The Rise of Nine Book Review

Hi Guys,
I'm sorry I'm a couple days late on the review, I've been a little busy this week. But, I didn't forget, so here is the review for The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore, the third book in the I am Number Four series. This was another amazing installment in this book, and I can't wait to review it. Here is the synopsis from the Goodreads:

Until the day I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive. Together, we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others. . . . I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others--including John. But so are they. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They caught me in New York--but I escaped. I am Number Six. They want to finish what they started.
But they'll have to fight us first.

My first impression of this book was that it didn't really look like the other covers, I liked the first two, but this one kind of fell flat to me. When I bought the book, I noticed that the cover felt strange too, I didn't like that either... I'm also confused as to whether the book cover is a rock, or sand. I thought it was sand at first, but I've heard people say it was a rock, so I don't know. Besides the cover, I was hoping this would be a good book, I loved the I am Number Four, but The Power of Six was below average for me. I started reading this in August of 2012, but I just finished this past Saturday. I wasn't reading it the whole time, I set it down to read some other books, and I just got back around to it. It was an easy read for the last 150 pages or so. Although, it was a little boring in parts in the middle. The plot wasn't very interesting, the only new thing was the vision of Setrakus Raa (#Spellcheck) by each member of the Garde. There were also some "surprise" plot twists (I guess that by the quotation marks, you guys understand that they weren't very surprising). I loved the additional new characters, Nine has instantly become one of my favorite fictional characters ever, and Eight was likable enough, but I felt something that made him seem like the "Judas" of the story, but I don't know how it'll turn out. The action of this book was amazing, and the suspense left me on the edge of my seat. I'm really looking forward to what happens in the future books, I want for Five to be introduced, and I WANT TO KNOW WHERE/HOW SAM IS!!! Sam is one of my favorite characters of this series, and I need to read about him some more, I miss his hilarious wit. I also liked some of the new legacies introduced in the book. I give this book 4/5 stars. It was better than the Power of Six, but nowhere close to I am Number Four. The reason I gave it four stars, is because of the boring parts, and that's about it. I can't wait for the next novel, and I hope it's the best one yet! Check this book series out, if you haven't already, It's AMAZING!!!

The Queen's Army Short Story Review

Hi Guys,
This week was another "chill" week for me, I only had to go to school Monday-Wednesday because of teacher workdays, and this coming Monday I don't have to go because of Martin Luther King Jr. day. I love long weekends, and this is one of the longest. So far this break I haven't really read a whole lot, I've been doing the last little bit of homework I had, and watching the first 18 episodes of Supernatural on Netflix. I hope to get some reading done guys, I promise. I'm about 50 pages into The Hunt, about 50 pages into The Immortal Rules, 240 pages into The Rise of Nine, and 11 pages into Game of Thrones. So maybe I'll finish 1 or 2 of these books this week. But I don't know, Supernatural is getting really interesting... sorry I'm a little late on that band-wagon... 8 seasons late I think. Anyway, This week's review is on The Queen's Army, another short-story by Marissa Meyer, and this is based in the same world as her novel Cinder, and her other short story, Glitches. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen’s army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen -- and to himself -- that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

My first impression was good, since I already read Glitches and pretty much liked it, I thought I would like this as well... but I didn't. I LOVED IT! This was so good, it was fast-paced, it had enough of a story-line to keep you interested, and had some of the best characters I've read about. Meyer has the ability to captivate you with a character, I wanted to know everything about the main character, whose name I've forgotten. He was very interesting, and I loved learning about the wolves as well. I loved how his brother was brought into everything, I loved the ending... I LITERALLY LOVED EVERYTHING!!! I can't think of anything I didn't like about this story. I give this book, if you haven't guessed already, 5/5 stars, because, in my eyes, it was perfect. I can't wait to read Cinder and Scarlet if this is what one of Meyer's short stories is like. I understand that Scarlet isn't in the POV of this character, but I think I'll still enjoy at least reading about him again. I'm so ready to start this series! You guys should definitely check this out, it has tons of action, plot-twists, character development, humor, anything you would want in a story... except for romance. So go read it NOW! It's only like a dollar on amazon. NOW!!!

