Amanda’s Ultimate Favorite Books List

Hello, lovelies! I thought, after my last post, it would be fitting to share a list of my favorite books. This list is honestly subject to change at any point depending on my mood, but this might give you some insight into my reading taste. Also, some of these are 100% on this list for nostalgia reasons.

Looking for Alaska by John Green
This book will always make all of my favorite book lists because it came to me at a time in my life when I needed it. I believe this book had a part in saving my younger self. So, I will always read it with love.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
This is actually a new favorite. I read it last year and then again just before the sequel was released. I loved it even more after reading it a second time. For the Throne was, somehow, even better.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
There’s something about this series that just gives me exactly the escapism that I’m searching for when diving into a story. Sanderson really brings you into the world and makes you love the characters.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
I just really, really love this series. I cannot wait until my daughter is willing to read longer books with me so that we can read this series together.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
This whole series is my favorite. I love Chokshi’s writing. I would die for these characters.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
I’m total trash for the Grishaverse but the Nikolai duology is by far my favorite of all the books in this universe.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
There’s just something about this series and these characters that live in my brain every day.

All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle
I feel like this book just really impacted me emotionally. It’s one of the first physical books I read in one sitting after having my first child. It also made me cry.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Speaking of books that made me cry, this book destroyed me. I can’t wait to read it again.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
I got into fantasy with this series. It also still holds up as an excellent YA fantasy series (plus there’s a four-book spin-off series. That’s eight new books to add to your tbr!)

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
I love this series with my whole heart, but this is my favorite book in the series.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
I don’t talk about this series nearly as much as I should. But every time I reread it, I’m reminded of how much I love these characters and their gritty world.

Almost Favorites

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Furyborn by Claire Legrand

I also have these books, listed above as my ‘almost favorites’. These are all books that I’ve only read once, but I think upon a reread they have high potential to move their way onto my favorites list. I do plan to reread a few of these in the next few months, so maybe I’ll do an update of this toward the end of the year.

What are some of your top favorite books?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Authors to Meet

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 – authors I’d love to meet.
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1. John Green – I’ve seen him on tour but didn’t actually get the chance to meet him face to face. I’m basically obsessed with him. I’ve seen all his youtube videos and own all his books, several copies of a few of them too.
2. Sarah J. Maas – ACOTAR is one of my favorite series and I definitely loved the Throne of Glass series too. I would love to meet the incredible writer that brought these amazing books into the world.
3. Leigh Bardugo – Again, I totally love all of the books she’s written. I have the special edition of Six of Crows preordered along with King of Scars. I’d love to meet her and fangirl a little.
4. Nora Roberts – Nora has been such a staple in my reading life that she totally deserves a place on this list.
5. Janet Evanovich – I would like to meet her even though I haven’t heard the best things about her interacting with her readers.
6. Cinda Williams Chima – I would love an autograph from her. Her stories are incredible and she’s totally tweeted at me before (yes I squealed.)
7. Cassandra Clare – I feel like I have to meet her just for all of the time I spent agonizing over TMI and waiting for each book to come out.
8. Richelle Mead – All I have to say is thank you for the Vampire Academy.
9. Stephanie Meyer – The fifteen-year-old in me is making me put this on the list.
10. Ellen Hopkins – The things I would do to see inside her creative mind. She’s such an incredible writer. I’d kill for even a quarter of her talent.

What authors would you like to meet the most?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

ABC Book Challenge |L|

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 – L

Most Memorable Books

Amanda

Looking for Alaska by John Green – This is my all time favorite book. My husband showed it to me when we were in high school and he was just my best friend. This book helped me think about and deal with things I didn’t know how to yet.

Antonia

(The) Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. One of my favorite childhood books. I will always adore this series.

 

 

Books Still on Our TBR Lists

Amanda

(The) The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo – This book of novellas is a recent buy for me. I love Bardugo’s writing so I’m excited to see what’s in store for me with this one.

Antonia

(The) Liar by Nora Roberts- I haven’t read this one since it first came out and I hardly remember it. (Which is actually really unusual for me.) I’ve been thinking of rereading this one soon.

 

 

 

I Heart Characters!

I Heart Characters! is a weekly meme hosted by Dani @ Perspective of a Writer to showcase our book blogger love for characters! Each week she’ll supply a topic and you’ll supply the character. Post on whatever day suits you, about characters from whatever media you love (books, movies, K-dramas, television, manga, anime, webtoons, whatever!) and link up on Thursday so you and others can blog hop and share the character love.

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This weeks topic is Bam! The Opposite Sex (A character you’d like to read about but the opposite sex of what they identified within the original story!)

