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Roomies by Christina Lauren Spoiler Free Review

Roomies is another story based on one of my favourite tropes; fake dating. Our main character Holland Bakker works on the set of her uncle's Broadway play selling merch and taking photographs. Three times a week she makes the needless commute out to a subway station to hear her favourite busker play. When a member of the play's orchestra quits Holland feels that this busker could be the key to saving the show. We then learn that the busker-Calvin-is in the country illegally. In order to get him a greencard Holland offers to marry him and they have to put on a show in order to make it through the immigration interview. Inevitability Holland develops real feelings for Calvin and in true rom-com fashion, things go askew.    This book is exactly what the authors say it is in the acknowledgments, "Pure shameless fun." It won't be winning any prestigious awards but it is the perfect way to wiggle your way out of a reading slump and enjoy yourself. This book doesn...

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Review+Discussion

Loved the book, hated the ending, iffy on Stiefvater's writing style of suggesting things but never explaining or confirming. If she actually writes another trilogy about Ronan anytime soon maybe I'll pick it up. I can't really give an in depth review without spoiling anything as it's the fourth book so you'll just have to take my word on it. Four out of five stars? Spoilers under the cut!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake Review+Discussion

Three Dark Crowns tells the story of three sister Queens on the island of Fennbirn. Each Queen is born with the promise of a gift (Mirabella controls the elements, Arsinoe will be able to control animals and grow plants, and Katherine will be able to have immunity against poison). In order to determine who is the one Queen the sisters must battle to the death over the course of a year. This novel tells the story of the four months leading up to the festival of Beltane which marks the beginning of the battle between the Queens. I'd personally give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Though I did enjoy reading this book and the premise has potential I just didn't feel connected to this novel or it's characters. Hopefully the second book really develops on all this missed potential. I found the writing of the book to be a little bit iffy, sometimes it was difficult to tell who was speaking or who a character was referring to with the excessive use of "she". ...

A Casual Reappearance

I realize that the last time I posted anything was almost a  year ago but it's spring break now, I have no homework, no work, and nowhere to travel to so I might as well bring my blog back from the grave for a moment. I haven't been reading much which is mostly why I haven't been back for a while ,but here is a little overview of some of the books I have gotten the chance to read.  In this wrap up I reviewed: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas, Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray and Winter by Marissa Meyer. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Review + Discussion

In this world, fae live beyond a magical wall and our main character Feyre lives in the town just before the wall. The only other thing separating her town and the faerie land is a forest where she hunts in in order to provide for her family. And on one unfortunate day she accidentally (but not so accidentally) kills a faerie disguised as a wolf. Demanding retribution, the wolf's faerie friend barges into her home and takes Feyre with him to live out the rest of her days in his mansion in the land of the fae.  And Sarah J. Maas kills it again. With wonderful characters, an intricate world and lovely writing this book is all you could ask for. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and Tamlin.  There are some slow parts but that in no way lessens my affections for this book. All in all I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads. I highly recommend that you check out all of Sarah J. Maas' books if you haven't already!  SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

June Wrap Up

In this wrap up I reviewed: A Court of Thorns and Roses, To Kill a Mockingbird, and End of Days

Since I've Been Gone Wrap Up

The school year is essentially over! I have two more exams (simple exams) so I'm back. I haven't read nearly as many books as I had hoped to by now but I did read a few so that's good. This post is just a wrap up of all the books I've read since January, some of these books may or may not be getting full reviews later on. *I am using stars to rate these books because for the most part I cannot remember what percentage I would give them. In this wrap up I reviewed: Alienated, Fahrenheit 451, The Winner's Curse, Red Queen, The Darkest Part of the Forest, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, An Ember in the Ashes, and The Tempest.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Review+Discussion

This book takes place in a very Hunger Games like society. The rich get richer by basically enslaving the poor. The twist is that the rich are only rich because they have abilities and the poor are only poor because they don't. If your blood is silver, you have abilities and if your blood is red, then you're normal. Except for our main character, Mare. Because of this anomaly, she is kept at the castle and forced into an engagement with the younger prince. The king and queen tell the people that Mare actually has silver blood but she was raised as a red. Thus making her an aspiration to all the red blooded people, in hopes that this ends the red blooded rebellion. You can see where things, probably go askew. Don't lie, kids. In the end I gave this book 2.5 stars. It's not that the book was bad or anything. It was simply overhyped. I personally found the main character to be naive, and the plot to be predictable. Spoilers under the cut!

The Winner's Crime Review+Discussion

This book. So this is the sequel to The Winner's Curse, if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. It was one of my favourite books of 2014 and this sequel lives up to the standards of the first book. The writing was brilliant, the characters hurt me in the best possible way and just look at that cover. The sequel took a dark and gory turn and I adored it. I'm angry at it, but I adore it. If you liked Throne of Glass then you're sure to love this book as well. It's not as intricate or intense as Throne of Glass but it still has the same vibe. So that's it for the spoiler free section, if you have read The Winner's Crime then feel free to read what's under the cut and join my little rants and discussions in the comments! We'll have a delightful conversation.

