Bout of Books 11.0 Day 1 - Challenges

Bout of Books 11.0 Day 1 - Challenges 

***I'm only doing these for fun***

Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt:

For the scavenger hunt with had to find books that matched these:

1. A Book that begins with 'B' (for Bout of Books!)
2. A book that has been made into a movie/tv show
3. A series you love
4. An anthology of poems or short stories
5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves.

1. BLACKOUT BY MIRA GRANT:

This is the third book in the series and was the only book beginning with 'B' that I could think of. I haven't read it yet, but I plan on marathoning the whole series (Feed, Deadline & Blackout) in October!!

2. DIVERGENT BY VERONICA ROTH:                                                                

I have yet to read Divergent even though the movie cam out ages ago. Like even the DVD is out now!!! And I still have to read this book. But I have it on a buddy read starting the 1st of September.

3. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE SERIES BY LAINI TAYLOR:

Sorry the picture is upside down!!! :/ But anyway I love this series. I have not read the last book yet but I already know I am going to love it!!!

4. STEAMPUNK BY VARIOUS AUTHORS:

I absolutely loved these short stories!!! Well I loved most of them, some of them were meh. And there are even two graphic novelly stories in there too!! A little something for everyone.

5. MY FULL TBR SHELVES

Here are my full shelves because I have TBR books and books that I've already read mixed and matched up in my shelves so I just took pictures of all of them!!!

Bout of Books 11.0 Day 1 - Update

Bout of Books 11.0 Day 1 - Update

Here is my update for Day 1 of Bout of Books 11.0!!!!

I was able to accomplish a good bit of reading yesterday so here's what I did....

I started all of the following books:

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong - 217 pages

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - 102 pages

Half Bad by Sally Green - 21 pages

Total Pages Read - 340 pages

A to Z Survey

A - Z Survey

I recently saw this survey done by a vlogger Karina E. on Youtube and all I could think was I had to do this. So, after a Google search, I found that it was The Perpetual Page Turner who created this!!! So a big Thank You, for the awesome idea!!

Without further talk, here is the A to Z Survey!!!!

Author You've Read The Most From:

Cassandra Clare!!! Obviously. I've read a whopping 19 of her books. That is more than double my second place author. I've read her whole Mortal Instruments, all The Infernal Devices, The Shadowhunter's Codex and the Bane Chronicle novellas except the last one...

Best Sequel Ever:

Hmm this is a hard one, but I'm thinking Prodigy by Marie Lu. I've just read this recently and was blown away by the book. I so should have read it sooner!! 

Currently Reading:

I'm currently reading 2 books both as a buddy reads. These books are Breathe by Sarah Crossan and Partials by Dan Wells.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Water. I drink nothing else.

E-reader or Physical Book:

Physical Books all the way!! Nothing can beat the old fashioned way.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

William Herondale....I'd love to date him :p But I'd be a bit shy to confront him on the matter so more than likely it would have been James Carstairs (Jem).

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

Wither by Lauren DeStefano. I am so glad I gave this book a chance and that I read it because it was AWESOME!!!

Hidden Gem Book:

Hmmmm, Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. I loved this book and it's hard to find anyone else who read it. Oh Oh Oh and sorry this is cheating but Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is another gem of a book!!!

Important Moment in Your Reading Life:

Reading Twilight because that was the moment when I became an avid reader. Of course joining Goodreads was a major help and got me connected with all my bookie friends.

Just Finished:

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. You can find me review here

Kinds of Books You Won't Read:

Any book that doesn't interest me....simple as.

Longest Book You've Read:

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare -733 pages

Major Book Hangover Because of:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. I was heart-broken!!

Number of Bookcases You Own:

I have 4 wall shelves and a large bookcase which has 3 very big shelves so the number is 5.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Stolen by Lucy Christopher. I have read it a number of three times.

Preferred Place to Read:

On my Computer Chair in my room. It's so comfy!!!!