Amanda

I have two choices for this weeks topic. I just couldn’t decide between the two, but one option was a female main character and the other choice was a male main character so I thought it worked out well.

The first is from my favorite book, Looking for Alaska by John Green. Our main character, Miles Halter (also known as Pudge) goes off to boarding school where his whole life changes. He makes new friends and does things that he’d never done before, smoking cigarettes, pranking other students, drinking. He falls in love with a girl and learns a lot about himself, about love, and about life. I have always wondered how this story would be different or the same had the main character been a girl instead of Miles. I think I may write this story one day, but I wonder how Miles experience would differ from the boarding school experiences of a female.

The second choice I have for this topic is my favorite series, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. So I’d really love to read this series from Rhysands perspective, but that’s not really the question I’m being asked. I also think it would be so interesting and totally change the whole story had our main character, Feyre, been a male main character. This would be interesting because I think all the other roles would need to be reversed as well. So Rhysand would need to be a female and being a High Lord that might mean that all the other High Lords would be made female as well to have the story make sense. This role reversal would be excellent.

Antonia

Oh, man. All of them? I think gender-swaps are fascinating.

I think Bloodlines by Richelle Mead would be really cool if Adrian and Sydney’s roles were reversed. While they’re very complex, their personalities definitely fit with what you might typically expect as male and female. I’d love to see those stereotypes erased. Have a female vampire who’s kind of a player and a guy who’s a little neurotic and body-conscious.

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.
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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.

ABC Book Challenge |F|

Hi, Bookworms!

This week we will be talking about books with the letter F. For those of you that are new here – here’s the deal, each week we post about books beginning with a specific letter of the alphabet starting with A and ending once we’ve gone all the way to Z. We’re going to mention one or sometimes a few books that were super memorable with the letter of the week and also books that are still living on our TBR lists. So without further ado.

Read last week’s post here.

This weeks letter is – F.

Most Memorable Books

Amanda

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima (reviewed here) – I can not say enough good things about this book or this author. I’m obsessed with everything she’s written. If you haven’t read these books stop what you’re doing and go read them asap. You can thank me later.

(The) Fault in our Stars by John Green (reviewed here) – No surprise here with this one. Green is my favorite author and though I haven’t read this book in quite a while I still remember it so well.

Antonia

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine – This was the first book I read of hers and it still remains my favorite. I just always loved the unique fairy tale elements and the fact that the heroine isn’t pretty but is extremely kind. It’s one of the major themes throughout the book.

Fire by Kristin Cashore – I loved everything about this book but especially Fire herself.

 

Books Still on Our TBR List

Amanda

(The) Forgotten Book by Mechthild Glaser – This is one I picked up because I have another book by the same author (that I also haven’t read). But the cover is beautiful and the book description sounds super interesting.

Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino – I picked this up on my last Target adventure. I haven’t actually heard anything from anyone about these books, but I’ve seen them at a few different bookstores and the covers always catch my eye. I’m excited to get to this one because I love fairytale retellings and I love villains and this has both.

Antonia

(Of) Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst – Amanda review this recently (read it here) and it sounded amazing so I’ll definitely have to read it.

Fate Undone by Linsey Hall – I’ve loved her Dragon’s Gift series so I was really excited to see she has an adult romance series as well. The Greek mythology is just an added bonus for me.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to let us know what books you would use for the letter F in the comments or leave us a link to your post!

Book Tag – Book Blogger Confessions

Yes bookworms, another book tag. We found this one posted by Sionna at Books in her Eyes, so go check out her answers to these fun questions.

The Rules – 

Answer the questions truthfully.

Tag five book bloggers to answer these questions next.

Which book did you most recently DNF?

Amanda- I make a point to not DNF books. So the closest I’ve come would be I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman which you can see my review here.

Antonia- Tequila and Tea Bags by Laura Barnard. I was really excited for this one but absolutely could not connect with the protagonist and couldn’t manage to get past about 30% because of it.

What book is your guilty pleasure?

Amanda- This has to be any of the Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands. They’re creative but filthy and I love it when the new ones come out. Who doesn’t love a sexy vampire romance?

Antonia- I probably would have chosen the same as Amanda but in an effort to be different I’ll pick The Dark-Hunters series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Sexy immortals and greek mythology? Yes please.

Which book do you love to hate?

Amanda- This is a tough one because I don’t have one that comes immediately to mind. After looking at my GoodReads list of books that I’ve read, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (review here) is definitely a book that I dislike (I don’t really hate any books) but I liked the second one a bunch, so love to hate I guess?

