Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Author TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read.
top t t1. The Assassins Blade by Sarah J. Maas – I’m not ready to submit myself to the heartbreak I know this book will cause.
2. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo – I just haven’t gotten to this yet.
3. Collateral by Ellen Hopkins – This book is forever getting pushed back on my TBR list. I’ll read it eventually.
4. Catwoman by Sarah J. Maas – I just bought this one legit only because it’s written by Maas. I haven’t read any of the other DC superhero books.
5. Fox and O’Hare series by Janet Evanovich – I’ll get around to these eventually, maybe.
6. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling – I love Rowling’s other adult books but I really just don’t have a whole lot of interest in reading this one.
7. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb – Another series I’ll get around to reading, eventually, maybe.
8. The Child Thief by Bella Forrest – Forrest’s newest series. I have to finish a few other books before I can get to this one.
9. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo – Again, I only want to read this because it’s by Bardugo and I love her.
10. Love Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins – Highly rated by my favorite author. I’m not sure how I haven’t read this yet.

Who are your favorite authors and which of their books haven’t you read yet?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

 

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Hidden Gems

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – Hidden Gems books that haven’t been talked about as much or haven’t been marketed as strongly that I think deserve some recognition.
ttt1. Flamecaster (The Shattered Realms series) by Cinda Williams Chima – I love this series and this author. I just feel like I don’t really see her books advertised anywhere. I don’t see other bloggers talking about her books like I do. I definitely think she should be a more widely read author with the incredible worlds shes built full of diverse and loveable characters.
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead – This one I feel is always overlooked in favor of Vampire Academy. Because they’re part of the same world everyone turns to VA instead of talking about these books.
3. A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – I found this series on my Kindle but it’s definitely one that I think more readers should try. The reviews vary but I think Forrest has built quite the reading adventure with this 50+ book series.
4. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum – Buxbaum’s debut novel was so excellent. I thought I would hear more about it from my fellow bloggers. It makes me sad that I don’t hear more about it.
5. Sleeping Giants (Themis Files) by Sylvain Neuvel – I listened to this audiobook at the recommendation of a BookTuber (Thoughts on Tomes) but aside from the brief mention as one of her top audiobooks I haven’t hear others talk about this series. This is a mistake because Sleeping Giants was insane and amazing.
6. Moon Chosen (Tales of a New World) by P.C. Cast – I found this series outside of the blogging world. I haven’t heard a single blogger talk or write about this book/series. It’s a shame because they’re super interesting books with unique storylines and great character development. I can’t wait for the third to be released later this year.
7. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher – An older book, but still great. Creative and full of mystery. I don’t know why more people don’t talk about this story.
8. Talon by Julie Kagawa – While I see that her other series, The Iron Fey, get attention I never see bloggers reading this series.
9. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa – See above comment.
10. Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Deborah Biancotti, and Margo Lanagan – With the superhero obsession that’s been going on the last few years I’m unsure how this series hasn’t made a bigger splash in the reading world.

What books do you love that you think deserve more attention?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

ABC Book Challenge |J|

Hello, Bookworms! This week we are talking about books with the letter J.

For those of you that are new here – each week we post about books beginning with a specific letter of the alphabet starting with A all the way through Z. We’re going to mention one or sometimes a few books that were memorable with the letter of the week and also books that are sadly still living on our TBR lists. So without further ado.

Read last week’s post here.

This week’s letter is – J

Most Memorable Books

Amanda

Jane, Unlimited by Kristen Cashore – I was so excited for Cashore to come out with another book. I absolutely adored the Graceling books (once Antonia finally bugged me enough that I read them). So I was excited to see what she was going to come up with next. I liked it well enough, but not nearly as much as her other books.

Antonia

Joust by Mercedes Lackey – This is the first in her Dragon Jousters series. It’s one of my favorites. Dragons are pretty much an autobuy topic for me and I absolutely love the way Lackey portrayed them in this series; more like really intelligent animals that can be domesticated. I highly recommend this one to any fantasy lovers.

