Top 5 Rainy Day Reads

   
    

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

      April is a rainy month especially in the North-East. Many basements do flood during this time. That’s why I enjoy colorful books to curl up with when the world outside (and sometimes inside) is a little bit grey. 

5.  The Ordinary Princess

     I remember how much I loved this book as a child. This is such a cute story about a princess, named Amy, who is different from her sisters because a gift/curse given to her by her fairy godmother at her christening. The main focus of the story is how Amy grows up with her gift/curse.

     Sometimes on a rainy day, I just need a little magic. Every Time I read The Ordinary Princess, it still has the same magic as when I first opened it up at ten years old

4. Bloody Jack

     When there is a torrential downpour outside, I can get cabin fever within a few hours. I could go outside and have my own adventures, but I would get soaked. The solution: let Jacky Faber go on the adventure for me, and I can read about them from the comfort of my own home. 

3. Kitchen Princess

      Comfort food and a heartwarming story, what more do I need? An orphan girl dreams of becoming a professional pastry chef and finding the boy who gave her a special spoon years ago. She arrives at a school where this can come true – she just needs to jump over personal and social hurdles first. 

2.  Angel Sister

     If I am feeling grumpy about the rain and flood warnings, I can just read about people who live in Kentucky in the middle of the summer, during a heat wave and The Great Depression. Despite the dire circumstances, the town of Rosy Corner is a colorful place with unique people as well as struggling family that just wants to be happy again. 

1. Paint the Wind

     I will admit, I am a horse girl. Ever since I was a young girl, I would spend hours pretending I was a cowgirl. I have read many books about people and their loyal steads, and Paint the Wind is most definitely one of my favorites. The story of the main character getting to know her new family and environment along with the search for a missing horse, is a breeze to follow. 

Top 5 Favorite SFF Booktubers

    

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

     I am a book blogger. Of course, I enjoy reading other people’s blogs and watching other people’s videos. Why wouldn’t I search for other content creators with similar interest as my own. This weeks, topic really excited me, because now I can direct people to these talented Booktubers. (Yay)
5. Alexa Dunn 

     She is actually more of a writer than a reader, but she does talk about SFF frequently on her channel. Her book is Jane Erein space, and I think that is pretty cool. I especially enjoy her short writing hack videos along with her harsh writing advice videos. I have to say, my own writing has improved since I discovered Alexa's channel. 

4. Jenna Moreci

     She is also more of a SFF author than reader, but her videos are still good. Jenna’s videos cover a variety of writing and other bookish topics. I think my favorite video was her one on how to write a healthy romance. Jenna's videos have some very good advice in them, and her sense of humor is hilarious. 

3. The Authentic Observer

     She doesn’t always review SFF, but a large hunk of her content does cover SFF. She does reviews for books and movies that gives some perspectives I have never thought of before. She also does analysis of certain tropes like, strong female characters, or romantic subplots. Her videos are very in depth and thought provoking. 

2. Jordan Harvey

     She reviews books and talks about tropes, she also sometimes talks about writing. Jordan’s reviews are thought provoking, and her trope videos are fun. Some of her videos also dive deep into their subject matter, and they are good discussion starters. 

1. James Tullos     

     James’ videos cover world building and I love it. Even when he admits that although certain fantasy worlds have made some world building mistakes, they are still good stories and he recommends them. His videos are fun and they do make me think about SFF books in a way I never had. 

   

Top 5 Books that Turned out Better than Expected

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

    I know the topic is technically about books I loved even though I went into them thinking I was going to hate every single page, but that is not applicable to me. Why? Because I don’t read books thinking I’m not going to like them. I read for fun, and I don’t see anything fun about forcing myself to turn every last page of a book even though the words burn my eyes and cause my brain to scream for mercy. That’s just silly. Instead the books I have listed that I ended up enjoying more than I initially thought I was going to. 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

     The other Legend of Zelda Manga are cute. But, they aren’t that great. I was expecting the usual fair of the others when I sat down with my brother’s copies of the manga one snow day. The writers had much more time to improve on their…comic making abilities for this one, and it shows. 

The Hunger Games

    It was popular so it had to be bad. I only read it out of curiosity. I wasn’t expecting too much and I was surprised. I think my favorite part of the book is during the time spent in the arena. The action flows well and carries the plot forward almost perfectly. 

My Unfair Godmother

    Another case of me reading a sequel to an okay predecessor and not expecting it to be any better.  This is one of the few cases of a sequel that is better than the one that came before it. Everything is just better. The author took what was good with the first book, the humor, the depth of the main character, and the cast of supporting characters, and made it all better.  

Cinder

    Back in early high school, I saw this book floating around in my library and I assumed it was a sci-fi retelling, but I wasn’t very sure about the quality of it. However, I picked the book up after making my sister read it first. She told me it was okay so I read it - in one day. This is my favorite book, but I went in only thinking it was going to be just “meh”. 

Cells at Work

    My sister excitedly tells me about this new anime she had been watching where it was about the human body and each character was based on a cell and his/her career was based on the cells function. To which I responded, “Sounds dumb.” I watched an episode anyway. And another, and another, until I finished the series. Then I went out and bought the manga. 

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.  

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. 

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? 

Top 5 Books I Didn't Get to in 2018

*Note* Top 5 Wednesdayis a Goodreads group where blogger/vloggers post about a bookish topic every Wednesday. You can check it out right here.    

   I don’t really schedule the books I want to read and find myself reading less of the books I planned on getting to. Whatever the reason, there are five books in particular that I am very bummed I didn’t have a chance to start this year. 

   

Children of Blood and Bone

     I saw this one had been nominated for the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards and decided it was worth checking out. Lucky for me I found a copy at my library in November and I don’t think I have touched that book since. It needs to be returned soon and I know I can always borrow it again, but I’d rather no return an unfinished book to the library. 

Howl’s Moving Castle

      I found this one at my local library the same day I picked up Children of Blood and Bone. I didn’t realize the Studio Ghibli film of the same name was based on a book so of course, I wanted to read it. However, the moment I arrived home from the library my sister saw this book decided she wanted to read it, and I haven’t seen the copy since. She’s told me the book is great and has some really good humor so at least she enjoyed it this year.  

Unraveling

      I received this book as a present last Christmas. This is another book I want to start next year ASAP because I won’t let myself read the books I got for Christmas this year before I finished the ones I received last year. 

Princess of Glass

      Senior year of high school, I read the book before this one, Princess of the Midnight Ball, in one day and wanted to get to Princess of Glass ever since. My sister owns a copy and we pretty much share all our books so I was more than welcome to read it if I wanted. I just didn’t find the time this year, but I can’t wait to find out what happens next! 

 

Snow Like Ashes  

      I have been wanting to read this one since sophomore year of high school, but I couldn’t get my hands on a copy. At last, I received Snow Like Ashes as a birthday gift this year (which was back in May) and I haven’t even opened the front cover yet. I can admit I’m nervous about this one as my expectations for it have been growing for almost five years.