Glitches Short Story Review

Hi Guys,
This week has gone pretty smoothly for me, thank you God! With exams, and the alternative scheduling of my classes, I've had no homework, and very little classwork. So I have no altercation with posting this week's review... this week. This is going to be the first Short Story review on my blog, and I'm quite excited about it. I really liked this short story, and I look forward to reading the novel that follows this story. I read this short story on my kindle for free a few weeks ago, the name of it is Glitches, and it was written by Marissa Meyer. It is book 0.5 in the Lunar Chronicles series, the first book being Cinder by Meyer, which was released around mid-2012. Here's the synopsis of this short story from Goodreads:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In “Glitches,” a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

My first impression of this story was that I really didn't know what to expect... I mean I've wanted to read Cinder since it's release, but I've yet to read it. I got this all because of the fact that it was free on my kindle, I didn't know if it would be fine for me to read this before Cinder, but I did anyway. Don't worry guys, it's perfectly fine to read this without reading Cinder... it just basically gives her back-story.  When I started reading this story, I was enveloped in the character of Cinder. I wanted to know EVERYTHING about her immediately. Once she arrived in Japan, however, I got a little bored. The only thing I was really interested in was the friendship between Cinder and her new step-sister. This went on for a few pages, before it started to pick up again. When Cinder started to mend the broken android, I was captivated yet again, and not long after that scene, her step-father became very ill, making it very interesting to me once more. I wanted to know what disease he had, and what some of the symptoms/treatments were. Thankfully it gave you a brief bit of information on the sickness right before the story ended. I give this story 4/5 stars for the lack of interest I had during the middle. Overall, however, it was a good read, it had great characters, a wonderful scenery, and a very original re-telling idea. I enjoyed it, and I believe you guys would too, so check this story out. You will still be able to read this story if you haven't read Cinder, so this is for ANYONE to read! The next review will also be on a short story by Marissa Meyer, The Queen's Army (book 1.5 of the Lunar Chronicles).

Lockdown Book Review

Hi Guys,
I'm trying my best to keep up with doing at least one post a week for the new year. I don't know how it'll work out, but so far, it's working. I know I said I was going to do a review of Glitches next, but I decided to do a book I finished a few days ago instead.This is the first book I finished in 2013, and for those of you are follow me on Goodreads might have seen this on my 2013 Challenge. For those of you who haven't seen it the name of the book is Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith, and it's the first novel in the Escape from Furnace series. I've heard several people talk about this book, and I've heard mixed reviews... but the good reviews, plus the strangely awesome cover, led to me picking this book up. This is also the third book I read on my kindle paperwhite (I'm still loving it guys!). Here's the synopsis of Lockdown from Goodreads:

Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison. Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

My first impression of this book was that it looked scary... and that's not a bad thing, but I just don't really read a lot of horror fiction, not that I don't want to, it's just that there are very few horror books I'm interested in.  Once I read the synopsis, I realized that it seemed like a book I might like, so I kept it in the back of my mind. Then I saw CassJayTuck do a review of the first three books in the series, and she seems to like some of the same books I like, so I put it a little higher on my TBR list, but still wasn't in a real hurry to read it. But once I got my paperwhite, one of the books I saw recommended for me in the kindle shop was this, and I figured, "Why not?", so I bought it right then. So when I started to read it, I found that I didn't want to put it down. Before too long, I'd finished and LOVED it. This is one of my favorite books now, and I can't believe I waited so long to read it. The characters, the plot, the setting, the action, and the writing of this novel left me breathless, and I can't wait to read the next book. My favorite character was Donovan, he seemed like a very sensible guy, and I like how he helped Alex as much as he could, even if he didn't want to half the time. I'm a little shocked about what happened to him at the end of the book, but it just makes me want to read the next book more to find out what happened to him. I give this book 5/5 stars, I didn't see anything wrong with it at all... I mean, it got a little gory at times, but I'm a guy, so I liked it. Like I said before, I can't wait to read the next couple books in the series, and I was left on a cliff-hanger at the end of this book, and I need to know what happens next! I wish the next book were free so I could already read it and review it, but I'll just have to wait until I feel like I want to buy another kindle book (since I got so many for Christmas). I just can't wait to read Solitary!!! I NEED IT!!! Anyway, hopefully next week I will have another review for you guys, and it probably will be Glitches this time, but "the world may never know." Until next time guys, keep reading, and PICK UP THIS NOVEL!!!