Books Still on Our TBR Lists

Amanda

(A) Jungle of Rogues by Bella Forrest – This is the fourth book in the newest season of Forrest’s A Shade of Vampire series. I haven’t read any of the books in this season yet because I hate waiting for the next one to come out. I also have a ridiculous TBR list, so I’m fine waiting and being able to binge read the whole series in a few days.

Antonia

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne – I’ve read Around the World in 80 Days and loved it so I’ve been wanting to read more of Verne’s books.

 

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Back to School

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – back to school/learning freebie. So for this, I’m going to choose my top ten favorite books that take place in or at a school. In no specific order here’s my top ten for this week.
top ten tuesday picture
1. Looking for Alaska by John Green – A book that kickstarted my secret desire to go to a boarding school or live in a dorm of some sort (something I never got to do.) Even though this book 1000% broke my heart into a million pieces, I loved the unique experience these characters had living away from their parents, making friends and the adventures.
2. The Seven Realms & The Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima – Oden’s Ford, the school in these two series was a really interesting one. It trained everyone from all of the realms, warriors, wizards, and healers alike, regardless of the war going on around them. It’s a place of peace and learning in a tumultuous time.
3. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead – Featuring a school that trains girls how to be upper-class ladies so that they may find husbands and work on developing the new world into a proper society.
4. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson – Another boarding school adventure. But this one is a murder mystery. Everything about this school intrigued me. They give their students the freedom to study what they want, for no cost at all.
5. The Secret of Spellshadow Manor by Bella Forrest – This was a fantastic series that featured several different schools. Not always good at teaching their students and some of them were pretty twisted, but it made for a really good story.
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – Am I even a real bookworm if I don’t have this book/series on this list?
7. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – Good old St. Vlad’s.
8. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira – This heartfelt story follows Laurel through her first year of high school where she’s trying to figure out who she is without her sister and what her place in this seemingly foreign world. I love this book very much.
9. Evernight by Claudia Gray – I’m putting this in here for a throwback. An oldie, but goodie. Evernight Academy was such a creative idea, a place for vampires to figure out how to really blend in with the rest of the world. I still think, years after reading this series, which was a great twist on the vampire craze.
10. First Year by Rachel E. Carter – With a choice of working a trade or attempting to earn an apprenticeship as a soldier, mage or knight Ryiah always dreamed of becoming a mage. This series follows her through her incredible journey during her schooling.

Here’s my top ten for this week’s school-related freebie topic. What books do you think I should have included in my list? Let me know your top ten in the comments!

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Reading Slump

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is top ten books that pull me out of a reading slump. This may or may not just turn into a list of favorite books. So here’s my list in no particular order.
top 10 tuesday1. Any of Nora Roberts books – I would list some specifics but then this would just turn into a list of my favorite books by Nora.
2. Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich – These books are always funny and interesting. They’re books that I can read super fast and can always pull me out of a funk.
3. Looking for Alaska by John Green – I just adore this book. I adore these characters. I adore all the feels it gives me. Even though I know it’s going to make me cry this is one of my go-to books when I’m in a reading slump.
4. Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands – These books are fast paced, interesting and just trashy enough for me to read no matter what mood I’m in.
5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – I love these series too much. Like, honestly I worry sometimes about how much I love these characters. Reading these books are like going to spend time with my best friends.
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – I don’t know what it is about Maas and the characters that she writes, but I adore all the characters in this series. They impress me and make me laugh. There’s never a dull moment with this series.
7. Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson – I’m a sucker for a good mystery. A bit of mystery and suspense, throw in a handsome male character and you’ve got a book that I’ll read in almost any situation.
8. Crank by Ellen Hopkins – Hopkins’ books are fast-paced and thrilling. I used Crank for this list but really I could put any of them. Her books are almost always about heavy hard hitting topics, but the way they’re written make them quick, but intense reads.
9. A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – This is a sixty plus book series. I can read three of them in a day. They will always get me out of a reading slump because they’re unique and funny and the action never stops.
10. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – This was a recent read for me. But if all of her books are as good as this one was, I have no doubt I will turn to her books in the future when I find myself in a funk. The characters were funny and ridiculous and made it so I couldn’t put the book down.