Quote That Inspires You/Gives You All The Feels From a Book That You've Read:

I'm cheating, okay. Because I haven't read this book but I plan to. 

The quote is:

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”

And ya'll know where that's from!!!

Reading Regret:

I don't know....I know I say nearly all the time that I regret not reading a book sooner but really that is just a figure of speech. Regrets are pointless. Never Regret Anything!!!

Series You Started and Need To Finish (all books are out in series)

I have started a heap load of series but I don't think most of them are finished. So I'm going to pick The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Loved the first book and must read the rest soon!!

Three of Your All Time Favourite Books:

Hardest question ever so, I'm going to name my favourites at the minute which are:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

Unapologetic Fangirl for:

Cristin Terrill!!! Absolutely loved her debut.

Very Excited for This Release More Than All Others:

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey. I cannot wait for this book!! 

Worst Bookish Habit:

Reading the`last page of a book. I'm breaking that habit now though!!!

X Marks the Spot: Start at the Top Left of Your Shelf and Pick the 27th Book:

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto.

Your Latest Book Purchase:

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott.

ZZZ-Snatcher Book (last book that kept you up):

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I stayed up till 2am to finish this one and usually I don't stay up for any book. I like my sleep :P

So that is it guys. Make sure to leave a comment below to let me know what you think and if you're going to do this post or if you've already done it!!!

Wishlist Wednesday #9

Wishlist Wednesday #9

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper and it is where you talk about one book which is on your wishlist.

My Wishlist Wednesday book is...

THE INFINITE SEA BY RICK YANCEY

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

I added this book to my wishlist as soon as I finished The 5th Wave. 

Because The 5th Wave was simply an amazing book and I just needed to read the sequel as soon as possible. Of course the sequel isn't out till September so I have to wait.

It's the whole alien concept that interests me so much. I have never read an alien book before I read The 5th Wave and I just have to say that that is going to be hard to beat, in the alien genre.

I really like this cover!! It not only goes perfect with the title but it also matches the first book's cover greatly and THAT is very important. Covers in a series have to match!! Don't get me started on when they change the covers mid-series!!

Look at that blurb. It's intriguing without giving a lot away. Very mysterious, it is. Anyway I don't care, I just can't wait for this book!!!

Of course I've read a book from Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave) and I really enjoyed his writing style. It was something that kept me hooked from the very beginning. I also found out about another earlier series of his called 'The Monstrumologist' which I may have to look into.

Have any of you guys read The 5th Wave? Are any of you counting down the days to The Infinite Sea???

Book Review - Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Tiger's Curse

(The Tiger Saga #1)

Author: Colleen Houck

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology

Published: May 26 2011

Pages: 498 pages (Paperback Edition) (Hodder & Stoughton)

Read: August 2014

Rating: 1 Star

Would you risk it all to change your destiny? The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she'd be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that's exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

My good streak has ended. I can tell you right now that this is not going to be a positive review. In fact, it's going to be very negative, so, if you enjoyed this book, you may not want to read further.

I tried, I really tried. But, that wasn't enough. On page 300, I decided to pack it in and give up on this book because frankly time is short and I want to spend it reading stories I enjoy, not ones I have to force myself to read.

The plot, if executed correctly, would have been amazing. There was great potential for this book. An Indian curse, a tiger, magic. There was everything to make a great story but unfortunately for me, it didn't turn out that way.

There were three main things which I disliked about this book.

First was the writing style. I just did not like Colleen Houck's writing style. It felt amateur. It lacked excitement and it continued in the same boring way. 

Second was the characters. None of them held depth and as for our protagonist. Kelsey was the most annoying protagonist I have come across so far. She did not act in any way human. She definitely didn't act the age she was supposed to be which shocked me when I found out. 
I could go on forever about this character and the rest but I'm not because that would take up the whole review.

