Top 5 Books I can't Wait to Read

Note: Tope 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads. If you are interested in joining you can check it out here. 

     I suppose these are the books I am so excited about that I cannot hardly get to them fast enough. If only I could read multiple books at once *sigh*.  Once, I tried listening to an audiobook while reading a paperback at the same time. I don’t recommend it though. 

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Volume 5

      We got snowed in on New Year’s so I binge read my younger brother’s collection of the Twilight Princess manga. This does not even have its cover revealed yet, and I already cannot wait to get my hands on it.  I have played the game this manga is based on so I do know how it ends, but I still need to see the direction the writers take this story in. GAH!!!!!!! 

Just Ella 

     Words cannot describe how long I have been searching for this book. It wasn’t at my local library or my school library, and it is definitely not at my university’s library. I couldn’t find it at any bookstore, and I never looked for it online because I didn’t think to do so. *insert blushing emoji here* Recently, I discovered a copy of Just Ella while restocking the book shelf at a thrift store I volunteer at. Now that I have it in my hands I see it’s a relatively small book so I don’t think it would take me to long to read it. 

The Rose and Dagger

       I almost finished The Wrath and the Dawn on a long-bus trip this past summer. Being the first in a duology, the ending of The Wrath and the Dawn left me wondering what was going on more than knowing. I was unable to read The Rose and Dagger until after the fall semester passed so I am looking forward to reading this one now that I finally have time. At last, I will have my answers!!!

Heartless

     Marissa Meyer wrote The Lunar Chronicles, one of my favorite book series of all time. I would read that woman’s grocery list. Although I have not exactly heard glowing things about Heartless, I know I will at least enjoy its writing even if I get infuriated with the main character which, apparently, happened to many reviewers. However, I might end up loving the main character so I need to read Heartless to know for certain. Just because other people had problems with it, does not mean I will. 

The Return of Sir Percival

      When I was in middle school I had to read about the knights of the round table in English class. Although I was forced to read it for school, I became obsessed with the world of Camelot! I wrote fanfiction about it before I even knew what fanfiction was. However, in high school, my interest in King Arthur lulled. I blame it on most of the retellings I have read/watched as most retold the story of how Arthur became king over and over again. I eventually grew a little board with this formula. Fast forward a few years, and I discover a book titled The Return of Sir Percival, and I realize not only is this story about my favorite knight, but it also takes place after the fall of Camelot. I have never seen a retelling like this one and I am so excited to see how this book handles the King Arthur Mythos.  

Chum's Moving Review

      I shall say it now. I have never seen the movie of the same name. Although I do wish to see the film more than ever now, I am afraid I won’t like it simply because it was different from the book. 

      The plot of this book is amazing and it is best experienced blind. I don’t want to spoil it at all. However, pay attention to everything as this is a great book to revisit and realize, “Why didn’t I notice this the first time?” It follows a girl named Sophie Hatter who was cursed by a witch to take the form of a very old woman. This drastically reduces her life expectancy so Sophie sees a wizard, Howl, as a way to free herself. 

      Sophie and Howl are great. Sophie is a very strong character and is very much the protagonist of the book. I personally like how she is a very old woman for most of it as I find this perspective lacking in literature. We get to see the effects the curse has on Sophie both mentally and physically. However, Sophie thinking of her situation and trying to find her way out of it doesn’t exactly take up the bulk of the novel. She finds out how to break the curse, but she doesn’t exactly know how to do the task required to break the spell. 

      Howl, the great slitherer-outer, was actually the most relatable character in the book. He is a very talented wizard and has many people wanting his help. However, this stresses Howl out and he is afraid certain people will ask too big of a task of him. What does he do? Howl has his friends blacken his name so people are too afraid to approach him. He doesn’t get along with Sophie who continues to snoop around his castle as she’s looking for a way to free herself from a curse. 

    The humor of the story is spot on. Not only from the wit of many of the characters (particularly Calcifer) and the shenanigans the protagonist get themselves into because of magic (Seven league boots just aren’t very practical), but the chapter titles really add to the story. Rick Riordan’s chapter titles pale in comparison to gems like “In Which Howl Expresses his Feelings with Green Slime” and others.  

     For a book I read recently, Howl’s Moving Castle gave me nostalgia for when I was younger and most of the stories I read were fairytale related. This book is a must-read for fairytale/ fantasy fans or anyone in a need of a good laugh.  

Top 5 Disappointing Reads of 2018

Note: Tope 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads. If you are interested in joining you can check it out here. 

    I have come to accept that not every book I read will meet my expectations. Sometimes I open a book thinking it will be average or worse and be blown away at how good it turned out to be. However, the books on this list are where my expectations were at Mt. Everest on page 1 and fell to at least Death Valley by the time I reached the back cover… if I got that far. 

Red Queen

      I read this book in high school and it wasn’t my favorite, but I still liked it a lot. Personally, I enjoyed the sequel, Glass Sword,much more. This past summer I actually planned on having a month dedicated to Red Queen to celebrate the release of War Storm. I also decided to reread all the previous books before reading the final, but I didn’t get past Red Queen, and as I stated in my review, it was because I found it not to be nearly as good as I remembered. 