Here are my top ten books that get me out of a reading slump (so basically a list of my favorites.) What would you put on your list for this week’s topic? Do you think I missed any? Let me know in the comments.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

WWW Wednesday

Hey, bookworms! It’s that day of the week again where we participate in the wonderful bookish post that was formerly hosted by Should be Reading and was recently taken over by Taking on a World of Words. To play along just answer three questions to give an update about what you’re currently reading, going to read next and have read recently. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments or link your post!

WWW wednesday

What are you currently reading?

Amanda- I’m currently reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare in a print book. I’m doing a reread of all of Cassie’s books before Queen of Air and Darkness is released this December. I’m currently listening to Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I’ve heard so many book bloggers rant and rave about this book and I’m excited to be listening to it.

Antonia- I just started the Air Awakens series by Elise Kova. Amanda absolutely loved this series and she’s talked about it so much that I had to give it a try.

What did you recently finish reading?

Amanda- I recently finished listening to Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. It was a great listen and I will be posting my review later this month. I also recently finished Allies by Bella Forrest (book six in the Hotbloods series) and will be posting a complete series review once I’ve finished the last two books.

Antonia- I just finished Celtic Magic by Linsey Hall. I love all of these books so much and can’t wait for the next one. Expect to see a review soon.

What do you think you will read next?

Amanda- My next audiobook with be Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxaum. I started listening to this a few weeks ago and then got distracted by other stories. I will be reading Stargazers by Bella Forrest – the final book in the Hotbloods series – on my Kindle. I’m not sure what print book I’ll pick up next, but I have a small stack that I’d like to get through this month.

Antonia- I’m really not sure. I’m moving next week so all my books are currently in boxes and I’m stuck with my Kindle for a bit. I might continue the Air Awakens series or The Paper Magician series by Charlie N. Holmberg.

Thanks for reading. These are our W’s for this week! What are your answers? Feel free to leave them in the comments or a link to your post.

WWW Wednesday

Hey, bookworms! It’s that day of the week again where we participate in the wonderful bookish post that was formerly hosted by Should be Reading and was recently taken over by Taking on a World of Words. To play along just answer three questions to give an update about what you’re currently reading, going to read next and have read recently. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments or link your post!

wwwwww

What are you currently reading?

Amanda- I’m currently reading My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows. I’ve heard so many good things about it and so far they’re all true. I’m currently listening to Yes Please by Amy Poehler.

Antonia- Technically I haven’t started it yet, but Amanda and I recently received copies of The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey from the author in exchange for our reviews. I’m really excited to start this dystopian/paranormal; I’d gotten a little sick of dystopians recently because it feels like they keep following the same patterns after awhile but this one sounds so unique (especially when you add in vampires??).

What did you recently finish reading?

Amanda- I recently finished reading Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. It was super interesting and I liked it very much. Keep an eye out for my review later this month!

Antonia- I just finished The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. It exceeded my expectations and I’m excited for the rest of the series. My review will post tomorrow.

What do you think you will read next?

Amanda- Next I think I’m going to read Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. I think I’m also going to start Allies by Bella Forrest on my Kindle in the next few days.

Antonia- I have so many books to read! I think I’ll either start Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones or catch up on The Dragon’s Gift: The Druid series by Linsey Hall.

Thanks for reading the W’s we came up with this week. What are your answers? Feel free to leave them in the comments or leave us a link to your post.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Mash Ups

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is top ten books I would mash together. I think this is a wicked interesting topic. I’m not sure how I’m going to go about it, so in no particular order, here goes!