The third main thing was the pace of this book. It was so slow. Honestly, I felt like the book was going nowhere, absolutely nowhere.

And to add to those dislikes are the conversations. Those conversations, every bit of dialogue that was in this book was dull, boring and felt completely fake. 

Finally the last thing was the amount of detail put in on completely irrelevant objects. There was a plane and the plane's descriptions took up around 3 pages, the description of a bathroom took up half a page along with the food. There was a lot of meals and every meal, just to describe what food lay out in front took half a page....that drove me over the edge. What was even worse was there was a scene that could have been filled with vivid descriptions and it wasn't. It was rushed through and this happened quite a bit, I'm afraid.

As a conclusion, I didn't enjoy or like this book at all and I will not be continuing on with the series. Of course these are just my opinions and I'm sure a lot of people have enjoyed this book and will continue to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the book for me.

Teaser Tuesday #9

Teaser Tuesday #9

This meme is hosted by MizB at ShouldBeReading and what's involved is that you pick up the book you're currently reading, flip to a random page and write down a little teaser. 

And this week's book is....

Tiger's Curse 

by Colleen Houck

"A bright ray of sun hit my closed eyelids, and I slowly cracked them open. Not remembering where I was for a minute, I stretched my arms up over my head, only to cringe in pain as my back rubbed against the hard ground" - Chapter 7

"'Ren, that was very beautiful.' 
His eyes turned to my face. He smiled and reached a hand up to touch my cheek. My pulse quickened, and my face felt hot where he touched it." - Chapter 14

Top Ten Tuesday #1

Top Ten Tuesday #1

Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read For Various Reasons

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and consists of them picking a topic each week for us bloggers to list our Top Ten.

Here's my list:

1. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Loads of people are reading this book and all I'm hearing is gushing review after gushing review but still, after reading the blurb, nothing attracts me to the book. I just simply don't find it interesting. And I don't think it would be the book for me. But still, I am completely unsure of this book and I have been for months!!

2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

This is another book that I am completely unsure of. For one, I'm not much of a contemporary reader. Secondly, I've seen a lot and I mean a lot of 5 star reviews and then I've also seen the a lot of opposite with 1 star reviews and 'did not finish' statuses. So complete indecision for this one, especially when the blurb gives nothing away.

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is a book where I've seen plenty of positive reviews but it's just that the blurb doesn't capture my attention so that's why it is featuring on this list.

4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The movie is coming out soon!!! So maybe I'll go see if that's any good, but then I won't want to read the book. It's a real Catch 22 situation...

5. Panic by Lauren Oliver

I want to read Panic. But, I don't know if I want to read Panic. I've been seeing mixed reviews. Plenty of mixed reviews. Then the blurb doesn't entice me. But, I read Delirium by Lauren Oliver and I loved it!!! So do I read Panic or not???

6. Bzrk by Michael Grant

Why am I not jumping to the book store for Bzrk??? Because the blurb put me off. Yes, it put me off. As soon as the talk of anything nano came, I was lost.....And that was just the blurb. But I've read all the Gone series and really enjoyed it so I'm undecided about this book. Someone help me please!!!!

7. Uglies by Scott Westerfield

I was going to get this. I had it in my hand. In my hand, it was and I was walking to the counter but I stopped and I got Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo instead. Why did I stop, because I am so unsure of this book...

8. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I loved both If I Stay and Where She Went yet I'm hesitant to pick this up. It's just that the blurb doesn't catch my interest that much, but still I liked Gayle Forman's other books so.....

9. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins

Hmmmm, every review I see of this is good. It's been recommended to me. It's been raved about. But I'm not a much of a contemporary reader. So should I? Shouldn't I? Will I??

10. Tiger's Quest by Collen Houck

I am currently reading Tiger's Curse and I am dreadfully regretting it. I am forcing myself through this book because I am determined not to abandon it. So because of this reaction to the first book, I don't think I'll be reading the second unless something amazing happens.

