FRIDAY FINDS showcases the most interesting books I’ve encountered during the last week and have added to my neverending TBR list on Goodreads. Below a selection of my newest additions; click on the book descriptions to go to its Goodreads page! 😀
My finds:
WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.
I haven’t been reading much during the last two days, because I have been trying to reduce the backlog of reviews after the Bout Of Books read-a-thon. Still 5 reviews to go, sigh… I have started reading Hero by Belinda Crawford the other day, which is a very interesting read so far and I’m looking forward to continue reading this story soon. I’ve also picked up Binge by Tyler Oakley on a whim because I was in the mood for a light (and funny) read, and this memoir has been really entertaining so far even though I have to confess I hadn’t heard of the author or his youtube channel before.
* The first book I managed to finish is The Reader On The 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent, which was originally written in French. I really enjoyed this story! Part of it felt a bit like Fahrenheit 451, but also completely different… And I loved the fact that the main character read random pages he had saved himself from the Thing.
* I then finished Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, which I read for the The Revolving Shelf book club. I really liked that this story was a mix of elephant info, paranormal elements and a missing person case. Not perfect, but really entertaining.
* Stars Above by Marissa Meyer was my previous TBR jar pick, and turned out to be just as entertaining as I thought it would be. I liked some stories better than others, but the epilogue was without doubt brilliant. It might be a sappy happy ending, but I really didn’t care in this case. 😉
* I also read See How They Run by Ally Carter, and the sequel was almost just as good as the first book. A really entertaining spy thriller with an international touch that is definitely worth reading, even though the main characters can get annoying.
* My last BoB book I finished was Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, which has turned out to be yet another ‘unpopular opinion’ book for me. I didn’t really like this story: the way the main character treated the others; the way she was treated by most people; the stereotypes; the bullying… I just wasn’t convinced.
* I also read the classic The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, which turned out to be a really short read and quite interesting.
I just realized that I have actually read or at least started all the books I mentioned here last week! That has to be a first… On to four fresh titles this week it is! First up is another ARC: Housebroken by The Behrg. I haven’t read a good horror story in too long, so I’m really looking forward to it. I also want to read Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys, but I’m probably going to read A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas first since I’m not sure how much longer I am going to be able to resist the temptation. 😉 My new TBR jar pick is The Opposite Of Loneliness by Marina Keegan.
WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.
I have been reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, which is this months The Revolving Shelf book club choice. The other book I’ve picked up is The Reader On The 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent, a story originally written in French I’ve chosen as my translated title for the yearly Bookish Bingo challenge.
* The first book I managed to finish is The Improbable Theory Of Ana And Zak by Brian Katcher. It was without doubt a very entertaining read and I loved Zak’s chapters with all its awkward, geeky and funny moments, but I wasn’t so charmed by Ana… Still definitely worth reading though.
* I’ve also finished The Strange And Beautiful Sorrows Of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton, which I had mixed feelings about. I don’t think the story actually lives up to the expectations after seeing the gorgeous cover… Some of the prose is more than excellent, but I would have liked to read more about Ava herself and I felt the story lacked cohesion.
* I also finally read Daugher Of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. I expected to love this story and it started out that way, but this ended up being another of my unpopular opinion titles… Once the insta-love moment happened between Akiva and Karou, I think I stopped enjoying this story. Why o why did a story with so much potential have to be turned into a sappy romance story?!
* The first book I finished during Bout Of Books 16.0 was All The Rage by Courtney Summers, which turned out to be a fast read even though I didn’t find it as good as I thought it would be. The topic is a difficult one (rape and disappearance of a female teenager), but I couldn’t really connect with the main character…
* The last book I finished this week is Love Letters To The Dead by Ava Dellaira, which was my latest TBR jar pick. Not as good as I hoped, but not bad either.
Hero by Belinda Crawford is my newest ARC that I am really looking forward to read, since it brings the promise of being a YA sci-fi novel without any sappy romance scenes… Which seems to be a rare thing in this genre nowadays. I also want to try to read another classic this month, and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is on the top of my list. I still need to read See How They Run by Ally Carter as well… And Stars Above by Marissa Meyer is my newest TBR jar pick. I’ve actually read a few of these novellas in this collection last year, so I will only be reading those I don’t know yet.
Title: Winter
(The Lunar Chronicles #4)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling
First published: November 10th 2015
Finished reading: November 20th 2015
Pages: 827
“She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option.”
