry Fisher, I thought this would be a good opportunity to start! I managed to grab this book as a freebie from Amazon – so even more luck for me!

In short, this book had me asking what the hell was going on throughout the book. It is all very suspicious and the readers are just left with even more questions at the end of the book than at the beginning. I’m sill sat here wondering what is going on in that series and I basically need to have those questions answered – which means getting a copy of the second book ASAP!!

What I think I liked most about this book was the fact the we as the reader knew as much as the characters did. They have no idea who they are, what has happened to them, why they can’t remember anything – so we are left with the same sense of feeling of confusion as the characters are. I think this was a unique way of pulling the reader into the story itself, because we just want to know what on earth is going on! I am a bit wary of Silas’ dad – I reckon he has something to do with it somewhere!

Another thing about this book is that it is a really short, quick read. The readers are never bogged down with information (not that the characters have any information, because they don’t), but I think the length of the book made sure that the story didn’t drag. I think if it had been any longer, the story would have dragged a little and it would have become boring pretty quickly – it was a fine line that the authors walked pretty well!

The mystery of the story and what is happening also helped to keep the pages being turned (metaphorically, because I read it on my Kindle!). I need to know what is going on and why Charlie and Silas keep losing their memories and what Never Never means. It would bug me if I didn’t find out!

I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to grab a copy of the second book! I am really excited to find out what happens! I will say though, in the premise, it says he will do anything to remember and she will do anything to forget; Charlie never gave off the impression that she remembered anything… either way, I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish

Hey guys! It’s freebie week! So, I was scrolling through the TBR pile on my Goodreads and I found a lot of series that I need to start! Like… a lot a lot. So, I have decided to do my TTT on top ten series I need to start reading… soon! In no particular order:

10.  Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Published December 8th 2014. I have been meaning to read more of Armentrouts work since I read Don’t Look Back almost 2 years ago. Clearly I need to get around to it!!!

9.  Avery by Charlotte McConaghy. Published February 2nd 2015 by Random House Australia. I have heard so much about this book and I have been meaning to get to it for a while! It definitely looks unique – plus the cover is a bonus!

8.  Storm Siren by Mary Weber. Published August 19th 2014 by Harper Collins. I have been seeing this book floating around a lot lately and it is definitely something I want to read myself and make up my own mind about!

7.  Into the Light by Aleatha Romig Published June 14th 2016 by Thomas and Mercer. Ok, so this was only very recently published, and I have been trying to catch up on my series recently so that I can start some new ones, but I still need to read this book!!

6.  The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight Published May 3rd 2016 by Harper Collins.  Again, this book was only published earlier on this year, but I have heard so much about it since then and I cannot wait to grab my own copy!

5.  Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarry Fisher. Published January 7th 2015 by Hoover Ink. I actually already have a copy of this on my kindle waiting for me – I managed to grab a freebie from Amazon! Can’t wait to get stuck into it!

4.  Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. Published December 11 2012 by Razorbill. This is another book that I have been seeing a lot of recently, despite its publication date coming from 2012!

3.  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Published March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books. I have never actually read a Cassandra Clare books that she wrote on her own. I read the Iron Trial a while back, which she co wrote with Holly Black, but this is a series that I clearly need to start! Preferably before someone decides to hit me around the head with this book!

2.  Air Awakens by Elise Kova Published August 27th 2015 by Silver Wing Press. Again, this is another book I have waiting for me on my kindle. I am an impulsive buyer with no self control and it just ends up with me having books pretty much everywhere waiting to be read. Just like this one!

1.  The Queen of All the Dies by Laura Thalassa. Published January 15th 2015 by Lavabrook Publishing Group. This book has been hyped up by pretty much everyone who has read it! I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

So thats it! What did you guys choose to do this week? Feel free to leave links and comments and I will check them all out!

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Hey guys, I haven’t done one of these in a while!! However, I am doing on this week!

Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog

Expected Publication: November 1st 2016 by Sourcebooks Fire

I receive an ARC copy of this book from the publisher and I absolutely loved it! If it isn’t on your TBR yet – you’re going to be missing out!!!!

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarry Fisher

Published: January 7th 2015 by Hoover Ink

I managed to nab a free copy of this from Amazon earlier on in the week. I am so psyched because I have heard a lot about Hoover and I cannot wait to read one of her books!

Unrivalled by Alyson Noel 

Published: May 10th 2016 by Mira Ink

Again, I managed to grab a discounted copy of this book from amazon! I have heard a lot of things about it, so I cannot wait to read it myself!

That’s it!

What did you guys add to your shelves this week? Feel free to leave links and comments and I will check them all out!