Sign of the Qin

        Myths fascinate me. This book, however, did not. However, I was wicked excited to read Sign of the Qin because I don’t think I have ever read a fantasy book set in China. Another reason my hopes for this one was high is The Kiss of Deception. I believe I finished reading it before I started Sign of the Qin and I didn’t particularly like The Kiss of Deception all that much and many of the books I read around that time weren’t my favorite. I was hoping Sign of the Qin would finally be the book I couldn’t put down. I got over halfway through before deciding there was no way I was going to finish this book the year ended and decided to return it to the library unfinished. 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer

        I love Wonder Woman and I have quite a bit of respect for Leigh Bardugo so I was upset with myself for not liking this book, especially considering how excited I was to finally read it. I spent over an hour searching for this book at BAM! Before realizing it wasn’t getting released until August. I finally received Warbringeras a gift on my birthday last year. I started to read it and loved the first few chapters, but after Dianna and co. left home I began to lose interest. When I got to the scene they were preparing for the obligatory ball I went “Abort, abort, book will not fulfill expectations” and didn’t finish it. I did end up asking a friend who held out until the end and she didn’t exactly like this book either. At least the two of us could be disappointed by Warbringer together. 

The Black Key

      It hurts when the last book in a trilogy I love didn’t hold up to its predecessors. I remember devouring this book on vacation and my mom remarking how quickly I finished Black Keyassuming I must have liked it. Well… the beginning was good, but around the last third everything frays in seconds. The ending wasn’t tragic – just not explained very well. I mentioned it in my review that Black Key would have been better if it was slightly longer. 

Smoke in the Sun

      “The ending of Flame in the Mist didn't leave me satisfied at all. Instead I was left demanding answers that only Smoke in the Suncan give me. I will get to it (Smoke in the Sun) soon, and I will probably cry tears of joy once I have the book in my hands.” The following quote was a comment I made on a Top 5 Wednesday post I wrote last year. I thought it was a good way to show just how much I wanted to read Smoke in the Sun. I think if it weren’t for my classes I would’ve finished that book in one sitting. However, I didn’t like the way the book was narrated and felt there wasn’t enough of Mariko and Okami, our main couple. I also hated the villains and the ending felt kind of sloppy to me. 

Bookish Pet Peeves

       Reading makes me happy, but sometimes the publishing company doesn’t take my personal taste into account and does something dumb when designing the book. I am aware some things that bother me, other people love. Just because I don’t like an aspect of a book doesn’t mean I don’t like a person who does like it. We all have our own opinions. If everyone thought the same way this world would be very boring. 

1.    Mass Marketed Paperbacks

     Mass marketed paperbacks give me horrible wrist aches and eye aches every time I try to read one. I run a risk turning the page as it will snap itself shut the moment I remove my other hand and not only will I have to search for my place, but I’ll have to pry the book opened again. 

2.    First Person-Present Tense

     The natural tense to tell a story is in the past tense as most narrations are about something that has already come to past. However, I have read many a YA dystopias in my day, and I must admit the majority of them were in first person-present tense. The two biggest offenders that come to mind are Red Queen and Matched series that I was obsessed with. However, I realized just how jarring present tense narration is. It doesn’t feel organic to the narrator and often I’ve noticed most people who write in first person-present are trying to give the book a sense of urgency, but this is simply not how it works. 

3.    Shiny Paper

      When I was in middle school, one of my favorite series was The American Girl Historical Fiction Adventures. I could read those books in an hour as they weren’t long. Although many of my friends thought they could’ve had a little more meat to them, the length wasn’t what bothered me about them. The paper used in those books were very shiny so if you wanted to read outside, which I do frequently during the summer, you might want to wear some shades. I just feel books shouldn’t be printed on solar panels. 

Hyped Releases I don't Care About

Note: Tope 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads. If you are interested in joining you can check it out here. 

       I wouldn’t say I don’t care about these releases. Obviously, I cared about them enough to decide which ones I don’t plan on reading. I shall note that just because a book is on this list by no way means I have something against the author. This week’s entry is a short one because I don’t spend a lot of energy on books I don’t want to read. I’d much rather look for things I like. The only two books I could come up with are on this list because A I don’t like the genre or B I have fallen out of love with the series, but I don’t hate them. If you want to read the one or both of the books I mention, good for you and I hope you have a good time reading. :)

The Beautiful by Renée Adiheh 

     I don’t have any gripes against Ahdieh even though I was disappointed by her most recent book. Why am I not interested in reading this one? Because I am terrified of vampires! When I was little (before school age) I accidentally saw a vampire film my older brother was watching. Ever since that day, I can’t even look at an advertisement for any kind of vampire media without getting disturbed. I don’t care how much I love Ahdieh’s writing style; I won’t touch anything involving vampires with a 59 ½ foot pole. 

Broken Throneby Victoria Aveyard

    I know several people want to read this because apparently, Wat Storm’s ending wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been. I know this is just a novella so I kind of think about picking it up. However, I ended my affair with the Red Queen series last year, and I know if I pick this one up I will only get upset with it again. I just wonder why I should focus my energy on something I dislike when there are other new books that I am much more likely to enjoy?