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Book Review

Hi guys,
I'm sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER, it's just that my schedule is ridiculous. I've been staying up until 2 in the morning almost every night doing homework and projects. I've hardly had any time to read. That's why I'm glad for Christmas Break (even if it is only a week long this year (thanks a lot school board!!!)) Anyway, for Christmas I bought the new kindle paperwhite, and I LOVE IT! It's so much better than my old kindle. I definitely recommend it. When I got my kindle I bought a few books on it, one of which was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. I haven't read a book since Ten, even though I've tried, but I've been too swamped. So when my parents announced we were going to Baltimore for a few days to see some relatives, I knew I would get some reading done. I heard so much about this book that's one reason I bought it, the main reason I bought it though, was because everyone said it was one of the funniest books they'd ever read. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

My first impression of this book was really good because of the cover, which is awesome (I love the colors, and the Scrapbook-y feel to it) and I also had a good first impression of this book because of the book review of it by Raeleen from Padfoot and Occasionally Prongs. I love all the characters in this book, they all add to the story line so well. I, obviously, like the three main characters the most, but all the other characters really made this book more life-like. There's really nothing to say about this book that hasn't already been put in the synopsis except that the awkward chemistry between Greg and Rachel is hilarious. My favorite part of the book was there conversation about Pillows... it's the funniest thing I've ever read. I loved the humor of this book up until about the half-way point from then on out some of the jokes started to get a little repetitive and not as funny, but there were some funny parts of the second half of this book. Also, this book is very vulgar, and you guys know I don't really like that... but somehow this book kind of made it work for me, I don't know how, but it did... so that didn't cause a large deduction of star rating power. One thing I didn't like about his book was that it ended too abruptly for me it kind of built up with all the humor and everything going on that once the thing, which you've been expecting the whole time, happens, it just sort of ends... there wasn't a large revelation, or change of heart, or anything... so I guess that's what makes it more like real life, but I just didn't like the ending. So I give this book 4/5 stars because of the annoying humor from the second half, and the abrupt ending. Except for those two things, I loved this book, and I'm glad it got me out of my reading slump. I can't wait to, hopefully, start reviewing more frequently, and my next review will be on Glitches, which will be my first short-story review. This is the prequel to the book Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and I hope to review it soon. Check out Me and Earl and the Dying Girl... it will make you laugh harder than you have ever laughed during a book, I swear! READ IT NOW!

Ten Book Review

Hi Guys,
I know I've been a little lazy on the posts, but I've been busy with school. That seems like a common factor with reasons for my lack of posts... but it's so stressful this semester (and it's just my Junior year... OF HIGH SCHOOL!) So, I'm a little worried about what my life will be like in college. This semester I have: Honors Latin III, AP Chemistry, Honors US History, and Marching Band... and each one of them is stressful in their own way. Anyway, getting off the subject of stress in my life, let's move on to the stress of the Ten teenagers in Gretchen McNeil's new novel Ten. This novel was a fantastic thrill ride, the plot isn't that hard to comprehend either. That's one reason I loved the tag line (Ten teens. Three days. One killer.) because, if anyone asked me what the book was about, I would just recite the tag line to them and they would say that the book sounded amazing. Even with the self-explaining tag line, I'm going to post the synopsis from Goodreads:

SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. House party.
White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

My first impression of this book was that it was going to be amazing. I'd never read a book about normal teens being hunted my a killer, or a story as suspenseful as this one. Once I saw how small the book was though, I was a little worried about how the story would play out in such a short amount of time, but it worked out well. I really liked the plot and the characters, and how it all tied together in the end. However, at times it was quite predictable. The first couple people who died, I knew a couple chapters before they actually died, and I saw some of the conversations coming into action before it actually did. But there were also times where I didn't know what was happening, especially the last 50 pages or so. I was shocked about how it tied together, I didn't see it coming for sure. I told a friend after reading the book that McNeil cheated with who the killer was... (Ah... I had to catch myself, I almost gave an important piece of info away.)  I was worried towards the end when people started to die, and the chances of it being certain people increased, but the author did great with the shock factor of the last couple chapters. I really didn't see it coming, and I loved how it all tied together in the end. I give this novel 4/5 stars, just because of some of the predictable moments, but overall it was a great read, and I look forward to reading other books like this as well as other books by McNeil. 

 Additional Announcement: The Army of Ten is a website hosted by McNeil, and it is used to spread the word of Ten with libraries/book stores/etc. It's an amazing site and you guys should check it out I have a button on the sidebar of the blog, so just click on it and it will take you straight to the site. I like this site because it gets the book out into other peoples hands, and it also gives you the chance to win awesome stuff... by doing different "missions" in order to win a couple prizes. Just click on the picture below, or the button on the side bar. I LOVE IT! CHECK IT OUT!
 

