All the Bookish Things

Hi everyone!

It's been a while. The other day I remembered I once kept this little blog as a small way to share my passion for reading and books. When I decided to revisit, I was surprised that people are still viewing this old thing. It's fun to go back and look at my initial thoughts of books I've read a few years ago (despite gritting my teeth through the grammar and being too excited over books of which I have different views now). Life has been busy, and I don't think I'll make this blog as active again. Maybe an occasional post here and there, but it's safe to say that this blog can rest in peace. The last post I made was in the spring of 2014. It's now 2016. I've still been reading and thought that I would share some memorable books I've read since then (4/5 or 5/5 stars). To see all the books I've read, I have remained active on my Goodreads; you can also find these books listed in order as I will be sharing only small thoughts on each one. (The list is ordered chronologically).

Book Review Mashup! City of Heavenly Fire, Vicious, Throne of Glass

Hey everyone!
Sorry again that it's been so long. But in that time span I've read quite a bit! I'm not going to talk about every book that I have read in the past month; however, I will talk about some of them with short, spoiler-free reviews. I'm not going to give a synopsis for every book, though I will link the Goodreads at the end so you can read them yourselves! Enjoy!

City of Heavenly Fire | Cassandra Clare | 6th book in The Mortal Instruments |  Rating: 5/5 | Fantasy
Of course, we have the finale to TMI. Some of you may know that I liked TMI at first, but didn't love them. Then I read The Infernal Devices, and loved those, then I reread COFA and COLS and enjoyed it more the second time around. So I was more excited to read COHF and thought that it was a fantastic conclusion. Cassandra Clare is amazing at wrapping up series. My favorite scenes involved Zachariah (hehe), but there are so many more awesome scenes. The characters themselves really grew and I liked them more and more. And that thing at the end with our favorite vampire... WHAT. Goodreads

Throne of Glass | Sarah J. Maas | 1st book in series | Rating: 5/5 | Fantasy
This book was so great! I loved the characters and plot line. This story involves magic, romance, assassins, secrecy, and so many amazing things. I read the second book, Crown of Midnight, which I didn't like as much (just because I ship Celaena with Dorian), nonetheless it was still incredibly exciting and action packed. Great start to another great series! Goodreads

Vicious | V.E. Schwab | Stand Alone (I think...) | Rating: 5/5 | Adult Science Fiction
I loved this book. It was so action packed and suspenseful and I was anticipating every second of this book. The whole concept is extremely interesting; I also found how Eli and Victor were best friends but then we see them ten years later as foes. Vicious would make a great movie (as well as Throne of Glass). The character's and their backstories contained such intriguing things. I highly recommend this book! It's a great adult book to read if you like young adult. Goodreads

Thanks so much for reading! -Kait

Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Hey everyone!I recently picked up and read Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. I heard really great things about it from BookTube, and thought I would give it a try. And I absolutely loved it! There were many aspects to enjoy about this book: the wit, the characters, the action, and the (small amount of) romance. I gave it 5/5 stars and I cannot wait for the next one! You can find it on Goodreads. This will be a spoiler-free review! (Synopsis and review below cut.)

Spring Collective Book Haul (and Mini Reviews)

Hey everyone!
Long time, no talk! (SORRY!) Ever since the middle of March, I have collected quite a few books, three being ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies). It was also my birthday recently, so I'm planning on ordering a few more, which I'll list at the end, though I do not own them yet or have even bought them. Click on the links to visit Goodreads for a synopsis (not affiliated).
The first book I got was 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad. I gave this book a 5/5, it was quite scary (which I usually hate) and scientific, the pace was extremely fast, and not to say the aura of mystery kept  me intrigued. And that ending!! No spoilers, but man, that was insane, and definitely not what I expected. At all.
Then I picked out an ARC (my local bookstore has this event and talks about upcoming YA releases and we get to pick an ARC-ended up with three!), my first one ever (however, it was not my first choice, the three copies were taken). It is A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn. I gave it 3.5/5; I thought the writing was really lyrical which matched the tone of the book, and the book just had this mystical feeling towards it. Personally, the plot was a bit slow and I didn't love the characters, but I did like them. I do recommend it for a short read if you like medieval, dragon stories. This comes out May 6th.
The next ARC I picked out was Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, which I gave a 4/5. I really liked the characters and plot, though I felt like this book could've been a stand-alone. It's a Wizard of Oz retelling, and I do really recommend it if you like the Lunar Chronicles (though, personally, it's not as good!). This came out April 1st.
The last ARC I picked out is Deception's Princess by Esther Friesner. I'm currently reading this (only 5% through, wooh!), it's pretty interesting and I'm really excited to get into it more! This came out April 22nd.
The next book I bought is Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. I gave this a 4/5 (maybe like 4.25), it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and the way she did it was really interesting! I really enjoyed finding out the secrets behind the story we're all told. I didn't love the main characters, but the plot was really intriguing.
After that, I bought Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. I am very excited to read this! I've heard nothing but great reviews saying that it's funny and filled with a bunch of action.