topten
1. Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank & Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich – These are books about an aspiring private investigator and books about a bond enforcement officer. I think Rose and Stephanie would make one hell of a hilarious pair.
2. Renegades by Marissa Meyer & Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti – Two different types of superhero books. Both with similar abilities, sort of. But the worlds they take place in are pretty different. I think it would be interesting to see these two worlds collide.
3. Meant to be Broken by Brandy Woods Snow & One Small Thing by Erin Watt – Both are novels involving girls who are struggling with their feelings about a guy. Both thinking that their feelings are wrong and should be stifled and ignored. I think the two female main characters would be great friends and would be able to help one another immensely by sharing their experiences.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson & The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – These are both murder mystery sort of books but with a ton of different subplots along the way. I think they would be interesting to see together. Seeing the characters with their hugely different personalities would be funny.
5. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson & Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson – This is a choice for similar reasons to above except these are young adult murder mysteries. Again, the personalities in these stories would make for an interesting read.
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas & Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – If the Sara(h)’s wrote a book together I would be able to die happy as soon as I finished it. These specific books would be so cool to see together. In ACOTAR, there’s Fae with seasonal courts and magical abilities and in Snow Like Ashes there are different kingdoms for the seasons with different sorts of magical abilities. I think they would mesh well together with the similarities in the stories.
7. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare & A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – Both of these series have a great variety of supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves and others unique to their books. Their also both full of headstrong characters that strive to do the ‘right’ thing at all costs. I would love to see these characters and worlds collide.
8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu & Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – These two came together in my head because of their magic systems. Both books have people with abilities that are not accepted in their worlds. Both have fantastic villains. Now that I’m typing this, I would LOVE to see the Darkling and Adelina join forces and run the world.
9. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins & Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow – I really think that Charlie could have been another character in Impulse. She for sure could have been a fourth perspective in that story. These characters could all relate for sure.
10. The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead & A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands – I obviously had to throw my two favorite vampire worlds together. I think these worlds would be awesome to see together because of the different ways that vampires are created and the similarities that are already there.

This week’s topic was a hard one for me! I had a ton of fun looking at my shelves and thinking about all the different worlds I love colliding. I tried to pick bookish worlds that already had a little bit in common. I wanted my mashups to mostly make sense. Which bookish worlds would you want to see collide?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Magical Readathon – O.W.L. Exams TBR

Hi bookworms, Amanda here! I was recently scrolling through Twitter when I saw Books in the Skye share something about a readathon based on the N.E.W.T exams from the Harry Potter books. I did a little more digging and saw that I sadly missed out on the O.W.L exam readathon, hosted over on YouTube by Book Roast, that took place originally in April. I decided that I could either skip the O.W.L.s and just take whatever N.E.W.T.s I felt like doing or I could do the O.W.L. exams anyway. I have decided that I’m going to take the O.W.L. exams anyway. So I will start this challenge tomorrow, August 2nd, and I will try to complete as many exams as I can until the 29th.

owls tbr

The following grades are awarded for the overall OWLs performance:

 

Pass

Outstanding – sit and pass at least 5 OWLs
Exceeded Expectations – sit and pass at least 3 OWLs
Acceptable – sit and pass at least 2 OWLs

Fail

Poor – sit only one OWL
Dreadful – start but not finish any OWLs tasks
Troll – do not show up at your OWLs examinations

Ancient Runes – A book with a symbol on the cover

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw (print book)

the wicked deep

Arithmacy – A Book with a number on the cover or in the title

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti (print book)

zeroes

Astronomy – A science fiction novel

This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada (print book)

this mortal coil

Care of Magical Creatures – A book that includes magical creatures or features magical creatures on the cover

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling (print book)

hp - sorcerers stone

Charms – A fantasy novel

A Darker Shade of Magic  by V.E. Schwab (print book)

ADSOM

Defense Against the Dark Arts – A book about or with a secret society or club

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (print book)

city of bones

Divination – A book featuring prophecies 

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (ebook)

shadow of the fox

Herbology – A book with a nature-related word in the title 

Air Awakens by Elise Kova (ebook)

air awakens

History of Magic – A historical fiction novel

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (audiobook)

my lady jane

Muggle Studies – A muggle non-fiction novel

Yes Please by Amy Poehler (audiobook)

yes please

Potions – A book with or about alchemy 

Allies by Bella Forrest (ebook)

allies

Transfiguration – A book with transfiguration / shapeshifting or a book with a cat on the cover

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (audiobook)

paranormalcy

I don’t expect to read all of these books but I’m someone that does well with options so I wanted to give myself a variety of books to choose from throughout this reading challenge. I’m going to aim to read at least five of these books. Wish me luck!