Antonia- I always think this questions a little weird. Usually I just love it or hate it, there’s not much in between for me.

Which book would you throw into the sea? 

Amanda- What bookworm in their right mind would throw a perfectly good book (or even a perfectly terrible book) into the ocean?

Antonia- Yeah, I agree entirely with Amanda.

Which book have you read the most? 

Amanda- Looking for Alaska by John Green. My favorite book in the world. I’ve reread it so many times it’s ridiculous. Check out my review here.

Antonia- A lot. If I had to guess though, I’d say The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. I read it at least once a year and it’s been over ten years since I first picked it up.

Which book would you hate to receive as a present?

Amanda- Well, I wouldn’t hate to receive any books for free. But I much prefer when gift givers ask me specifically what books I need or want.

Antonia- Nothing specifically. I mostly agree with Amanda; I’d rather be able to pick out my own books with the exception of a few people who know my tastes well enough.

Which book could you not live without?

Amanda- All of them? Seriously, I’m supposed to pick just one book?

Harry Potter (all of them) by J.K. Rowling

Looking for Alaska by John Green

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Antonia- The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Beastly by Alex Flinn

The Witness by Nora Roberts

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist

And like 5,000 others.

Which book made you the angriest?

Amanda- The Young Elites series by Marie Lu (reviewed here.) The main character of this series is absolutely infuriating, but like I also totally loved her. She just made me mad like 90% of the time.

Antonia- I’ve talked about this one before but I have to choose Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima. She killed off one of my favorite characters from the previous series and I couldn’t handle it. To the point where I refused to finish it for the longest time.

Which book made you cry the most?

Amanda- I feel like I’ve mentioned this a million times at this point but, The Air Awakens series by Elise Kova made me cry for like an hour. My husband just hugged me and asked me if I was okay like a hundred times. He definitely thought I was never going to stop crying.

Antonia- All of them. Not literally of course but there’s a lot and almost always, if a book made me cry once, it’ll make me cry every time. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman has always been one of the worst. Most recently is probably Year One by Nora Roberts. A character dies suddenly which would be tragic enough but he has the same name as my husband so I found it harder to read than I might otherwise.

Which book cover do you hate the most?

Amanda- I just talked about this with someone the other day. I don’t have any specific book covers that I hate, but I don’t particularly love book covers with faces on them. The faces that their making are always so awkward and I just think they could have done better with something other than a random face.

Antonia- I also hate the awkward face covers. Especially when half the face is cut off. It just doesn’t look appealing to me in any way.

Tags – 

Danielle at YAAllegience 

Sara at Bookish Traveling Wife

Jess & Teagan at Fiction No Chaser

Ashley at Thrifty Bibliophile

Alana at The Bookish Chick

Feel free to complete this tag even if we didn’t tag you specifically and link back to our page! Thanks for reading bookworms.

Book Tag – Inside Out

inside out

Hi, friends! We’re back with another book tag! They’re just too much fun to stop playing. With so many different themes and ideas. I loved the movie Inside Out, so when I saw this one I knew Antonia and I just had to play. I found this tag done by Jenny @ Jenny in Neverland. We’re not going to tag anyone at the end to play, but feel free to do this book tag & tag us in it!

joy

Joy – What book brings you the most joy?

Amanda- This answer isn’t going to surprise anyone unless you’re a new follower. I’m going to have to go with A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. There’s just so much development and love and happiness and wonderfulness by the end of the series. Check out my reviews here – ACOTAR, ACOMAF, ACOWAR, and ACOFAS.

Antonia- The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. This will always be my favorite. I’ve had to get new copies because I wore out the old ones and I read it at least once a year. For me, it’s just one of those books that feels like an old friend every time I open it.

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Fear – The book that scared you more than anything?

Amanda- This is another easy one. I found this book on my Kindle through my book subscription. I was so spooked by this book that I ended up reading an entire book afterward because I needed something else on my mind before I tried to go to sleep. Secret of Mckinley Mansion by K.F. Breene was such an interesting read but had me turning on the lights so I wasn’t scared in the dark.

Antonia- This one’s easy for me because I avoid scary books and movies like the plague. When I was about fifteen though, I received the book The Devouring by Simon Holt as a gift and it scared the crap out of me.

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Disgust – What book grossed you out the most?

Amanda- Hmm, I think for this one I’m going to go with Come Sundown by Nora Roberts. I’m answering this one with ‘grossed out’ being more disgusted by something. There was a kidnapping aspect of this story that lasted way too long and it was honestly just disgusting to read the things that this awful human put one of the characters through. Check out my review here.