Tag Tuesday (3)

Hi Guys,
This is my third "Tag Tuesday" post. I hope you guys are enjoying these posts. It takes a lot of effort on my part to, for one, actually muster enough energy to put one together, and for two actually put it together. So, again, I hope you guys are enjoying them, and I hope you fellow bloggers will partake in this weekly post.

"Tag Tuesday" is a weekly event, hosted here, that no longer confines book tags to the booktubing community. Every Tuesday (Hopefully), I will post my response to a tag that I've seen in the booktubing community.

The third "Tag Tuesday" tag will be the "Seven Deadly Sins of Reading Book Tag", which was created by BookishlyMalyza on YouTube. This tag isn't an acronym tag like the previous two "Tag Tuesdays" were. Instead, each of the seven questions of this tag will coincide with the seven deadly sins: Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride, Lust, and Envy. So, let's get started!


                                                                                                                            
Greed: What is your most inexpensive book? Most expensive?
Most inexpensive: My original edition copy of The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening.
Most expensive: My Narnia book that has all seven of the books in one HUGE copy.


Wrath: What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?
 L.J. Smith, I love all of her books from the 90's, but when she started to continue writing her Vampire Diaries Series, it just went downhill from there.

Gluttony: What book have you deliciously devoured, over and over, with no shame whatsoever?
 Gone by Michael Grant.

Sloth: What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?
 Um... SEVERAL! Eragon, Wicked Lovely, Tim Tebow: Through my Eyes, Insurgent, Incarceron, Night World Omnibus 3, Carrier of the Mark, and Sacrifice. I call this group of books my "Debt-List", because I've started them, but I've yet to finish them.

Pride: What book do you most talk about in order to sound like a more intellectual reader?
 Probably the stories of Greek Mythology I read in Middle School. 

Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in a male or female character?
 Um, I guess just an average girl... I mean I tend to like brown/black/red hair over blonde, and I also don't like her to be gullible, and I really like a girl who can defend herself.

Envy: What books would you most likely wand to receive as a gift?
 Hmm... The Walking Dead graphic novels, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Hunt, Light, A Once Crowded Sky, False Memory, I Hunt Killers, Unraveling, Zom-B, Lockdown, and Many, Many More!

                                                                                                                             


Well, that is all for my first "Tag Tuesday", and if you have your own blog, and would like to take part in this, please just leave a comment on this post, letting me know you will be doing so, and also, please post that "Tag Tuesday" was originally created by moi. Thanks again for reading this, and I hope to get to doing another "Tag Tuesday" soon.

By the way, I tag everyone who views this post, so get started on your Seven Deadly Sins of Reading Tag.

Tag Tuesday (2)

Hi Guys,
This is going to be my 2nd Tag Tuesday Post, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm sorry I haven't really been doing much on the blog, my semester, is CRAZY. I'm taking Honors Latin 3, AP Chemistry, Honors US History, and Marching Band. They're each stressful in their own way, and each one of them has an hour to two hours of homework for me every night. Well, anyway, back to Tag Tuesday.

"Tag Tuesday" is a weekly event, hosted here, that no longer confines book tags to the booktubing community. Every Tuesday (Hopefully), I will post my response to a tag that I've seen in the booktubing community.


The second "Tag Tuesday" tag will be the Inside and Out tag, which was created by MathomBooks on YouTube. This is another acronym tag, meaning that each letter of "Inside/Out" stand for a question I will answer. Let's get started!

                                                                                                                              
 Inside flap/Back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough?
 Hmm... I think it's just the right amount of information. I only ever have trouble with too much information when I pick up the second book of a series, thinking it was the first, and read the synopsis, and get a little peek into some things I didn't want to know.

New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: Audiobook, E-Book, Paperback, or Hardcover?
 Hardcover, I think Hardcovers are more durable, and in addition to that, they look really nice on my shelf.

Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books, taking notes, making comments, or do you keep your books clean clean clean?
 Definitely Clean, Clean, Clean. I don't like to right in my books, but if I need to annotate for a class, I'll keep a sheet of paper, and a pencil present, to write the page number down, and what I thought of a certain part.

 In your best voice, read for us your favorite 1st sentence from a book.
 This one is a little impossible to do through a blog, but instead of "reading" it to you, I'll, uh... write it for you. I can't really think of a specific line, and I'm not really close to my books right now, so I'll do mine on one that I've read recently. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

"Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."