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is the top ten popular books that lived up to the hype. This is going to be a fun one for me because I frequently buy or read books because of the hype.

tttttt
1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – I read this series book by book when it was first released. But even back then there was so much hype that was all accurate. This series still gets hyped up all the time, which says a lot right there.
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – If you read any of my posts on a regular basis you already know how obsessed with this series I am. It’s one of my absolute favorites. I jumped on this bandwagon pretty early and had to wait for each book to be released which made it ten times worse.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – After reading ACOTAR I knew I needed to check out her other series as well and I’m super glad I did. I can’t wait for Kingdom of Ash to be released.
4. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – I originally got these books from the library a few years ago and loved them so much I had to buy my own set.
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – The first two or three books were already published and I had to not so patiently wait for the next three. But I also had to wait for the Infernal Devices and now I’m not so patiently waiting for Queen of Air and Darkness.
6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I am realizing that I am easily convinced to buy books. I bought this one not too long after it came out and have had to wait for each book to come out. Now that the whole series is out I somehow haven’t managed to reread them all.
7. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James – I totally bought this series for the hype. I wouldn’t say they’re the best books in the world, but I’ve enjoyed them enough to read them more than once.
8. Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I love a good fairytale retelling so when I heard the hype for these I obviously had to see what the deal was.
9. The Gender Game by Bella Forrest – Once I signed up for Kindle Unlimited (after I got my Kindle as a Christmas gift from my mother in law) I saw this series all over and eventually gave it a shot. I’m glad I did, these were fantastic books. I love everything Forrest writes.
10. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon – I was super late to jump on the bandwagon for this one. I read this last month and I was just blown away.

This is my top ten for this week. What popular books have you read that lived up to the hype?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Book Tag – Halsey

halsey book tag.jpg

Hi lovelies!

Back at it again with another book tag. I love Halsey so when I saw this book tag done on Downright Dystopian’s page I knew I had to play too! This tag is originally created by Paper Riot. Now, onto the book tag!

castle

Amanda- Aelin Galathynius for sure. She’s from Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series. She’s kickass and doesn’t take anything from anyone. She even has the choice to not become queen and abandon her throne but steps up and shows the world that she’s a force to be reckoned with.

Antonia- Definitely Raisa ana’Marianna from The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. I just loved watching her grow throughout this series.

coming down

Amanda- I’m going to say all of the scenes written by Lynsay Sands. Sexy vampires from Atlantis? Yes please.

Antonia- Hmm… this is a tough one because I read a TON of romance. I’ll say anything by Julia Quinn because her love stories are just the best.

control

Amanda- The Darkling, for sure. He’s from Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy. I don’t know what it is, but momma loves some Darkling.

Antonia- Queen Savilla from The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. She’s the queen of the endarkened (demons) and is simply evil. I just love that she has no redeeming qualities. She’s terrifying and awful and makes a fantastic villain.

drive

Amanda- This was the hardest one for me out of all of these questions. I’ve decided to go with the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Our main character is forever trapped in a love triangle between the (mostly) marriage material  Joe Morelli and the sexiest man alive, Ranger. I wouldn’t say that there’s a lack of communication, more like a stalemate. They communicate but not enough for Stephanie to be able to actually make a decision between the two. (Though I don’t think I ever want her to actually make that final choice.)

Antonia- Kvothe and Denna from The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I really enjoy them together and wouldn’t mind seeing them actually get together in the future but they keep so many secrets and they’re both so mysterious that it gets in the way of them ever actually having a relationship.

empty gold

Amanda- Tamlin and Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I talk about this in my reviews for this series, linked here. Though I’m sure many people feel this way. This is the couple that popped into my head as soon as I read the question. I loved them so much in the first book and then Tamlin just, ugh.

Antonia- Ember and Riley from The Talon Series by Julie Kagawa. I wanted them to be together for the first couple books so bad then somehow I ended up loving Garret so much that I stopped wanting her to be with Riley. (I still love Riley though.) And me changing my mind about characters that drastically really doesn’t happen often.

ghost

Amanda- This may be biased because of my pregnancy hormones. But when I read the breakup scene in the Air Awakens series by Elise Kova I literally spent a solid hour crying. To the point where my husband wasn’t sure what to do with me and just hugged me while I cried for an hour. I’m pretty sure he thought I was never going to stop.

