2/12

February Wrap-up, Haul, and TBR

Books Read

I finished reading All the Bright Places in the beginning of the month and then moved on to Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer. Let me tell you, I could not put it down. I read it for four hours straight one Sunday afternoon and finished it three days. There will definitely be a review coming soon.  

After Cress I tried to read Eleanor by Jason Gurley but couldn’t get into it. Not after how amazing Cress was. So I actually didn’t read for a few days. When I was ready to dive into a book I picked out something I knew would be good. My TBR challenge this month was “A book with non-human characters”. What I picked is my current read and my last book of the month. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas. It has…creatures in it.

February Haul

               

                The first book, I got for my birthday. It is a Puffin Chalk edition of The Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum. It’s my favorite classic and I’ve been eyeing this edition forever. I also received the first book in The Shannara Chronicles by Terry Brookes. It is the TV show edition titled The Elf Stones of Shannara. This book is a high fantasy novel, set in a fictional world called the Four Lands. It follows the quest of Wil Ohmsford and Amberle Elessedil to create a new Ellcrys, a magical tree that serves to banish all Demons from the Four Lands.

               

                Later in the month I bought some books on Amazon the first being The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson. This story follows a seventeen-year-old princess who is betrothed to a prince she does not know and runs away on her wedding day. She settles in a distant village and meets two mysterious men. One, the prince, and the other, an assassin sent to kill her. It sounds so good and I can’t wait to read it! The other book is The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry which is a sci-fi novel with time travel. That concludes my February haul!

My March Reading List

1.       Finishing up Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

2.       The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

3.       Allegiant by Veronica Roth

4.       TBR- A book with plants on the cover

Currently Reading: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Next Post: (I haven’t decided yet)

Finch & Violet

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

           I went into All the Bright Places knowing nothing about it. I have discovered I like books better this way. It’s more mysterious and surprising. I want us to look at this book in three different views. A) The Writing B) A Christian's POV C) and of course the reader.

The Writing

 This won’t be a very long discussion because I have nothing to critique. The writing was phenomenal. Perfect. Spectacular. It flowed smoothly and painted the perfect picture of Indiana. I’ve never been there but I could see it. Yet, it did have a certain cloud over it. Even in the happy moments it was there. That aspect of it was the strongest thing about Niven’s writing because it reflected the characters’ lives. They were trying to be happy and appear normal but because of their circumstances they weren’t.

A Christian’s POV

           As good as this book was it had moral downfalls that couldn't be overlooked. I think a more detailed account of those downfalls is necessary, so here we are. It had a lot of swearing. The F-word was said 12 times and though this is a deplorable word no matter how it is said, I should note that it was not used in the literal meaning of the word. It was used at its heaviest point, in the middle of the book.

 It also had a little more sexual content. There is a kissing scene that is detailed but goes no further than kissing. The two instances where they do go further are not detailed and are more of what might be in a PG-13 movie, more implied than described.

The Reader

Now, don’t think I’ve skipped the obvious. This section is dedicated solely to the suicide aspect. This may be a direct turn-off for some of you and that’s okay. But, I believe it’s a topic that should not be avoided. As a reader, I like to read fun, light books. But, I also like to read books that further my understanding and knowledge about a subject. All the Bright Places does so with suicide.

You are inside the head of a depressed, suicidal, teenager half the book. I came to understand suicide so much more. I don’t believe it’s right, but I don’t think it’s wrong to understand something that affects so many people.

 Sometimes we can see things like this and be too quick to judge, condemn, or look away.  But those people are worth just as much as us and if we do anything other than try to help them and love them, we’re just confirming the thoughts of worthlessness and encouraging the depression to spread deeper. This book made me look at suicidal people in a different light. Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this book because of  the content. 

Language: Severe

Alcohol/drugs: Drugs are mentioned and Finch overdoses once

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: Described above

Spiritual Content: Church and God are mentioned but that is about it

Currently Reading: Crown of Midnight (Throne of glass series #2) by Sarah J. Maas

Next Post: February Wrap-up

A Book Tag

I have taken a break from my normal review posts to bring you a book tag. As it is the day after Valentines I thought it fitting to do this one. I now realize that this is the first tag I have done on my blog so I’ll give you a brief definition of exactly what a tag is.

Book Tag- A series of themed questions pertaining to books, literary characters, themes, and worlds.

So there you go, a book tag. I will continue with my planned reviews next Monday. I hope you enjoy it!

The Mushy Gushy Book Tag

Valentine- A book with pink, red, and white on the cover

Just Beyond The Clouds by Karen Kingsbury. The picture doesn’t do the real cover justice. The clouds are pink and white pastel, almost like cotton candy.

 

Sweethearts- Book with the best Pick-up line

Carswell Thorne, a character from The Lunar Chronicles, is one of the best (although sometimes cheesy) flirters in any book I’ve read. He is so full of himself and he constantly points out how handsome he is.

 I am currently reading Cress, the third book in the series, and one line of his still hasn’t left my mind. He had recently had a concussion and was temporarily blind when one of the characters asked how his eyes were he replied:

“Well, I’ve been told they’re dreamy, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.”

