This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab | Review

Description:

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

I’ve been waiting so long to write this review. Victoria Schwab is probably my favorite author(if you haven’t already noticed from my other posts) so I was beyond excited to read this book. Honestly, it was every bit as good as I was hoping, and then some!

The world was probably my favorite aspect of this book. Victoria Schwab is a master at world building. The world seemed so real I expected to look outside and see a monster(a bit of an exaggeration).

Thoughts:

I fell in love with the characters. August is definitely my favorite of the two, but Kate definitely has her perks. One of the things Victoria promised was a platonic relationship between the two main characters, and she delivered! That aspect of the story made it so much more enjoyable, since we didn’t have to take time reading about the development of their romance but instead of their friendship.

Even though this story was a young adult novel, Victoria went full out on violence and gore, the things I was expecting from a story about monsters. Also, every work of fiction has some truth to it. This novel dealt with some very interesting problems like a divided society and the meaning of a monster.

Honestly, I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with this book. It was exciting and kept my attention through the entire book. I can’t wait until the sequel!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where bloggers can showcase books that we are eagerly waiting for.

The sequel to Illuminae, Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, is the book I chose for this week!

Goodreads Description:

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

     The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault. 

     Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion. 

     When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

     But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

     Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

Release Date: October 18, 2016

Series: The Illuminae Files #2

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

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Why I’m Waiting On It:

Yes. Just, yes! Ever since I read Illuminae last year, I’ve been anticipating the release of this book! First, the format. If you’re familiar with Illuminae, you know that it’s told in files and emails. I was initially iffy about the book because of this, but the format does not take away from the story one bit. In fact, it kind of enhances the story!

Second, the ending of Illuminae. It ended on a cliffhanger(ugh), so I need to know if my beloved characters are okay! Even though it follows new characters, I’m hoping we’ll get more insight on the previous protagonists. I’ll probably reread Illuminae before I read Gemina, because holy heck that was a good book!

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What book are you waiting on?

How I failed a readathon(and why that’s okay)

For the last three weeks, ReadThemAllThon has been going on. In this readathon, hosted by Read At Midnight, readers try and read seven books to level up a chosen pokemon and obtain gym badges.Three weeks of reading. Want to know how much I read?

Two books.

I know, it’s really bad. The books weren’t even that long! I read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. And the latter was an audiobook. I got so few thing done that I couldn’t even level up my pokemon(which was a Chikorita).

The main reason why I didn’t do well in this readathon was that I was soooooo busy. School had started in tandem with the readathon, so I was so occupied with schoolwork that I could not read at all. That’s also why I haven’t posted a blog post in a long time(sorry about that).

But, you know what, I’m not all that disappointed in myself. For one thing, I read two books, which is better than nothing. Some people read two books in a year, so two books in three weeks isn’t terrible. Readathons are supposed to be about reading, not finishing the most books as soon as possible.

So, just keep that in mind when you participate in your next readathon. I honestly had so much fun in ReadThemAllThon, and I hope to participate in the future!

Top Ten Tuesday | Books Set in a Dystopian World

The actual prompt for this week was Top Ten Books from X Setting, so I chose a dystopian setting! I’m sure most of us went on a rampage with the releases of so many good dystopian books. Granted, I did not read a lot of dystopian, so some of these are more sci-fi, but they’re great books nonetheless.

1. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

A list of books would be incomplete if I did not include a Victoria Schwab book. I just finished this book and loved it! It’s set in a dystopian U.S. where monsters fill the streets. I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it!

2. The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

I was totally obsessed with this series a few years ago when it came out. I found it so exciting, so riveting! If I read the series again, I’m not sure if I would enjoy it as much, but these books definitely have a special place in my heart(not to sound cheesy or anything). This series is set in a place where a disease infects the majority of the population, and a secret organization is trying to save the human race. Excited yet?

3. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I read this book in the 7th grade for school, and it was sooooooo good! I did continue on with the series, but I haven’t picked up the last book because my friend spoiled the ending. I also saw the movie, which was completely different but actually wasn’t terrible in my opinion. Still, neither of those can even compare to the greatness of this book!

4. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

This is definitely a guilty pleasure read. I am not including the spin-off books The Heir and The Crown because I have not yet read the latter and The Heir was not as good as the original trilogy. Okay, so this series is not the best, but I still really enjoyed it.

5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I read this book last year for school. Okay. Yes. This book was beyond amazing. It was exciting and held my attention from page one. Ray Bradbury is probably the king of sci-fi, and this book will forever be one of my favorites.