Antonia- For me, this will always be Lyra and Will’s breakup at the end of The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. I was around twelve when I first read it and cried for days. I still cry hysterically every time I reread it.

haunting

Amanda- Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. Every once in a while I say to myself, “you know what was a good book, Love Letters to the Dead. I should read that again.” I have recently bought it on my Kindle (I got it from the library the first time.) and I’m planning to reread it soon.

Antonia- All of them. This is actually a huge problem for me because I continue to think about books long after I’ve read them; it actually keeps me up at night. It’s why I reread so many books over and over again.

hold me down

Amanda- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I’m super not sorry about this either. The whole series is being written and released from Christian’s perspective. I have the first two and am waiting for the third to be released. While I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed, I will absolutely be buying and reading the third so I have all six books.

Antonia- Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I actually need to catch up on this one but since I first discovered these books I’ve been a little obsessed with them even though there’s now 29 books in the series and Kenyon’s still writing.

hurricane

Amanda- If you read my posts on a regular basis you should already know the answer to this question. Looking for Alaska by John Green. If you haven’t read it read my review here.

Antonia- Beastly by Alex Flinn. This will forever be my favorite Beauty and the Beast adaptation. I reread it at least once a year and it always just gives me this light, happy feeling inside.

is there somewhere

Amanda- Every and all of the couples we find in The Shade of Vampire series by Bella Forrest. This is a 50+ book series that spans over a ridiculous amount of years, several generations, and many worlds. Every couple we meet and read about has to go through some (usually life-threatening) struggle before they get their happy ending.

Antonia- Adrian and Sydney from The Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. One of my favorite book couples but they struggle so much to keep their relationship going when both vampires and humans judge them for it. At one point Sydney’s actually institutionalized by her family for it.

new americana

Amanda- I try not to use the same book over and over when I do these tags, but I can’t help it for this. I would LOVE to be part of the Night Court squad from A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, reviewed here. It’s from the ACOTAR series, but we don’t get to meet them until the second book, so I’m using that one.

Antonia- The Demigods from The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Awesome magical powers? Check. Funny and amazing and need to be my best friends? Double check.

roman holiday

Amanda- Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in our Stars by John Green. See my review here to get a more detailed post of my thoughts on this book. I love Hazel and Gus together because they’re both just kids that had to grow up too fast and spent too much time thinking about death. Then they found each other and had a bright spot in their lives, a reason to live if you will.

Antonia- Amanda and Chris from Beheld by Alex Flinn. I talked about them in my review (here) and I just loved them together so much I think I actually squealed while reading it.

strange love

Amanda- Chaol from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas is a good one for this I think. So many people hate him after certain events in the series. I understand why he did what he did and still love him even though it cost him his relationship with Celaena.

Antonia- Fire from Fire by Kristin Cashore. I’ve read quite a few reviews from people who didn’t like her which kind of astounds me because I adore her.

trouble

Amanda- Rose and Mason from the Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank. I wanted to put them for an OTP with obstacles, but honestly I don’t think they’ll end up together no matter how much I want them to be.

Antonia- None. Toxic relationships are pretty much an instant DNF for me. I’ve read about a lot of flawed relationships (e.g. Quentin and Margo from Paper Towns by John Green) but nothing that I would actually consider toxic. Even with examples like Quentin and Margo, I enjoyed reading about them but still didn’t ship them.

walk the line

Amanda- Shadows of the Immortals by Marina Finlayson. This series is a super interesting twist on the Gods (from all different cultures) which is a topic I really like. I couldn’t put this series down once I started it.

Antonia- Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. This is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon and is still one of the most unique fairytale retellings I’ve read.

young god

Amanda- This one is easy. Lyss and Hal from Cinda Williams Chima’s Shadowcaster (reviewed here) are both totally falling in love (if they’re not already in love) with one another. But neither will admit it.

Antonia- Hazel and Frank from Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. They get together later on in the series but for pretty much this entire book, they both are secretly pining for the other. It was adorable.

gasoline

Amanda- Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites series by Marie Lu, reviewed here. I hate to even say this because I love her but I also really hate her. I guess I love to hate her. Okay, I lied. I don’t hate to say it. She’s totally my favorite destructive character.