Alienated by Melissa Landers Review+Discussion

Overall ratting: 80%  France, China and America were all chosen to submit their smartest students for a chance to host an alien exchange student. Cara Sweeney is valedictorian at her high school in Midtown USA and is chosen to host America' s LEAP student(the L'eihr Exchange Ambassador Program). Cara is persuaded to take the job in exchange for a desperately needed scholarship and the opportunity of a lifetime.  Aelyx is not impressed by the human kind. They are a barbaric and inferior race and he wants nothing to do with them. He can't stand the colours, smells or tastes of Earth.   Midtown is not impressed with him either, mobs and paranoia spread quickly across the globe. Inevitably Cara falls for Aelyx and Aelyx falls for Cara. But will he choose to protect his planet first, and potentially risk killing                                      ...

January Wrap Up

Somehow this was my busiest month since September, yet I've read the most books this month. I don't know how that works. The semester ended this month so I had exams and all those last minute projects and tests teachers assign, and I had some weird flu for a week where I spent my time passing out or throwing up. It's been a very distressing start to 2015, let me tell you. This month I reviewed: This Shattered World, Gathering Darkness and, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

The Bane Chronicles Review+Discussion

This was the only book I read in December so let's call this post a December Wrap Up as well. Okay? Okay. So this book is a series of short stories told from Magnus' point of view. It's written by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. This book also creates a little bit of a timeline of Magnus' life. Personally I recommend that you read this book after you've finished both The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices, as you understand it better and you avoid spoilers that way. My personal favourite stories were The Runaway Queen, The Midnight Heir, Saving Raphael Santiago, What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You're Not Officially Dating Anyway), and The Course of True Love (And First Dates) All in all I loved this book and would give it 95%, just because they're novellas. It's funny and heartbreaking at the same time and I loved finding out about Magnus' past. Spoilers under the cut!

2015 Releases

Alrighty. In 2014 many series that I hold dear came to an end.(It's really strange having to talk about 2014 in the past tense) I blame those conclusions for all the reading slumps I've gone through in the past few months. That and school, always blame school. That being said, there are still quite a few books I am eagerly awaiting! (These are in chronological order)

2014 Favourites

If auto correct could stop changing favourites to favorites that would be great. I am in Canada we have nothing against the letter u over here. I assume you get the gist of this post from the title but here are my favourite books of 2014! Angelfall by Susan Ee In 2015 the last book featuring Penryn will be released, that does not bode well for her fate. I read Angelfall and Afterworld this year and I have grown so attached to the characters. To Raffe and Penryn. To her mother and the twins. The writing, the world, and the wit in these books are phenomenal. I cannot recommend this book enough. I actually got it for my best friend for her birthday I loved it that much

November Reads

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important day. No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The end of the semester is coming up. *cues hysteria* Can you feel my stress through the screen because I feel like you should be able to. Oh and I got bangs on Monday, just a little life update. This month I reviewed: Blue Lily Lily Blue, and A Thousand Pieces of You.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray Review+Discussion

Overall rating: 100%  First thing's first. Look at the cover. Isn't it amazing? It's even better in person, if you can believe it. If for no other reason go buy the book just to be able to admire the cover.  This book was phenomenal. There is actually nothing that I would change in this book. It was amazing starting from the very first page.  Claudia Gray did a spectacular job. Most of the time science fiction isn't very easily explained, you're left with so many questions and in the end it takes away from the book. Everything was either explained or acknowledged as unexplained. All grounds were covered. The characters were all so intriguing and well developed.The worlds were all so interesting and detailed. The writing was wonderful and witty. If you like reading books where you get to experience different places around the world through the book, this is perfect for you. My heart weeps over the idea of starting a new book now. No book could be as ...

The Retribution of Mara Dyer review+discussion

Overall rating: 90% Alrighty so let's get down to business, I loved this book. It was a fantastic conclusion to a wonderful series. It was a fantastic book all on its own. The Retribution of Mara Dyer was just as witty as all the other books while being even darker than the last two.  I loved Jamie and Mara's relationship. Their banter made me laugh out loud. And I also really enjoyed how near the end we got POV's from Noah.we got a few different POV's as well that were beautifully incorporated into the book. This is a truly amazingly woven series and I highly recommend it. My absolute favourite thing about this book is that Mara has no qualms about becoming this darker person. She has no guilt for feeling this way either. It makes her super badass and in my opinion easier to relate to. She is ready to do what she has to do in order to save herself and those she loves. It saves us as readers, from pulling out hairs and yelling "You should have killed t...

Read this month: October

It's still not going to well for me and my reading goals, guys. This month I reviewed: The Blood of Olympus, In the After Light, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken Review+Discussion

★ ★ ★ I might say 3.5 stars instead. I haven't quite made up my mind about it yet. On it's own it was a good book, but as a conclusion to a wonderful trilogy I was not satisfied. The characters seemed to be going backwards in their character development  at times.  I also didn't like how some problems were resolved as well. I feel like if we got rid of some of the useless scenes in the beginning there would be more time to develop the ending and write an epilogue to clear all the political problems. This book also lacked in humor so if you start reading expecting to have a good time you are going to be disappointed.  It really saddens me to have to write such a negative review when I had such high hopes for this conclusion. 

Spooky Recommendations

That time of year is among us once again. The horribly tacky lawn decorations, cheesy movies on Disney channel and the anxiety of last minute costume ideas. It's October, aka Halloween month. So here are a few eerie reads that I personally recommend! Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children  So this is the darkest book on thislist in my opinion. There are dead children with freaky abilities, monsters that remind me of the Ood from Doctor Who, and super creepy photographs. So if you want something that will really keep you awake at night this is what I would recommend. It is the first book in a trilogy and it is written by Ransom Riggs! Goodreads link