6. The Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer

This series is more sci-fi than dystopian, but there are definitely a lot of dystopian aspects to this series. I initially was not going to continue on with this series because I did not really like Cinder or Scarlet. Believe me, this series gets insanely good in the last two books. I also recommend listening to the audiobooks, since that really got me through the series and made me love it even more! And can we just talk about these covers?! Gorgeous!!

7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

If you didn’t already know, this book is going to be adapted into a movie. And I’m beyond excited. This book is more of an adventurous book that has a bunch of references to old video games and movies. I do wish Ernest Cline had touched on the society the people were living in. The government was definitely corrupt, and I felt like there wasn’t much hope for change at the end. Still, I am very excited for the movie.

8. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This is generally a hit or miss. I personally really liked it. The romance was great, the action was great, the plot was great, everything was great about this book. I think this is also going to be adapted into a movie. Yes, please! The society in this series is separated into two types of people: those with silver blood and those with red. There is a lot of social injustice present throughout this book, and the reader gets to see the corruption up close.

9. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Set in a world where superheroes are evil and have taken over the world, Brandon Sanderson’s novel is a work of pure genius. This was my first Brandon Sanderson book, so now I’m looking forward to picking up his Mistborn series.

10. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Of course, this wouldn’t be a list of dystopians without the inclusion of The Hunger Games. If you haven’t read this series, where have you been? Maybe I shouldn’t be saying that, given I finished it only a year ago. The books and movies are still very well done. Now, where’s the next series, Suzanne Collins?!

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Have you read any of these series? What are some of your favorite dystopians? I’ll see you in my next post!

July Wrap-Up

Another month has come and gone! I was really busy in July, with camp and the BookTubeaThon. Fortunately, that did not hinder the amount of reading I did! I read a total of seven books in the month of July!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5/5 stars

An amazing continuation of the Throne of Glass series! I’m suuuuper pumped to read Heir of Fire after finishing this! Ah, the shipping!

Gif that explains this book:

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Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4/5 stars

This book was painful to get through. Not because it was bad– obviously, since my rating is high– but because we all know what’s going to happen. I just want my children to be happy! I want to read the last book, but at the same time I don’t!

Gif that explains this book:

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A Separate Peace by Jon Knowles

Rating: 2/5 stars

I had to read this book for school, and I was really expecting a lot from it. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations, probably because nothing happened.

Gif that explains this book:

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The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Rating: 5/5 stars

A timeless children’s book, I l-o-v-e-d this book! There were supposed to be a lot of metaphors and deep meanings, and I definitely picked up on them and really enjoyed it! If I ever learn French, I will read the untranslated version.

Gif that explains this book:

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The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Rating: 2/5 stars

Unlike the book above, I really disliked this book. I was expecting a spooky and riveting story. Unfortunately, it was only spooky. The writing was not very good, and I felt like a bunch of characters died for no reason. It was really gruesome and messed up, though, which is why I gave it two stars. I will definitely not be picking up the sequel.

Gif that explains this book:

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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

This was my first Stephanie Perkins book, and I absolutely loved it! It had everything a good contemporary needs: relatable characters, gorgeous location, and a smoking hot guy. I am so pumped to read the next book in this companion series!

Gif that explains this book:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Rating: 4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! I had no idea what it was about prior to reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised! It was really messed up at times, and some of the slang was hard to understand, which is why I took off a star. Still, I really want to watch the movie now…

Gif that explains this book:

Sorry this post was so late! I really hope to read more books in August! Have you read any of these books?

Top Ten Tuesday | Sequels I can’t wait to get my hands on!

It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means: Top Ten Tuesday! This Tuesday’s theme was Rewind– go back and do a topic you missed over the years or recently or a topic you really want to revisit. I chose I super old topic from 2014: Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get My Hands On! 2016 had a bunch of first books come out, and I’m itching to get their sequels!

1. Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Predecessor(s): Illuminae

Expected Publication Date: October 8, 2016

Ever since I read Illuminae back in February, I’ve been in love with this series! Not only is the format unique, the story is beautifully crafted and full of action and adventure! From what I’ve heard, this book is going to be just as amazing as the first!

2. The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan

Predecessor(s): The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Expected Publication Date: May 2, 2017

Pretty much anything from Rick Riordan is going to be amazing. The Hidden Oracle was probably his best book yet, in my opinion. I’m so excited to see what he has in store for us in the second installment!

3. Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Predecessor(s): This Savage Song

Expected Publication Date: 2017

I finished This Savage Song a few days ago, and now the hype is real for this book. There’s no cover yet, but I’m already dying to have it! 2017 cannot come sooner!

4. Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken

Predecessor(s): Passenger

Expected publication date: January 3, 2017

Okay, can we just talk about these covers for a minute? They are soooo beautiful! Let’s not forget what’s on the inside, though! Passenger was my first Alexandra Bracken book, and I’m itching to pick up all of her other books!

5. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

Predecessor(s): Vicious

Expected Publication Date: Unknown

Currently screaming because of this book! Vicious was a-ma-zing!!! I became so obsessed with the book and Victoria as an author! So when I found out it was getting a sequel, I got so excited! I need this book now!

6. The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Predecessor(s): The Sword of Summer

Expected Publication Date: October 4, 2016

This comes out so soon. So. Soon! My friend and I are planning on going to meet Rick Riordan when he comes to my city! AHHH! Even though The Sword of Summer was not my favorite Rick Riordan book, it’s a Rick Riordan book.

7. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

Predecessor(s): Queen of Shadows, Heir of Fire, Crown of Midnight, Throne of Glass

Expected Publication Date: September 6, 2016

I almost didn’t put this book on the list, because I haven’t read Heir of Fire or Queen of Shadows. But, I mean, it’s a Sarah J. Maas book. I’m planning on reading Heir of Fire this month and hopefully reading Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms next month! Still, so excited for this one! And the cover is gorgeous!

8. King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard

Predecessor(s): Glass Sword, Red Queen

Expected Publication Date: February 7, 2017

I haven’t finished Glass Sword yet, either! I’m planning on catching up on my reading this month, so don’t worry! This is probably my least favorite cover in this series so far, just because I feel the shade of blue offsets the image of the crown. Still, I want to add this to my collection when it comes out!

9. There Will Be Other Summers by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Predecessor(s): Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Expected Publication Date: Unknown

I think this is supposed to be Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe from Dante’s perspective. Um, yes please! This book’s predecessor was so, so, so good! I haven’t picked it up in a while, so I may read it right before reading this one!

10. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Predecessor(s): A Gathering of Shadows, A Darker Shade of Magic

Expected Publication Date: February 21, 2017

Third V.E. Schwab book on this list, but I honestly don’t care! I feel like I’ve been on this journey with her! I’ve been in love with her writing since she published A Darker Shade of Magic and it’s going to be a bittersweet moment when this trilogy ends. I’m in love with the characters, the world, basically everything in this series! I think it will remain my favorite series for a very long time!

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I’m so hyped for these books now, even more than before! What books are you anticipating? I’ll see you all in the next post!

 

#Readthemallthon TBR

Hello everyone! I’m hoping to participate in an upcoming readathon: the Pokemon Indigo League #readthemallthon! This is hosted by Read at Midnight, and you can see the original post here. This readathon goes from August 14 to September 4. It is based on the Pokemon Indigo league, and each challenge comes from one of the eight badges.

1. Read the first book in a series

For this I really want to read Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. I’ve heard so many good things about this book series!

2. Read a book that might make you cry

This one was challenging, since I almost never cry when reading, but I think I am going to read Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. I’m so obsessed with these characters! I just want them all to be happy!

3. Read a book with thunderous hype

I’m going to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Not only do I hear so much hype over it, it is also my first Patrick Ness book!

4. Read a book featuring diversity

My choice is Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli. The main character of this book is gay. This book has been getting a lot of positive reviews, so I’m excited for it!

5. Read a book with an epic romance

As a reader, I try to avoid books with romance, because it’s usually cheesy and cringe-worthy, especially in YA. However, Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard features a fiery romance that I absolutely love! Not sure how much romance will be in this book, but there was a good bit of it in Red Queen.

6. Read a book with fantasy or supernatural elements

My choice for this challenge is Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley. This is supposed to be a magical realism story, so I’m really excited to pick this up!

7. Read a book with a red cover

Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes is the book I’m going to be reading for this challenge! The cover is absolutely stunning, and it’s red! This is the second book in the Falling Kingdoms series, which has a boatload of hype!

8. Read a book with post-apocalyptic settings

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black is set in a post-apocalyptic setting in which vampires exist. I haven’t read a vampire book in ages, and I DNF’d this book, only because it was due back to the library. Hopefully I’ll love this book and read more of Holly Black’s writing!

Along with those eight challenges, we can have a one pokemon and use reading and social media to level them up! For this, I’m going to use Chikorita, my personal favorite pokemon. Whoever gets the highest CP wins the title of Pokemon League Champion and will win a prize! I’m honestly not looking to have the most powerful pokemon. I just want to read a lot and have fun!