Antonia- Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. He’s so focused on his revenge the entire time that he ignores the chance to make a better life for himself but at the same time, his revenge plot is absolutely insane and amazing at the same time.

 

Antonia’s Top Ten Tuesday- Summer TBR

TTT

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten books to read by the pool/ at the beach OR it can also serve as your summer TBR. For me, beach reads are just whatever I happen to be reading at the time so I’ll be doing the latter. In no particular order:

  1. The Gender Games by Bella Forrest- Amanda’s talked so much about this and her other series The Girl Who Dared that I think I finally need to see what all the excitement’s about.
  2. Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen- This is one that I see every once in awhile and am like, “Oh I should read that” and then I never do. It sounds amazing and I’d really like to finally read it.
  3. Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg- Another one Amanda was telling me about. I just downloaded it on my Kindle so I should get to it soon.
  4. The Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima- I just got the second and third books finally and can’t wait to finally revisit these characters.
  5. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie- I recently got into her books and am excited to read the second of the Hercule Poirot novels.
  6. The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout- I read the first book forever ago but somehow never finished the series. I’ve loved all of her books so I’d like to finally read this one.
  7. Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts- This is her newest standalone mystery and I planning on buying it soon. I always love her books so I know this one will be a new favorite.
  8. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke- Amanda and I happened to be talking about this the other day and it made me sad that I never actually read it. This book’s been sitting on my shelf since I was a child and I think it’s about time I did.
  9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore- It’s been forever since I read this, Fire, and Bitterblue. I loved these books so much and would really like to revisit these characters.
  10. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon- Amanda just read and reviewed this one and it sounded so good I had to add it to my list. You can read her review here.

Thanks for reading! What are your Top Ten?

-Antonia

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Beach/Pool Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten books to read by the pool/ at the beach OR it can also serve as your summer TBR. I’m going to be doing a combination of both because I’ve recently gone a little book crazy and ordered some new books so my TBR list grew by about thirty books (whoops). It’s also the perfect time of year for some of my favorite beach/pool reads so I’m going to list the books that are on my TBR that I would consider to be beach reads for me. Here is my list, in the order of my excitement to read them.

top ten tuesday picture
1. The Book Jumper by Mechthild Gläser – This is one of the books that is on its way to me after my recent buying spree. The description of this book sounds super interesting. One of those books you have to read in one sitting.
2. The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison – This thriller is one I’ve been waiting for it to come out for what feels like forever. I’m super excited to read this. I love a good thriller on the beach, getting lost in the sound of the waves and the excitement of the story.
3. Triangles by Ellen Hopkins – I read this book years ago. But I don’t know where it went. So I bought it again and it should be arriving sometime this week. I love anything written by Ellen Hopkins so when I saw this during the book sale (where I went buying crazy) I had to get it. I got a few other books by her as well.
4. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for almost six months. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Every time I read the back I think, “wow this sounds good, why haven’t I read this yet?” So hopefully I’ll read it while I’m lounging around my aunt’s pool this summer.
5. A Voyage of Founders by Bella Forrest – This is season eight of the Shade of Vampire series. I don’t know what it is about these books, but I just can’t put them down. I’m waiting to read this one by the pool or at the beach, but in reality, I could read it anywhere at any time.
6. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld – Afterworlds will be a reread for me. You can check out my review for this book here. I loved this book, but when I first read it I had gotten it from the library. So I recently bought it at the book sale I keep mentioning. So I’m excited to reread it because I remember how much I liked it.
7. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira – This is another reread as well as another library find. I bought this on my Kindle before my husband and I moved (drove) across the country. I didn’t end up reading it while we were in the car, but I do want to read it soon.
8. Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy by Nora Roberts – Another buy from the book sale. I know I’ve read this trilogy, but I don’t remember what it was about. I could have made this list of beach/pool reads out of JUST Nora Robert’s books so I thought I’d include one that I already own that I know I’m going to read soon(ish).
9. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson – I bought this book (and the second) on my Kindle, again before moving across the country. I didn’t end up reading it, but it’s still high on my list.
10. Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich – I wouldn’t be Amanda if I didn’t include this on my beach/pool reads list. I can read any of Evanovich’s books by the water. They’re the perfect beach reads, lighthearted and funny. It doesn’t matter which book in the series you pick, they will all have you smiling and laughing to yourself.