So, here is my first ever Top Ten Tuesday!!!! What do ya'll think of my choices?? And of course some advice would be appreciated :D

Book Review - All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays

Author: Cristin Terrill

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Dystopia

Published: August 1 2013

Pages: 360 pages (Paperback Edition) (Bloomsbury)

Read: August 2014

Rating: 5 Stars

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet. 

Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.


I am just on a good roll with books these last few months. Every book I've picked up has been amazing!! and All Our Yesterdays is no exception to that. I loved this book. I think I read it in 2 days. Ok maybe 3 days, but that is an achievement for me!!! The funny thing is I started this book in May and after reading 15 pages I stopped reading it and put it back on my shelf. Looking back I don't know why I did that. My past self was an idiot....

Anyway, All Our Yesterday is a novel written by Cristin Terrill. It is her debut and I now love her!! This book is about a girl who has to travel back in time to change the course of the future. 

I have not read that many time travelling books, but from what I've heard it is a very difficult story to get right. Most time travelling books end up being disastrous, but that is not the case with All Our Yesterdays. In this book, the point of view changes between present day Em and Marina of the past. This is done incredibly well as both Marina and Em are completely different to each other. It is easy to tell which one is speaking. As well as that I could not predict anything that was going to happen. I love when that happens!!! Cause usually you can predict stuff but nope I was not able to predict anything, okay, I made predictions but NONE of them happened.

One fault that I found with this book was that twice the chapters were wrongly named. You see at the beginning of each chapter it said either Em or Marina. So twice it said Marina when it was really Em that was speaking. Whether this was deliberate or a mistake, I couldn't tell you. Honestly, I believe it was a mistake. What about you guys?

The characters of this book are all completely different personality wise. You have rich genius, James, poor genius, Finn, and then rich girl, Marina. These are the sole three characters of this story. There are others but these three are by far my favourite. I loved each one of these characters so much, all in a different way. It was unbelievable how much I cared for them. I was so invested in their lives to see what would happen to all of them.

I loved this book, surely you can guess that much. So there is no point in talking about what I liked. I liked everything, Okay!!

The ending was very well written. It was a full closure for this novel. There was supposed to be a sequel to this, it says so at the back of my book - Stay Tuned for the Sequel to All Our Yesterdays. But, then he author published an explanation saying that she could not write the sequel because it wasn't working. I fully understood her explanation and I believe she made the right choice. So I deleted the sequel from my books on Goodreads and the book vanished, but now there's another one saying All Our Yesterdays 2 with a full blurb....So I tried looking for what the author wrote and I couldn't find it. My question is: Is the Second Book Back On? Do any of you guys have any info on it, if so please let me know!!! Thank you!!

This book was spectacular and I would highly recommend it to everyone I come across!!

Have you guys read this, if so let me know what you thought :)

Book Review - Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy

(Legend #2)

Author: Marie Lu

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia

Published: January 29 2013

Pages: 356 pages (Paperback Edition) (Penguin)

Read: July 2014

Rating: 5 Stars

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?



Prodigy is the second book in the Legend series and is the continuation of the journey of June and Day as they try to track down Day's brother and leave the Republic for good. 

Prodigy was an amazing read. I loved it just as much as I loved Legend, perhaps even more. I read Legend a while back so I can't really remember. But I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel. The story of Prodigy, is fast, intense and packed with action. It is a story of doubt, regret and trust. In Prodigy, the story is told from different point of views. Every chapter swaps from June to Day and back again. I have to admit that this was an excellent way to tell this story and only enhanced the enjoyment of the novel.

June and Day are very different characters than what they were in Legend. There is greater depth to each character and their different voices ring loud. It is easy to tell who is narrating the story at every point because their voices are so different and often in books it is rare to find it completely easy to tell who is narrating all he times as point of views change. As I said June and Day are very different. There is a lot of doubt and lack in trust in the book, especially between Day and June and with Day and June not trusting themselves. 