The Lunar Chronicles is probably one of my favorite series I’ve read this year and in a way I’m sad it’s over. It’s one of the first times I’ve read a book as soon as it was published (not including ARCs), and even six days after finishing Winter I am still trying to get my thoughts together. I really loved this last novel by Marissa Meyer despite its length. My heart did almost stop at some points in the story; damn you plot twists! I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s hard to see your favorite characters suffering if you love a series as much as I do. I kept thinking: please give them a happy ending, they have totally earned it! It took me some time finishing Winter, but that’s mostly because I didn’t want it to be over… And what I can say is that this book was everything I was hoping for. Thank you Marissa Meyer for an excellent series! I do hope there will be a Thorne novella at some point in the future…
WARNING: do not read this summary if you haven’t read the first three books in the series yet! It will most likely contain spoilers, even though I’ve made sure to keep it short.
Queen Levana has always been jealous of little princess Winter. Winter has been admired by the Lunar people ever since she was little and despite the scars on her face it is said that she is even more beautiful than the queen. The princess doesn’t want to use her gift to manipulate others and is slowly turning mad… But she is not as weak as Levana believes her to be and Winter has been undermining her stepmother for years. And now the Lunars are on the border of a revolution, will Cinder, the princess and their friends be able to stand up to Levana and find their happily ever afters?
I know this review probably doesn’t make a lot of sense if you haven’t read The Lunar Chronicles yet, but I find it really hard to write a review without fangirling over the place. Marissa Meyer has created with this series a new way of retelling fairy tales and mixes these elements perfectly with the rest of the story. After four books the main characters feel like old friends and it’s really hard to see them suffer… Marissa Meyer knows how to draw you into the story and keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. If you are looking for a good YA fantasy series, this one is more than recommended! The fact that there won’t be any new books pending to be published (if you don’t count novellas) is a huge bonus as well.
WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.
I’ve started Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes yesterday evening and it’s still too early to tell if I’m going to enjoy this story… I’ve heard mixed things about it, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad. I’m also reading Melophobia by James Morris, a very interesting ARC and story so far.
Three books finished this week and that’s mostly thanks to the last two being super quick reads, because it took me ages to finish Winter.
* The first is Winter by Marissa Meyer. Although I’m sad the series has ended, I really enjoyed reading this fourth book My heart almost stopped at some points in the story though; damn you plot twists!
* I decided to read my TBR jar pick Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple afterwards, which turned out to be a quick although not outstanding read. More about my complaints in my upcoming review…
* The last book I finished yesterday evening: Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. A very hardbreaking story, although I wasn’t fully convinced by the prose itself (it sounded too childish, and not in a The Boy In The Striped Pajamas good way.)
To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m going to read next… But at least these four covers color match! 😉 I might read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings so I can cross off another series or start a new one with The Young Elites by Marie Lu. But to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to read fantasy right now. I also want to try and read Paperweight by Meg Haston soon even though it sounds like a sad story… And I have a new TBR jar pick: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I have been wanting to read another Gaiman novel for ages so this is the perfect excuse to do just so!
WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.
I’ve decided to put Outlander by Diana Gabaldon on hold for now because I don’t seem to have enough time… So I’m currently reading only one book (it’s a miracle!): Winter by Marissa Meyer. I have been looking forward to this read ever since I finished Cress, and so far it’s just as good as I was hoping for.
Three finished titles this week; not bad at all!
* The first is George by Alex Gino, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and definitely worth reading even though the prose can come over a bit childish at points. It has a very strong message…
* I picked up Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli afterwards and I have to say I absolutely loved this read. I wish I had gotten a copy sooner, because this book is simply brilliant!
* The last book I finished is The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. I think romance fans will probably love this read, but I’m not a fan of the genre and thought part of the plot was quite predictable as well.
I will start Melophobia (ARC) by James Morris as soon as I’ve finished Winter. I also want to try and read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings so I can finish another series, and I have been looking forward to Between Shades Of Gray by Ruth Sepetys as well. (I might actually read the second one first because it’s been I while since I’ve read a book during WWII.) And my next TBR jar pick is still Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly book meme originally featured at A Daily Rhythm. To participate, just open the book you are currently reading to a random page, and choose two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page. (no spoilers!)
It feels like everyone is reading Winter by Marissa Meyer right now! I started it this weekend and unfortunately I haven’t been having that much free time to read, because so far I’m loving this read. I can wait to find out how the story continues! Also, I kind of want to finish this one ASAP to avoid any possible spoilers. 😉
My teaser (3%):
“Winter was panting, both frazzled and giddy with her success, as the dais came into view. She spotted him and the yeaming inside her weakened her knees. She had to slow to catch her breath.”
What are you reading right now?