This is my top ten for this week! What’s yours?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Book Tag – Fall Out Boy

Hello, lovelies! I found this book tag recently when I made a new bookish friend, Danielle over at YA Allegiance. Go check her blog out, she has an excellent taste in books and has posted some great book tags. This book tag is one that I have to do for the fifteen-year-old girl deep inside me that will forever be in love with the band Fall Out Boy (plus, books and music, what could go wrong?) So, the Fall Out Boy Book Tag was done originally by Jace. I’m really excited to do this, so here goes.

American Beauty / American Psycho 

AB.AS

Pick a book with a twisted romance that you may or may not love – 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I think the relationship between Alina Starkov is pretty twisted, but I actually sort of loved it. Am I the only one? Something about the big bad Darkling was just super appealing. I guess I really just love me some villains.

Save Rock and Roll 

save rock and roll

Pick a book or series that has a lot of battles and heroes  – 

Age of Legends Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong 

I’ve read this series a few times now and it just doesn’t get old. Armstrong has created an incredible world where an unlikely group band together and journey to try to save the empire. These heroes, led by a set of twin sisters, face many challenges, trials, and battles throughout the pages of the three books in the series.

Folie á Duex

Folie a Duex

As folie á deux means the madness of two, pick your most favorite strong friendship from a book or series – 

Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank 

The Friendship between Rose and Neely-Kate is one that keeps me laughing. These girls are a great example of real friendship. They support one another, even when they may not be making the best choices. These two girls are real friends and I love to read about them and their crazy adventures.

Pax am Days (The King is Dead)

Pax am Days (the King of the dead)

Pick a villain that you were the happiest to see dead – 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Um, hello THE KING OF HYPERION. Giant jerk bag and I’m pretty sure I jumped for joy when he was killed.

Infinity on High 

infinity on high

Pick a series or a book that makes you happy – 

A Shade of Vampire Series by Bella Forrest 

So many people have left bad reviews for this series so it may not be for you. But personally, I love these books. They’re so incredibly creative and out there. Once I start reading, I just can’t stop. The struggle of waiting for the next book to come out is too real, luckily the are released pretty quickly.

Believers Never Die (FOB’s Greatest Hits)

greatest hits

Pick your favorite book or series of all time – 

Book – Looking for Alaska by John Green

Series – A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 

If you’ve read these, then this explanation is unnecessary. If you haven’t read these, then you need to. That’s all I have to say about it.

I had too much fun with this book tag. I’d love to see some other Fall Out Boy fans participate (or anyone really,) so feel free to tag our blog in your post or leave your answers in the comments!

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Antonia’s Top Ten Tuesday- Books I DNF

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week’s topic is top ten books that I decided to DNF (did not finish) too quickly.

TTT

This one’s going to be a little bit weird because, while I’m not afraid to put a book down unfinished, I don’t remember which ones I’ve done it to. Usually when I DNF a book it’s right at the beginning so I just consider it unread and put it out of my mind. So this is going to be a list of five books I didn’t like enough to finish the series.

 
1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon- I really liked this book. It was unique and had a great love story but made me extremely sad. My mother and sister ensured me over and over that it gets better but the fact that Jamie and Claire have to live apart for twenty years wasn’t okay with me so I never read any of the other books.
2. Fallen by Lauren Kate- I go into detail why I didn’t like this book in my review.
3. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin- I love the show and I love the story but I’ve never been able to read the books. I couldn’t get into the first one but that was mostly because I’d seen the show and I have trouble reading books after I’ve seen the show/movie. Then I tried picking up the books where the show had left off and still couldn’t get through them.
4. Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest- I read the first three in the series but couldn’t make myself get past that. I don’t absolutely hate these books. I just had some trouble with the frequently immature characters. I might try to get back into them eventually.
5. Defiance by C.J. Redwine- I’m not entirely sure why this one’s on this list. I vaguely remember liking this book but apparently not enough to want to finish the series.

Well that’s my Top Five for this week. Sorry it’s a short one. Tell me what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading!

-Antonia