Antonia- My high school boyfriend wasn’t much of a reader but when he did read, he’d usually try to get me to read it too and I’d say yes to try to encourage him to read more. Hellbent by Anthony McGowan was one of those books and I hated it so much that it actually made me like my boyfriend less for liking it. A teenage boy dies and goes to hell then proceeds to try to work the system in his favor; which might have been a cool storyline if it didn’t include disgusting humor that young boys tend to enjoy, i.e. fart jokes and way too much mention of bodily waste.

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Sadness – Which book make you cry the hardest?

Amanda- This is either going to be Looking for Alaska by John Green because I reread this book once a year usually and it makes me cry every time or it’s the Air Awakens series by Elise Kova because I cried for a solid hour after certain events in these pages.

Antonia- Way too many. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman was probably one of the first. The Shack by William Paul Young was another that made me inconsolable. Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson was really bad; I’d cry after the fact just talking about it.

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Anger – Which book pissed you off?

Amanda- Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (reviewed here). This is one I read recently. The book itself didn’t piss me off. It was a really good book, but specific characters within the stories just made horrible choices that I don’t like or respect and it really pissed me off.

Antonia- Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima. I adore her books and I was so excited for this book to come out (it’s the first in a spin-off series from The Seven Realms series). I couldn’t wait to see older versions of all my favorite characters and then something terrible happens to one of them in the first chapter. I was so mad and upset about it that I immediately put the book down and refused to finish it for a really long time.

What books make you feel all the Inside Out emotions?

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Sensory Memories

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 with sensory reading memories. I was going to skip this topic this week and choose my own, but Antonia helped me see that I have more books that fit this topic than I originally thought. Here’s my top ten for this week in no particular order.

t ten t
1. The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johansen – My Nana showed me this book when I was a teenager. It’s one of the books that helped me become the bookworm I am today. I have such good memories of sitting in my Popa’s chair reading this book.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – This book came out right before I went to summer camp and I brought it with me. I ended up reading it aloud to all the girls in my cabin throughout the three weeks that I was there and we ended up having like ten extra girls come to our cabin so that they could listen too.
3. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer – This book came out on my birthday. I had it preordered and didn’t think I would actually get it on my birthday. I was so excited when I saw it on my front step after coming home from my best friend’s house. I tried to read it as soon as I got home, but I hadn’t slept the night before and so I fell asleep reading.
4. Looking for Alaska by John Green – Will forever make me think of my husband. He showed me this book in high school. I remember seeing it on his bookshelf the first time I ever went to his house. It’s been my favorite book since he let me borrow his that day so long ago.
5. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer – Antonia and I sort of became friends because of this book. She was staying at my house because she was friends with my step sister. They fought about something dumb and so Antonia asked what I was reading and she climbed up into my bed (I had a bunk bed) and we read this book together and have been friends ever since.
6. The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – Antonia and I have read most of these books aloud to one another. We call it story time. Between the six books and our two bedrooms, I have so many memories of us reading to one another, passing the book back and forth between chapters to switch off whose reading.
7. House of Night by P.C. and Kristen Cast – I used to go on vacation with Antonia and her family every year for Memorial Day Weekend. One of the trips we spent pretty much the entire time in our beds in our cabin reading whatever the newest HON book had come out.
8. The Argeneau Series by Lynsay Sands – I don’t remember which book in this series it was but I went to high school with some typically immature boys. Said boys loved to steal my books (Antonia’s too when we had lunch together) and find the sex scenes and read them out loud. Sands books have some particularly descriptive sex scenes and the boys ate it up.
9. The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne – I was absolutely obsessed with this series when I was growing up. I ate these books up. My dad couldn’t buy the next one fast enough for my liking. I have such good memories of sitting in my yard reading this series in the summertime or by the fireplace in the winter.
10. The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix – I remember spending way too many nights staying up too late with my closet light on, always keeping an ear out for my dad coming down the hallway. I also remember spending copious amounts of time in my middle school library reading these books.

I had more fun with this week’s post than I thought I was going to. I didn’t think I was even going to come up with ten books for this topic, but I actually have a few more that I could add but won’t. What books remind you of good bookish memories?

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.