I quite enjoyed the way this story was executed. I enjoyed the fast pace and constant action. The fear, the doubt, the anger, the regret. All of this makes this novel unique with it's pessimistic views. But of course it isn't dull or drag in any way and the end of the book falls back slightly into the atmosphere that was in Legend. 

The ending of this book, is still running around my mind, even to this day. It is an ending that stays with you until you read the next book. It wasn't a cliffhanger but it's an ending that makes you want to dive straight into the next book. Trust me, I WANTED to dive straight into Champion. It's even sitting on my shelf. But I couldn't flipping disturb my DAMN reading plan because if you start changing one book, then another book is changed and then it is all CHAOS!!!! I can't let that happen....

For lovers of Legend, who have yet to read Prodigy. Do it. Do it now!! I regretted so much not picking this book up sooner. And why did I not pick it up sooner because I only flipping bought it in June. I had bought Champion for months before I bought Prodigy. Why I bought the third book before I bought the second is beyond me. But I've done it with The Selection now too....I have The Selection and The One, but no sign of The Elite....Please tell me you guys do that too or am I just the only freak in this world?? 

Have you guys read Prodigy? Tell me in the comments below!!! :)

Book Review - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone

(The Grisha #1)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Published: June 6 2013

Pages: 308 pages (Paperback Edition) (Indigo)

Read: July 2014

Rating: 5 Stars

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him? 


Shadow and Bone is the first book in the Grisha Trilogy and follows the main protagonist Alina as she battles with the realisation that she is in fact much different to what she thought she was.  


I enjoyed Shadow and Bone so much. It is officially one of the best books I've read this year. The plot revolves around Alina as she tries to find out what she is and fit in with the elite Grisha. The world building is fabulous. Yes, I used the world fabulous. I loved it. I loved the fantasy realm which was created in this novel. The story itself is intriguing to the point that it will keep you hooked from page 1. I was most certainly hooked from the start.

The characters are all relateable. Alina is an extremely likeable character as is her best friend Mal. At the beginning I didn't care much for Mal but as time goes by he becomes much more of better character. I also found this fault with Alina. At the start she was a love-sick puppy and trust most of her thoughts revealed this. This of course was annoying me, but Alina grows as a character and becomes much stronger when her life is flipped. 
The other character that really struck a cord with me was 'The Darkling'. I cannot say anything about this character in fear that I would accidentally let slip some spoilers. So, all I will say is that this guy has a piece of my heart and there is no way I can let him go. I just can't wait to see what happens with this guy. 

As I said above I love this book, and naturally I loved everything about this book. The characters, the story, the writing, the world and everything else. It was all fabulous. Even the cover is amazing!! I am so happy that I have the grey cover version of this book, I don't think I'm really gone on the new purple edition. What do you guys think of it??

Anyway my dislikes would be that the story made me feel so much!!!! That's not really a dislike by the way. I love stories that make me feel all these emotions and when I'm so connected to the characters, it's the best reading experience. But ya, I don't really have a dislike, just maybe perhaps Alina as a love-sick puppy, but I can see now how that fits perfectly into building her as a character.

The ending is so perfect for a sequel. It isn't a cliffhanger ending or anything but you just know, with all those burning questions in the back of your mind, that you just have to go on and read the next book. AND I HAVE TO READ THE NEXT BOOK!!! Maybe I'll get it for Christmas :P

As my final few words, I will say that I loved this book so darn much. I can't wait to read both Seige and Storm and Ruin and Rising. I need to know what happens to all my favourite characters and of course I would recommend this to everyone. Absolutely everyone!!! So if you haven't read this yet, please pick it up. I'm sure you won't regret it and if you do, I'm sorry :p

Tell me in the comments below if you;ve read this book orare planning to and what your thoughts were on it.

Until the next book my fellow readers!!
Sarah.