The rest of the books I haven't bought, ordered, but just considered getting with my giftcards. The first three are preorders, but the rest are otherwise possible purchases for me.

• The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer #3)
• City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (TMI #6)
• Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (#1)
• The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Box Set by Laini Taylor (#1-3)
• Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Thanks so much for reading! -Kait

February Wrap Up and March TBR

Hey everyone!
This past month was a great reading month for me. I read seven books and I really enjoyed all of them! Since I didn't get to do book reviews on all of these books, I thought it would be a good idea to just generalize my thoughts on each of these books.

Book Review: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (Spoiler-Free)

Hey everyone!
Sorry for not posting in a while! But since I've last talked to you guys, I read the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare which includes Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. This is a spoiler-free review of the trilogy.

Book Reviews: Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't postede in a bit, I've been quite busy with school. However, I also managed to read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. In a week. And these are not small books (479, 519, 603 pages)! Anyways, I loved this series so much, definitely one of my new favorites. This will be a spoiler free review!

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Hey everyone!
Happy New Year! I recently read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and thought it would be appropriate to do a review on. This will be spoiler-free. Goodreads.


"Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?"

I really enjoyed this book! I don't read much contemporary, just because it's not my absolute favorite genre, but I still really liked this book. The characters were all really great. I found the main character, Cath, to be very relatable. Levi was really cool and weirdly adorable. Reagan was just what this story needed-she added good humor and a bit of a different tone to the book. I liked the Wren who would help Cath write her fanfiction, not the one who would go out crazy partying. But by the end of the story, I did like her, too! The writing was also nice. It wasn't poetic nor choppy, but just a really nice in between. The Simon Snow excerpts were really fun to read and compare them to Harry Potter. So this was a great first Rainbow Rowell book and I look forward to reading more!

Thanks for reading, Kait

Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Hey everyone!
Today I am doing the long-awaited book review for Allegiant by Veronica Roth, book three in the Divergent trilogy. Overall, I really liked this book. It probably wasn't my favorite of the three, but I still am giving it 5/5 stars! There was a lot of new information and crazy actions. And let me just say: Veronica Roth is definitely a Dauntless when it comes to that ending; which of course I'll talk about in the Spoiler section. That being said, since it is the last book in a trilogy, as of right now it will contain spoilers for the first two, but not yet Allegiant.

Book Review: THE HOUSE OF HADES BY RICK RIORDAN

Hi everyone!

I'm finally able to do this post! After a long await, House of Hades by Rick Riordan is available (and read by me)! This post could be very long, so I'm going to try to shorten and word all the feelings. If you haven't read any of Rick Riordan's books, I have no idea what you're waiting for, but this will contain spoilers. I STRONGLY suggest that if you haven't read this book, you won't continue reading! (WARNING: FANGIRLNESS AHEAD.)

Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Hey everyone!
Today I'll be reviewing Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. I read this because one of my friends loves it and we made a deal: If I read this, she has to read the first Percy Jackson book. Overall, I actually really enjoyed this book!

"Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be."

I'm not a huge contemporary reader, but I did like this one. It wasn't my favorite, but still very enjoyable. One thing I loved about this book was the characters. Whether it was Ari or Dante or even to Legs, I really thought they were all interesting. This book also made you think about everything in a way. For instance, when Ari talked about laughing, he was just thinking about it. The concept of the book is fairly simplistic, but it was brought up to a whole other level. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary books!
Thanks for reading! -Kait

Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green (Spoiler-Free)

Hey everyone!
Last week, I finished reading Paper Towns by John Green and thought it was appropriate to do a review. I really enjoyed this book! The only other book I've read by John Green is The Fault in Our Stars which I did like more than this one. Anyways, this is a spoiler-free review!

"Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew."

Like I said above, I loved this book! John Green's books always make me think, and this one didn't disappoint. I thought Quentin was a great character. I liked Margo, too, just not as much as Quentin, Ben, and Radar. The mystery aspect of this book was very enjoyable as well. I love figuring out the clues the same way the character does. The road trip was very fun and funny as well. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to contemporary readers!

Sorry for the short review, but thanks for reading! -Kait

Book Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone!
So yesterday I finished reading The Diviners by Libba Bray. At first I was intimidated by it, partly for its size (and it's not even that big- close to 600 pages), but for some reason, I thought this book would be very challenging to read and more of an adult book than a YA book. But I pos-i-toot-ly loved it! (See what I did there? If you read the book, you'd know!) I must say, I love the book jacket and actual cover itself!

"Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first." (Goodreads)

Book Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Hey everyone!
I finished reading the first book in a trilogy, Across the Universe by Beth Revis. It's what I would think of if you said, "Science Fiction." There's also a dystopian element, too. But unlike a lot of science diction I read, the dystopian part isn't the whole story/conflict. I really enjoyed it! I would give it about a 4.5/5 stars.

"Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming."

The characters in this book were pretty good! I feel like I didn't fully get to know them in this one, but I have the rest of the trilogy which I'll be reading. I was so happy to have Amy on the ship because she's the only one who's not ignorant and is aware. Elder was also intriguing to me because at times I thought he was ignorant, but then he would be explaining things to Amy. The one thing that bothered me in this book was the Season. I thought it was a cool idea, but I didn't need the details on that one. But otherwise, I thought the whole concept was really cool!
SPOILERS:

Review: The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone!

First of all, I want to apoligize for the lack of posts. Believe it ornot, I still have two days left of school and I've had many exctiting things happen recently. I've also being reading a lot and managed to finish The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan!

Ask Me Questions and a Review: Macmillan Audio of Cinder (Ch.1)

Hey everyone!
Macmillan Audio asked if I'd like to review a sample of Cinder (which you can hear here!) and I thought it would be a great way to actually get a chance of reading an audio book, since I've never used one before. Therefore, this experience was even more exciting! I want to thank Esther for reaching out to me, as well!
All this being said, I really did enjoy the audio book. Having not used one before, I don't have much to compare it to. However I did love it! The voice was clear and easy to follow, and the pace was perfect for me! One of the reasons I've never listened to an audio book is because I thought it would go too slowly. But this one was really nice! Overall, I do recommend them. You can find Macmillan Audio here.

On the other hand, I also asked you guys to ask me some questions! I did this a little while ago on my beauty blog, but it didn't go so well. So I'm hoping you guys will be willing to ask some! The more the better, so feel free to ask as many as you want! I'm hoping to get some questions within the week or two, but I might mention in a future post if anything changes. So go write down below in the comments!

Thanks for reading! -Kait

(This review was 100% my opinion!)

Book Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Hey everyone!
A few days ago, I read The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, the first book in the trilogy. The second book, Never Fade, is coming out this October. I loved this book- one of my favorite dystopian books this year, so far!
 
The Darkest Minds | Alexandra Bracken, Book 1
"When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living."
 
One thing that I find that can really make a book are the characters. And this book- I loved the characters! Ruby, Liam, Zu, Chubs.... I all loved them. I'm not going to go into specifics, but I think that each of them had their own flaws, yet had awesome attributes, too! The action was great. Some CRAZY things happened in this book. And even when they were driving, the conversations and all were so interesting! The writing was good, too. There were great uses of figurative language, but it was easy to understand. But the things I loved most:
SPOILERS!
Sorry, but you really don't want to read further if you haven't read third book. Come back when you do!

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Hey everyone!
Recently I read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and I really enjoyed it. This review will be spoiler-free!

Book Reviews: The Mara Dyer Series (1&2) by Michelle Hodkin

Hey everyone!
So a few days ago, I finished The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, the first two books in a trilogy. And I loved them! They were so good. The books had some creepy elements but they were so interesting. I liked the second one more because I thought it was more creepy and exciting, but it did have some cons, too. I'll let you know when spoilers start!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer | Book 1
"Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong."
In other words, Mara Dyer survived an incident where all her friends were killed and she was fine, even though the whole building collapsed. She's suffering from PTSD and can't remember anything from the incident. And of course, there's more involved than it looks like.
One thing I really liked about this series is Mara. She's an unreliable character, but that's one of the reasons why I like her. We have to figure things out for ourselves instead of the character always doing the solving. She's also sarcastic, which I love because I'm sarcastic myself (which you probably can't tell from just my blog). We have some other characters as well. Like Noah Shaw. At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to like Noah by his reputation and all. But by the end of this book and the second one, I'm so happy Mara met him. Their relationship is pretty funny, which is needed in this book. It was so interesting finding out what the heck happened. Overall, I loved this book.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer | Book 2
"Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?"
This book. I was so paranoid while reading this. When my door opened from the wind, I jumped. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I thought someone was watching me sleep (which makes more sense if you read this book). One reason why I loved this more than the first one is because it was creepy. I heard things about the first book being creepy, but this one made me change position while reading so I can see my whole room. The new antagonist in this book is now an actual person which makes things so interesting. One thing that bothered me (not because it was a bad writing choice- it just made me angry with Mara. I thought it made perfect sense and all, but if I was in her position... glad to have Noah! But her family doesn't believe anything! I was like yelling at my book. Now I'm just going to get in spoilers because I have something (more like someone, or someones if that's grammatically correct) on my mind. Okay? Okay.

SPOILERS:DON'T READ IF HAVEN'T READ. WHICH MEANS: GO READ!

Book Reviews: Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Hey everyone!
Today I'll be reviewing Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer spoiler-free. My thoughts so far on this series are that I love it. I love how Marissa Meyer retells fairytale stories, but they have this huge science fiction aspect to them. The characters are great as well as the events that happen!