 

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Red, White & Blue

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 with Red, White and Blue book covers (in honor of the 4th of July). This one was actually pretty easy for me, but only because I already took some bookstagram pictures of books with red, white or blue covers for the holiday. I’m going to list a few that are one of the three colors and then see if I have any books that have all three colors on them.

red white and blue
Red

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
The Elite by Kiera Cass

White (ish)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Warcross by Marie Lu
The One by Kiera Cass

Blue

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
The Selection by Kiera Cass

Red, White & Blue

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

lunar chronicles

These are just the ones that I found within my hardcopy books in my at home collection, there were a few more that I could have added from my list of ebooks but I didn’t want to go too crazy. What books do you have that are patriotic?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

ABC Book Challenge |A|

Hi, bookworms! We saw this challenge on a few different blogs and thought it looked like a fun, regular post that we could add to our ever going list of weekly posts. So here’s how it works –  each week we’re going to post a letter of the alphabet (starting with A obviously) and we’re going to list our most memorable books and books still hanging out on our TBR list associated with the corresponding letter.

This week’s post we’re going to start with the letter – A.

Most Memorable Books

Amanda:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – One of my all-time favorite series and all of the books work for the letter A. I reviewed the whole series, you can find my review for this first book here.

The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle – I read this incredible series around Christmas time and I still think about them all the time. It was such a detailed and well thought out story.

Antonia:

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green – This is one of my favorites of his (that’s a lie, they’re pretty much all tied). It’s so funny and quirky and I just love Colin so much.

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman – One of my all-time favorite series, with such a bittersweet ending. This is the first book that ever made me cry hysterically.

Books Still On My TBR 

Amanda:

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – The third book in this series came out recently, so I’m planning to reread the whole series.

Antonia:

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout – This is part of The Covenant series which I’ve been wanting to finish reading for a few years now.

These are our picks for the letter A! What books with the letter A are most memorable for you? Which ones haven’t managed to get from your TBR list to your ‘read’ pile?

Thanks for reading!

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.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Give the Travel Bug

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 Awaken the Travel Bug in me. I’m excited about this topic because I love to travel. I’m going to try to pick books that are based in the real world instead of book worlds I’d love to travel to. So, here goes!

top 10 tuesday
1. Twenty-Nine and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank – This series takes place in a small town in the south. I haven’t spent much time in the south, but these books make me want to go explore all the little out in the woods towns in the south.
2. The Lawless Saga by Tarah Benner – These four books start off in a prison in New Mexico and throughout the books, the characters move all around the south, from Colorado to Texas and back a few times. Even though this series is set in the distant future where the world is ruined due to lack of water and natural disasters and things of the like, it still gives me the travel bug because of all the traveling the characters do.
3. Dragon’s Gift Collection by Linsey Hall – So this collection is four full series and Hall just started on the fifth series, each following a different character. While much of these books take place in other realms, the characters do lots of traveling throughout the U.S and parts of Europe and I’ve always wanted to travel to Europe.
4. The Origin Mystery Series by A.G. Riddle – This is a series I read over the Christmas holidays while I was mostly dying in bed with the flu (also pregnancy nausea, but I didn’t know that yet.) So this series, where the characters travel literally the entire world, was great for me to escape my sick bed and travel from Antarctica to Italy to Africa and the oceans in between.
5. Agent of Enchantment by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers – There are four books in this series and they all take place in London, England which is somewhere that’s been on my dream travel destination list for legitimately my whole life. So I loved every page of getting to run through the streets of London with Agent Cassandra Liddel. (But also the parts in the Fae realm were pretty cool too.)
6. The Dominion Trilogy by Joe Hart – This is an incredible trilogy where our main character is trapped inside a facility in the first book and escapes. The next two books give the travel bug for sure while she makes her way around the country, hiding from those who seek to put her back where she escaped from. This series is dystopian, so the world isn’t as we know it now, but we still get to see enough to make me want to go out and explore.
7. Paper Towns by John Green – Am I even allowed to say I’m a John Green fan if I don’t include this on my list? The characters go on a big road trip adventure to find Margo Roth Spiegelman. Road trip, says it all.
8. Shadows of the Immortals by Marina Finlayson – This is another series where the characters do tons of traveling. We start in a small town where our main character Lexi is hiding out, but once she’s been found out we get to see a few different cities, including the Underworld.
9. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – So I only read the first few books in this series, in the books I did read the characters traveled all over Ireland and Scotland. They also traveled through time, but that’s beside the point.
10. The Guardian Trilogy by Nora Roberts – I loved this trilogy (but I love most of Nora’s books). Our characters start off in Greece in the first book, moving next to the island of Capri and then to Ireland in the last book. These are three places I would die to visit. Roberts makes the perfect setting with these stories that for sure makes me want to visit.

This is my Top Ten this week! Books that give me the travel bug set (mostly) in the real world.
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.