I think this line just opens up a world of doors, and I'm happy to see that this first line was a main part of the plot for the novel.

Does it matter to you whether the author is male of female when you're deciding on a book? What if you're unsure of the author's gender?
 It doesn't really make a difference to me, but I like to know what the author's gender is anyway, because... for some reason, it helps me connect to the story a little better, I think. Although, sometimes I've thought an author was a boy/girl, and I've been shocked to find out it was the other way around.

Ever read ahead? or have you ever read the last page way before you got there? (Do confess thy sins, foul demon!)
 I've definitely thought about it, but I don't really think I've gotten past the idea of it. I'll flip ahead to see how many pages I  have until the next chapter, but that's about it.
                                                                                                     
Organized bookshelves, or Outrageous bookshelves? 
 ORGANIZED!

Under oath: have you ever bought a book based on the cover alone? 
 Yes... unfortunately I have, and every time I do it, I never end up liking the book, so I make sure to read the synopsis now.

Take it outside to read, or stay in? 
 Stay in, I like the air conditioning/warmth of the fireplace, while I'm reading, and I also like being comfortable while reading. Although, sometimes I do read outside, when it is a comfortable day outside, but it gets kind of uncomfortable on my porch swing after reading for a while.

                                                                                                                              

Well, that is all for my first "Tag Tuesday", and if you have your own blog, and would like to take part in this, please just leave a comment on this post, letting me know you will be doing so, and also, please post that "Tag Tuesday" was originally created by moi. Thanks again for reading this, and I hope to get to doing another "Tag Tuesday" soon.

By the way, I tag everyone who views this post, so get started on your Inside and Out tag.

The Raven Boys (ARC) Book Review

Hi Guys,
This week I'm going to review The Raven Boys, the first book in the Raven Cycle series, by Maggie Stiefvater. I received this books a few weeks ago in the mail as you guys know, because of my "In My Mailbox" post. You guys also know I've wanted to read this book for a while due to my "Waiting on Wednesday" post. I was very excited to be able to read the ARC of this book. This is the second ARC I've finished, and I loved it just as much as I loved the first. This book was very original, and so... *I don't have any words to express what else this book was... it was just... ugh! I LOVED IT! Here is the synopsis from the front flap of the book:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

 My first expression was obviously good, you can check out my Waiting on Wednesday post for evidence of that. The cover is amazing, I don't like birds, but this bird looks Gothic enough that I looked past what it actually was. I was drawn to the three "feathered" strokes behind "The Raven Boys", and, thankfully, they explain what they mean in the book. I've never read a book like this, I was wrapped up into the world and the characters within the first couple chapters. I loved the plot, the setting, and most of all the characters of this novel. Each of these characters had their own personality, that complemented the other characters perfectly. I was very passionate about the characters I either LOVED them or HATED them... there was no in-between, and I loved that.  My favorite character is definitely Gansey, which is strange, because I really wanted to hate him, but I just couldn't. I really wanted to like Adam, but something about him threw me off. Ronan was a great character, he's one of those characters that seems unimportant, but without him, the book would've been pretty boring. Noah was a great character as well, at first he was my least favorite character, but when I found out his "situation" I started to like him more. Blue was a great heroine, she knew what she was getting herself into, but she couldn't keep away from the "Raven Boys". I liked the psychics of this book as well, (with the exception of Neeve) Maura, Persephone, and Calla were great characters, and I feel that they almost reflected the personalities of the "Raven Boys". You can see why I enjoyed the characters so much, there were so many of them, and they are all so different, it's hard not to be drawn to each of them. The five main characters (Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah) reminded me of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys at times, which is a good thing. The magic of this book reminded me of the Caster Chronicles combined with Lord of the Rings. The action, however, was like nothing I've ever expected while reading a book, and I loved it, I can't explain what makes it different, but it just is. I loved the roller-coaster ride that this book was, and I also really enjoyed the ending. (WHY DIDN'T YOU LET THEM KNOW SOONER RONAN? I NEED TO KNOW MORE!) I give this book 5/5 stars, I can't think of anything I disliked about this book. One bonus thing about this book, for me at least, is that the book had a TON of Ancient Latin in it, and I was very excited, because it was one time I could use my knowledge of Latin from school to decode the phrases that were in Latin in the book. Finally something in my everyday life that I can use my skills of Latin in *SCORE*! I'm in my 3rd year of Latin now, and I look forward to taking a fourth and fifth. I loved this book, and I look forward to reading the sequel. This book was totally different than Shiver, thankfully. I hope you guys enjoy the picture of Gansey and Blue at the bottom of this post, I know I do! Definitely check out this book when it is released September 18. COME ON BOOK 2!

