Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag ( Originally Created by ReadLikeWildFire and Ely Jayne )

This is my very first time doing a tag on my blog and since the year is pretty much more than halfway through, I wanted to do the Mid- Year Book Freak Out Tag originally created by ReadLikeWildFire and Ely Jayne on Youtube. So lets just get started.

 

1) Best book you've read so far in 2015.

The best book I've read so far in 2015 is a tie between three books which are I'll Give You the Sun, An Ember in the Ashes, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Sorry! I couldn't just pick one. 

2) Best sequel you've read so far in 2015.

The best sequel I read this year was definitely Cress by Marissa Meyer. It was just so amazing with tons of action. Way better than the first two installments.

3) New release you haven't read yet, but want to.

I still haven't got around to The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh and hopefully I'll be buying it very soon.

4)  Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I literally cannot wait for Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas! I know that it's going to be amazing.

5) Biggest disappointment.

The Kiss of Deception, I liked it but I didn't love it as much as everyone else did.

6) Biggest surprise.

Catching Jordan by Miranda Keneally was way better than I thought it would be.

7) Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Sarah J. Maas ALL THE WAY!!!!

8) Newest fictional crush.

The Darkling from the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo.

9) Newest favourite character.

Cress from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

10) Book that made you cry.

I cried a lot but cried the hardest during The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas.

11) Book that made you happy.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han.

12) Favorite book to film adaptation you saw this year.

PAPERTOWNS!!!!!

13) Favorite review you've written this year.

An Ember in the Ashes. http://mylittleinfinityofbookss.blogspot.com/2015/06/an-ember-in-ashes-by-sabaa-tahir.html

14) Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy for sure. They're all equally stunning.

15)  What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Well I really want to read The Fallen Kingdoms series, Shatter Me trilogy, and the Legend trilogy.

 

Hope that you guys liked this tag and I apologize for not posting regularly and I will try my best to blog more often. See you in the next post.

~ Naya J.



 

 

 



None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio Review

General Info

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Published April 2015 by Blazer + Bray

(NO SPOILERS)

352 Pages

Hardcover - Goodreads

Plot Summary

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Personal Favorites

I had my eye on this book before it even came out mainly because it was about intersex. I never heard of that term before so I wanted to learn more about it. Before I started this book, I did research on the topic just to get a better understanding of it and I think this enhanced my reading experience. The book explains the topic well so you don't have to do this but it helped me a lot. This story was very sad and nearly made me cry😢. I can't believe that people can be so inconsiderate and rude when it comes to things that they don't understand. One thing that I really enjoyed was Kristin's character growing to accept herself throughout the novel. I also liked the father daughter relationship.

My Personal Dislikes

I just wished that it was longer but all good things must come to an end.

Rating

5/5 Stars

My Final Thoughts

Everyone must read this book because it was amazing and it's definitely in my top 15 books of 2015! I hope you love it as much as I do.

See you in the next post.

- Naya J.

 

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo Review

General Info

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Published June 2013 by Henry Colt & Co.

(SPOILERS)

435 Pages

Hardcover - Goodreads

Plot Summary

After escaping from the Darkling, Alina has to figure out how to make a normal life for her and Mal in an unfamiliar land while being haunted by the lives she took on the Fold. But it turns out that she can't continue to outrun her power and destiny for long because the Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a new power and he is looking for her. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina Sinks deeper into the Darkling's forbidden game of magic. During this she slips farther and farther away from Mal. In the end she has a decision to make: she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her, or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

My Personal Favorites

This book had a lot of things that I loved about it. The betrayal was real though like " I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" If you got that joke then you are AWESOME! In the first book I was shipping the Darkling and Alina but he is just crazy. So now I am team Mal. I really like the new shadow creatures the Darkling has but they are freaking scary as ever. I also liked that Stormhond was actually Prince Nikolai, he is the funniest character ever! I enjoyed Alina leading the second army but that battle at the end almost had me in tears. I couldn't believe that Marie died and the way that Sergei was just carrying her body. But my favorite part of the book was the plot twist with Genya. I couldn't believe that the Darkling basically had her face mangled with. That was such a surprise to me because she is supposed to be outright beautiful and the Darkling just took her beauty away from her. I admit that I did cry a little. I don't know why this series makes me cry in every single book.

My Personal Dislikes

I really liked this book but I didn't love it like the first one. The reason why is because it was kind of anticlimactic in a way because I expected so much more to happen.

Rating

4.5/5 stars

My Final Thoughts

I am excited to read the last book and I cannot wait to get around to it. This trilogy is so good that it might become one of my new favorites. See you in the next post.

~Naya J. 

 

 

Young Adult Stereotypes Part 2!!

As you can see from the title, I am doing a second part for my Young Adult Stereotypes post. This is my most popular post on my blog so I wanted to do a second part since I do have more stereotypes to share. So let's hurry up and get into it.

1) Main Characters Do the NASTY In the Last Book In the Series
- This is so predictable because it happens in almost every book series. Throughout the series, the main characters have a TON of sexual tension between each other. This happens in countless last books like City of Heavenly Fire, Clockwork Princess, and I'm sure that it is going to happen in Ruin and Rising. I like those books, but it was incredibly predictable. But some books don't fall into this book trope like the Throne of Glass series and Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.
2) The Main Character Discovers That He/ She Has A Power That Can Save the World
- In almost every fantasy series, the main character discovers that they have a power that can save their people, land, or the whole world. I don't hate this one, but it is pretty annoying. Can you at least give me a weak main character that is defeated in the end? That actually leads me into my next point.
3) The Main Character ALWAYS Wins In the End
- I know this sounds mean but sometimes I want to see the character fail their mission/ quest and lose for once.
4) The Female Protagonist In the Story Has No Sexual Experience
- I don't know why authors want to make every female protagonist a virgin. Tell me why like please tell me why.
5) Guys Are Head Over Heels For the Main Character
- In almost every book the female protagonist has everyone trying to get with her. Like everyone!

Alright so that is it for this post and I hope you enjoyed it. I am also thinking of doing a SEX IN YA discussion in the future. Maybe this month or next month, I don't know. Anyways, see you in the next post.
                                                                                                                                      ~Naya J.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Review

General Info

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Published June 2012 by Henry Holt & Co.

(NO SPOILERS)

368 Pages

Hardcover - Goodreads

Plot Summary

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

- Synopsis from Goodreads

My Personal Favorites

Surprisingly I loved this book A LOT!! It felt very original. I liked everything about it. And that betrayal towards the end had my heart in knots. Not gonna say too much about it because I don't want to spoil you. Just Read It!

My Personal Dislikes

I don't have anything to say in this section, which is a good thing.

Rating

5/5 Stars

My Final Thoughts

This book was amazing and I loved everything about it. I am actually very excited to continue with the series. I think that everyone should read and I promise that you won't be disappointed.

See you in the next post.

~Naya J.

 

JULY TBR

Last month I read a whopping 7 books, which was amazing. And not to mention all of the books I read, I thoroughly enjoyed. But this month I lowered my TBR because I don't want to put too much pressure on myself as a reader. These books do not count to my BOOKTUBEATHON TBR, but I will be doing a separate post to explain that so let's just get started. I have a TBR jar and I picked two which came out to say start a new series and read a book someone else picked out for you. I chose Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo for start a new series and my sisters want me to read None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio and The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. I am so excited to read these books and hopefully I like them all.

 

P.S. I am approaching my Goodreads reading goal of 35 books fast and I'm thinking if I should raise the bar higher. I don't know, tell me what you guys think about it.

 

QOTP: What are you reading this month and are you participating in Booktubeathon?