Will you be participating in this readathon? I’d love to know what you’re reading! I’ll see you guys in my next post!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | Review

Hello, everyone! I’m back with a very exciting review! I participated in the BookTubeaThon, which was a ton of fun, and I somehow managed to read five books! One of those books was Anna and the French Kiss, and ever since the readathon I’ve been itching to write a review for this book!

Goodreads Description: 

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris–until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all…including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Initial Thoughts: 

This book had so, so much hype, especially on BookTube. I had so many expectations going into this book! This is also my first Stephanie Perkins book, and I ended up listening to it on audio.

Thoughts:

I’m very pleased to say that this book deserves the hype! It gave me all the fluffiness of a contemporary, and then some! Don’t let the old cheesy cover and title fool you! This book was so well done!

The characters in this book each had their own personalities that we really got to explore. I loved getting to meet them and learning about their personalities and flaws. I liked how nothing was perfect in any of the relationships! Though Anna overreacted a bit to some of the events, I still really enjoyed reading from her point of view. She was very relatable character, and I liked her quirk about enjoying old films. And can we just talk about Etienne? So much swoon!!!

The romance in this book was spot on! Etienne and Anna were the cutest thing! I basically swooned every time Etienne was mentioned! I liked the message Stephanie Perkins put out there: that love is uncontrollable.

Unfortunately, it was easy to tell some of the “plot twists” early on, and I just wanted to scream at Anna to get some sense! If not for that(and Anna was a bit immature), I most likely would have given this book a 5/5 stars.

Despite that, I loved, loved, loved this book! I definitely want to continue on with the series and possibly reread it!

Final Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Waiting On Wednesday | Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where bloggers can showcase books that we are eagerly waiting for. This week I am eagerly anticipating Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

Goodreads Description:

Strange the Dreamer is the story of: 

the aftermath of a war between gods and men

a mysterious city stripped of its name

a mythic hero with blood on his hands

a young librarian with a singular dream

a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled

alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep.

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Series: Strange the Dreamer

Number of Pages: 528

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

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Why I’m Waiting:

I’ve read Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series books one and two. Even though I haven’t picked up the third book to that series, I’m totally sold on this book!

I believe this will be the first book in a duology, the second book being The Muse of Nightmares. (Aren’t Laini Taylor’s titles just thrilling?!)

This book sounds every bit as exciting and riveting as her other series, so I’m super pumped to read it!

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What book are you waiting on?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books Set Outside the U.S.

New segment on my blog: Top Ten Tuesday! This will be a good opportunity to recommend some more books that I love! I hope you enjoy!

The topic for this week is Books Set Outside the U.S. Most of the books I read are either in the U.S. or in a different world, but here are some of my favorites not set in the United States!

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

This charming book is set in Europe. This book was reminiscent of Harry Potter and a beautiful story overall. It is a companion to Rainbow Rowell’s other book Fangirl, so I recommend reading that before reading this one!

2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Even though this is a sci-fi story, the first book takes place in Asia, which I thought was very unique! If you haven’t already picked up this series, I highly recommend it! The third and fourth books were my favorites, but the first two are also good!

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Another book that everyone needs to read! Set in Germany during World War II, this book is extremely well done and overall a beautiful story. Something really intriguing is that it’s told by Death. There is a movie adaptation that I really loved!

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Set in Prague, this story is a magical and thrilling adventure with angels and demons. I have not read the third book yet, but the first two books were wonderful! Good writing, fun characters, steamy romance, what could be better?

5. The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

These books are set not only in the U.S. but also across Europe. This is the spin-off series to the Percy Jackson series, so I recommend reading that beforehand. This has so many fun and exciting elements to it, and it’s definitely one of my favorite series!

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is set in the Night Circus, which travels all around the world. This book was a magical journey that I definitely want to reread in the future! I listened to it on audiobook, which was a unique adventure!

7. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

This science fiction novel is set in a land between the United States and what used to be Mexico. This was a really great story that I also listened to on audiobook. I loved the characters and the plot, and the reader did everything beautifully!

8. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs

Parts of this book are set in Wales and later in the series the characters explore all around Europe. This is one of my favorite books and series. It’s also going to be a movie coming out this year, though the movie is very different from the book from what I’ve seen in the trailers!

9. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

This series is understood. Set in London, basically everyone has read and loved this series! I’m beyond excited for The Cursed Child, which is coming out at the end of this month.

10. Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab

I can’t go through one blog post without mentioning this series. It’s set in Londons(four of them) and is filled with action and adventure. I cannot recommend this series enough! Though the last book isn’t out yet, I’m beyond excited to dig into it!

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Have you read any of these books? What are your favorite books not set in the U.S.? Keep on reading!