Tag Tuesday (1)

Hi Guys,
I've been seeing a lot of blogs creating their own blog thing, such as In My Mailbox, Stacking the Shelves, Waiting on Wednesday, etc. After seeing these, I've wanted to make one of my own, but sadly haven't been able to think of something original (or with any form of alliteration, haha). That is until now, I've now decided to create a blog post set to be released every Tuesday entitled "Tag Tuesday"

"Tag Tuesday" is a weekly event, hosted here, that no longer confines book tags to the booktubing community. Every Tuesday (Hopefully), I will post my response to a tag that I've seen in the booktubing community.

I searched all over the place to see if this idea I had was original, and I haven't found anything, so I believe it is original. If you have a blog, or know a blog, that does this, please let me know, and I will take this down immediately. So without further ado... let's get started.

The first ever "Tag Tuesday" tag will be the Day and Night tag, which was created by Readigans on YouTube. This is an acronym tag, meaning that each letter of "Day and Night" stand for a question I will answer. Let's get started!
                                                                                                                          
D: Do you read more in the morning or at night?
At night, it helps me concentrate on the book, when the house is quiet. I also have a lot to do during the day, so I hardly have time to read.

A: Are there any books that changed the way you thought about things?
Um... Well... the Bible, but that's obvious, so...yes, after reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, I realized that not all classics are boring, and since then, I've bought (not read, haha) more classic novels.

Y: YA or Not?
YA all the way!
                                                                                                                           
A: Are there characters that you honestly believe are real?
No... I'm not crazy... although, I WANT to believe that all of the characters I read about are real.

N: Nobody touches my books or I don't mind loaning my books out?
Well, at first I didn't mind lending my books to friends, but it took me only 4 book borrowings (?) to realize that some of my friends can't be trusted with my books hahaha. I now only lend them out to a select group of close friends/fellow book-nerds.

D: Do you ever smell your books?
YES! All the Time!
                                                                                                                          
N: Not everyone loves books...is this a positive or a negative?
I would have to say that it's a positive, because if it weren't for these non-book-readers, we wouldn't be so interested and involved in the books like we are now. What I mean by this is that, when I talk to people who don't read books, I try to find out what they like, and recommend books that they would enjoy based off of that. While suggesting these books, I learn that I loved them more than I thought I did. I believe it takes sharing a book response with a person that makes us more involved readers.

I: I keep my books in the best condition or maybe not? Which are you?
I like to keep my books in the best condition, but sometimes they don't always end up that way. Most of the time, it's a result of a friend not being careful with it, but I've accidentally dropped a book or two before (Oops). BUT I CAN'T STAND PEOPLE DOG-EARING/ANNOTATING IN MY BOOKS!

G: Gosh I have too many books! True or False?
True, but I can't help it, I have over 200 books, and I've only read about 100 of them, and I keep buying more. If I see a book I want to read I buy it. For all I know it could end up being banned in the future, kind of like Stephen King's Rage was (GOSH I WANNA READ THAT BOOK).

H: Have you ever spilled or stained your books before with something, and if so how?
Yes, unfortunately, I have. When I was shopping at the mall one day, I bought some books from Books-A-Million, and out of the corner of my eye I see a Dippin' Dot's cart, so I venture over there, and buy a cup. I ate it without spilling it, but when I attempted to throw the cup away, it spilled in my bag of books, and got orange drips on two of my books (Isle of Night and Legend). They aren't badly damaged, but they definitely have a few orange drops on the bottom of them.

T: Toned or untoned while reading? . . or in other words. . .Do you read and workout at the same time?
Untoned, I don't even know how that would be possible... although, I do listen to audiobooks while I workout.
                                                                                                                          

Well, that is all for my first "Tag Tuesday", and if you have your own blog, and would like to take part in this, please just leave a comment on this post, letting me know you will be doing so, and also, please post that "Tag Tuesday" was originally created by moi. Thanks again for reading this, and I hope to get to doing another "Tag Tuesday" soon.

By the way, I tag everyone who views this post, so get started on your Day and Night tag.