Chocolate Covered Strawberries- Your favorite book couple

Definitely Finnick and Annie from The Hunger Games. Their love for each other is so beautiful and Finnick goes through so much to protect her from President Snow. He sacrifices so much and they’re reunion in Mockingjay was one of the best moments in the book.

Roses- Most romantic couple

Scarlet and Wolf from The Lunar Chronicles. I know, again, but I’m kind of obsessed with this series right now. I just think they’re whole relationship is so romantic. He needs her so much that it kills him when she’s not around. He’s so protective of her and her of him. He calls her his Alpha which in the world they live in is the brightest star in their sky. She is his brightest star. How romantic is that?

Teddy Bear- A book that makes you want to snuggle

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This book is definitely one to make me want to grab my blanket, some tea, and snuggle . . . with myself.

Candlelight Dinner- A book you would take out on a date

I’ve read this book five times so it only seems fitting that I would date it. Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley is one of my favorite books of all time and I never grow tired of the characters or story. I think that we would have a long life together.

Pizza- A book for the single person

This is a book for the single person who is waiting for the right guy/girl to come along. In the meantime, he or she likes to obsess over fictional character’s relationships (A.K.A me). 

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon has such a cute romance in it. It warms your heart and you grow attached to the main characters quickly. It also has a unique format as there is handwritten journal entries and e-mails throughout the book as well as several doodles which makes it very interesting.

Currently Reading: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Next Post: Full Review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Photot taken from: http://www.titletrakk.com/book-reviews/just-beyond-the-clouds-review-kingsbury.htm

The Girl in the Red Hood(ie)

Scarlet by Marissa Meyers is my first book read of 2016 and I can’t think of a better book to start off the year with. This book was SO GOOD! This is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles. Some people were not as impressed with this next instalment but I was blown away once again. I think I liked it better than Cinder. I’m not going to insert the inside cover synopsis because I don’t want to spoil anything. But, I wrote my own very vague blurb.

Scarlet is inspired by the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. The main character Scarlet lives with her grandmother on their large farm in France. But her grandmother has been missing for two weeks and with no help from the police Scarlet decides to take the search into her own hands. She meets Wolf, a street fighter who has strange antics and piercing green eyes. Meanwhile, Cinder returns in this sequel with a new companion, Captain Carswell Thorne.

THIS BOOK. . .this book. Ugh, it was amazing. The three new characters were such well written editions. I loved Scarlet. She was feisty, head strong, and passionate. I related to her so well and really enjoyed her story. Wolf. Wolf is bae. I can’t give much away about what makes him so cool because it could be a spoiler. But just know…it’s amazing. Captain Carswell Thorne was hilarious. He reminds me a lot of Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games series which is definitely a compliment. He is full of himself, flirty, and loves his spaceship. At times he provided some much needed humor and sarcasm.

The story moved along nicely with plenty of twists and turns. Chapters switched between Cinder and Scarlet’s POVs. I think that the number of chapters in a row allotted each character was perfect. Meyers cut you off at the right time and it felt complete but still was an excellent cliffhanger. Overall, I think this was a strong sequel and moves sets you up for the next novel: Cress.

Language: Very Mild

Alcohol/drugs: There are two scenes in a bar where some of the customers are drunk but nothing further than that is mentioned

Violence: 6

Sexual Content: There is some kissing and

Spiritual Content: None

Currently Reading: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (I’m almost done)

Next Post: Full Review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

First Out of Twelve

January Wrap-up, Haul, and TBR

         It’s the end of the first month of 2016 and five days till my birthday. This month I read three books, and accumulated six. In this post, I’m going to talk about what I read, what books I received/bought and the books I’m going to read in February.

Books Read

The first book I read is one I received for Christmas from my parents. It is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles titled Scarlet written by Marissa Meyers. Scarlet was sooooo good and I will gush further about this book in my next review post.

            The Second book I read is an indie novel that was sent to me by the author for review. The book is The Warrior Spy by Dony Jay. It is a military thriller novel and the first I’ve ever read in that genre.

            The Last book was my TBR challenge jar pick which was “Finish a book you started in 2015." The book I chose was All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I started this book in November but was not really getting into it so, I put it down. I’m so glad I took a break from it. Because, going back to it, I love it so much more!

January Haul

Here is a list of all the books I got in January and where I got them.

Eleanor by Jason Gurley- Sent to me through Books for Bloggers by Penguin Random House.

Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer- A Christmas present from my friend

Pride + Prejudice + Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith- I bought this on Amazon with a gift card I won.

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas- An early birthday present 

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit- Also bought with my gift card.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley- Bought because I needed it for school . . .

My February Reading List

           #1 on my list is Pride + Prejudice + Zombies. #2 is Eleanor and #3 is my TBR challenge which is “A book with a non-human character.” I’m going to pick Cress (Lunar Chrinicles #3) by Marissa Meyer. This series is so amazing! This book a few non-human charcters such as a Iko (the droid), Wolf (The wolf hybrid), and Lunars (a race of people who live on the moon). I want to see what happens next SO bad. I may or may not have cheated and looked through my jar to find a TBR that fit this book instead of picking one at random . . .

Currently Reading: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Next Post: Full review of Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer