Sunday Post #6 - Too Sick to Read

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reader. This is a place where you can talk about news from your week, what you've been reading and what you expect to come up on your blog. To join in, check out the rules here.

My life has been BUSY lately. This week, I was super sick with hopefully is just a nasty flu and there was an election here in Canada on Monday. Needless to say, I didn't get as much reading done as I had hoped. However, I finally finished all the books I have fighting with for months and I just finish Magnus Chase this morning. I am happy with that.

Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Stacking the Shelves #7

Tag Tuesday: The TBR Tag

Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Review: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Top 5 Wednesday 

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson 

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

The City of Glass by Cassandra Clare 

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

I am going to start The Conspiracy of Us tonight.

I finally made progress this week! I listened to The Kiss of Deception on audio this week. Hopefully getting to the other goals soon.

Read: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Read: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Read: A Dirty Job & Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore

Read 3 Book off my Netgalley Shelf

Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication: 07/04/2014 by Henry Holt
Series: The Remnant Chronicles
Pages: 492 Pages
Format: Overdrive Audiobook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Goodreads Summary:
A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

My Thoughts:
I have been waiting to read this forever! When I saw that it was available on audiobook through my library, I grabbed it. I wasn't as impressed by this book as I wanted to be. I did enjoy this book but I wasn't completely blown away. I really liked the concept: princess runs away, and is followed by an assassin and the prince she was suppose to marry. I do think that this was done very well, and I didn't guess who was who until it was relieved. It always kept you on your toes, especially when she was with these guys. However, this set up does end up creating love triangles which I felt strange about. I knew going in that it would happen but I just wanted Leah to be with one of these guys. I think she only truly has feelings for one and not the other. 

Leah was an awesome character. I really enjoyed her character development and I really enjoy that her strength isn't a physical strength. She isn't a total badass, but she still is very brave and intelligent. She understands the repercussions of her actions, and allows them to shape who she is becoming. 

I found the pacing in this book to be slow. There wasn't as much action as I expected, it's mostly character driven story with lots of politics between different nations in the world. The world building was interesting but not much different than other fantasy books I have read. I think I was even getting it confused with other worlds in different books. I like my fantasy worlds to be distinct, sure there are going to be some similarities but I don't want to confuse worlds. 

Conclusions: Enjoyable story with a very interesting premise. I can see great things coming from the sequel, but I was slightly underwhelmed by this one. If you like fantasy with some romance, check this one out. 

Quote: "Once upon a time, there was a man as great as the gods…
But even the great can tremble with fear.
Even the great can fall"

Tag Tuesday - The TBR Tag

1. How do you keep track of your TBR?
Currently, I have a Goodreads shelves of all the books that I own that are on my TBR. But I don't tend to make monthly TBRs and just go with the flow. 

2. Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?
Now it's mostly eBooks but they are pretty even at the moment. I do think it will become mostly eBooks in the future because I have no space for physical books.

3. How do you determine which book to read next?
Whatever I'm in the mood for or what I am excited about. I have a hard time reading things I am not into, especially right now while I'm in university because I don't have a whole lot of reading time.

4. A book that’s been on your TBR the longest?

It's a tie between Across the Universe by Beth Revis and The King's Diamond by Will Whitaker. I got them around the same time probably 2 years ago. I have them both in physical copies and should get to them soon. 

5. A book you recently added to your TBR?

This one was one sale and I couldn't pass it up. Welcome to the family :)

6. A book on your TBR because of its cover?
I honestly I don't think I've bought a book solely on the cover. I always read the synopsis first. The beauty may draw me to read the synopsis, but if I don't think I'd enjoy it then I wouldn't buy it. Unless it's free. Then who cares right? 

7. A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?

I am not planning on finishing The Maze Runner Trilogy or it's Prequel. I just wasn't into the first 2 books and I don't want to push myself through it if I'm not going to enjoy it. I am a bit curious about what happens but I can just watch the movie right?

8. An unpublished book sequel on your TBR that you’re excited for?

This is cheating, because it's already published but it only JUST came out. I am super excited to get to this one because I absolutely loved Snow Like Ashes and I need to read this one ASAP.

9. A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you?

I need to read this one too. I have both Cinder and Scarlett on my shelf. Hopefully I'll get to read it soon. I'm still in no rush to read it but I'll make it a priority soon.

10. A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?

Everyone loves this series and I own the whole thing! I haven't even touched any of them yet. Someday. Someday.

11. A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

I have wanted to read this one since I got it a few months ago. However, I still haven't gotten to it yet. It is becoming a priority and hopefully I'll get to it by the end of the year.

12. How many books are on your Goodreads TBR?
Currently on my TBR Goodreads shelf there is 78 books! 

Stacking The Shelves #7

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tyngas Reviews.

Signing up for the BookBub emails might have been the worst idea ever. BUT they are deals so I have too and it's no worse than buying a coffee everyday right? That's how I justify it to myself. I also just checked my freebies Goodreads shelf and I forgot about half of the ones I picked up. Opps. 

Purchases eBooks

I pre-ordered Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch and it just came out! I am so excited to read this and I'm going to read it soon. It's like 3rd on the TBR pile. So Excited. Now today on Kobo, The Queen of the Tearling was $1.99. I couldn't pass that up then I checked out the sequel and it was also $1.99. I couldn't say no so now they are both mine.

Free eBooks

What Books did you pick up this week? Do you have a book buying problem too? 

Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Fantasy
Publication: 07/25/06 by Tor Fantasy
Series: Mistborn
Pages: 643 pages
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary:
Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land.

He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and even the Lord Ruler himself. A new kind of uprising is being planned, one built around the ultimate caper, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine, a street urchin who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a Mistborn.

My Thoughts:
This was awesome. It may have taken me forever to read, but it really is an interesting story. It might have been a huge book but I never felt bored. I was engaged with the story while I was reading it and the world that Sanderson created was so clear and mystical. I felt like I had a good grasp on the world and how Allomancy worked. Often when I read fantasy, I get lost and don't understand the world. This definitely didn't happen with The Final Empire. 

I have had this problem where I haven't been able to get into the characters while I read. This hasn't always been the case, but recently I just haven't cared enough about any character to really get invested. Until I read this book. I am attached to all of the characters. Vin is an amazing lead, and her growth throughout this novel was stellar. I can't wait to see how far she comes in the next 2 books. I even shipped her hard with Elend. I fell hard for the 2 of them together and I have strong feelings regarding them together. This doesn't happen to me! Where are all these feels coming from. 

I am dying to know how the story continues in the next few books. For now, I am going to take a break and get some of the mess that built up read. This book has really shown me how interested I am in the fantasy genre and that I shouldn't back down from serious high fantasy. I definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's fantastic. 

Quote: 
“Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.” 

Tag Tuesday: Reading Habits Book Tag

I wasn't tagged in this but I thought it would be fun to do. I am not sure where this tag originally came form so if you know let me know. Now onto the questions...

Do you have a certain place at home for reading? 
Currently, I love to read in my bed. I have a small apartment and my bed is definitely the comfiest place. I also have a big read chair in my room that I occasionally use too but I'm mostly reading on my bed.
Bookmark or random piece of paper?
I use bookmarks. I have a bunch of cute bookmarks. My favourite are my Pokemon magnetic from Craftedvan. They're super adorable. I also have magnetic Star Wars ones which are super cool too.  

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a certain chapter/a certain amount of pages? 
I would prefer to stop at a the end of a chapter or a natural place to stop. However, we all fall asleep while reading or get suddenly interrupted. But I do prefer to stop in a natural place to stop.

Do you eat or drink while reading?
If I'm hungry I do but I tend to read in the evening before bed so I can't really eat then. However, if I read during the day, I love snacks.

Multitasking: music of TV while reading? 
No multitasking. I can't focus on a book if there is too much going on around me. Music I can do sometimes, but the words distract me. I do like to listen to movie scores when reading but I am lazy and haven't done this recently.

One book at a time or several at once?
I usually have 2 going on at a time. I like to be reading one book and listening to an audiobook. I listen to audiobooks when I use public transit or an wandering around. Then I have the actually book that I am reading. I don't like doing much more than 2. I has happened recently, but I don't try to make a habit of it.

Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently in my head. I get thirsty if I read out loud.

Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
I am not scared of breaking the spine. There is something beautiful about a book that looks read and well loved.

Do you write in your books?
This is a tricky question. I have never written in my physical books but I do enjoy highlighting putting notes in my eBooks. 

Stacking The Shelves #6 - Free Books are Cool

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tyngas Reviews.

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in lovely Canada. I am headed home tomorrow for Turkey dinner and I am super excited. Thanksgiving is an awesome Holiday because I love to eat and to relax. Hopefully, this means that I will have lots of time to read this weekend. This week I might have picked up lots of books. I joined BookBud and I downloaded a few Freebies. I also picked up a few more marked down eBooks. Let's see what I grabbed this week!

Purchased eBooks

  

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan                                                         

I pre-ordered this one and it was automatically added to my library on release day. I have already started reading this one and it's going pretty well. I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series so I wanted to jump on his new series before I get way too behind. I haven't read The Hero's Olympus series yet but whatever.....    

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

This one was only $2.99 and I was intrigued. Lots of people really dislike this book and that makes me want to read it more for some reason. It is compared to The Selection which is a super guilty pleasure series for me so I thought I might like this one in the same way. I don't know, we will have to see. 

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger 

This seems really interesting. I don't normally read this genre but lots of people are into Gail Carriger so I grabbed this book from Kobo's Thanksgiving sale. Woohoo 

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton 

I have heard lots of amazing things about this book. I normally enjoy Historical Fiction so I also grabbed this one from the Kobo Thanksgiving sale. 

Freebies

This is one of the first times I picked up Free Books. Why haven't I done this before, Who Knows? I don't feel as bad if books that were Free build up because I didn't have to pay for it! I have actually heard of both of these stories before so hopefully I'll enjoy them.

Netgalley

The Carnelian Legacy by Cheryl Koevoet

The Misadvetures of a Playground Mother by Christie Barlow

Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington

I nearly forgot that I got new books from Netgalley this week. I need to stop requesting books, and read the ones I've already requested. But these books look awesome and I couldn't help myself. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read these beautiful books. 

By the looks of it, I have a lot to read. I better get to it then! Let me know if you've read any of these books and what books came into your possession this week.

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Genre: Science Fiction
Publication: 02/14/2014 by Crown
Pages: 369 Pages
Source: Library Paperback
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: 
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

My Thoughts: 
I FINALLY finished this book. Even though it took me forever, I still really really enjoyed The Martian. This is a surprisingly hilarious book, you wouldn't think a space survival book would be humorous but it is. Mark Watney is a sarcastic bastard and I absolutely loved his character. Even though he was left on Mars to die, he looked on the bright side of things and made a joke about whatever bad situation he is in. I absolutely loved his character and I might have a crush on Mark, who doesn't?

I think part of the reason that this book took me longer than normal to read this book is because it was very technical. There is a lot of scientific explanation for different situations which was awesome but slow to read. I am a scientist so I loved to read it but if you don't know a lot about science don't avoid this book. It's written so that anybody could read it and enjoy it. However, I still find it hard to believe that the government would spend millions and millions (maybe even a billion) dollars to save ONE person from Mars. But if I suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story I am good. 

I really hope that some people get excited about science by reading this book. There is some inaccuracies but as a whole it was very well down. Andy Weir seriously did his research before writing this book. I also really enjoyed that there were women scientists in important roles during the story. This isn't something you see a lot of, but it's important to show girls that science/engineering/computer science are great areas of study and you shouldn't feel held back from because you are a girl. 

Conclusions: Hilarious story with lots of science! Perfect for all the geeky nerd out there but it's still great no matter what your into. 2 thumbs up from me. 

Review: Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication: 10/14/14 by Balzer + Bray
Series: Snow Like Ashes Series
Pages: 416 Pages
Format: Library Audiobook
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: 
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.


My Thoughts: 
I absolutely loved Snow Like Ashes! I haven't been so excited about a book for a long time. The story was beautifully crafted and I loved the world this took place in. I really enjoyed the combination of the rhythm kingdoms and the season kingdoms, it added a lot of depth to the story. Tension and political intrigue is present between all the kingdoms adding a whole extra element to the story. Winter had been enslaved by the Spring Kingdom. So you really feel for the Winterians' and throughout the book I had no idea how they'd be rescued from slavery.

Meira was an awesome main character. She didn't have the "I'm so special" main character complex which I appreciated. She was strong, brave and just wanted to mean something to Winter. It was interesting to see her internal struggles to feel connected to a kingdom she had never really known. This book does however have a slight love triangle, however it is one that makes sense. I am not sure how this will play out in the rest of the trilogy but I hope it never becomes the prominent story line. Both of these boys however are very swoon worthy. Prince Theron is the charming, gentleman you dream of sweeping you off your feet and making you a Princess.

The ending was fantastic. It wrapped things up in this story but leaves so much open to happen in the following books. I don't know how the sequel is going to play out but I already have it pre-ordered! I am dying to know what's going to happen to these characters and their kingdom.

Conclusions: Clearly, I loved this book. It easily became one of my favourites this year. If you are a fan of fantasy, seriously try this one out. It's got great characters and amazing world building. Read it!

Top 10 Tuesday - Book Series That I Have Quit

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Broke and Bookish

This week we are talking about Bookish things that we have quit. I decided to talk about all the book series that I have quit. These are book series that I didn't enjoy or like enough to continue with other books. If these are your favourite series, that's great but I just wasn't into them.

1) The Losing It Companion Series by Cora Carmack

Losing It is a New Adult Romance which isn't exactly my genre. I wasn't a fan of the "I'm a virgin and I think people will look down on me because of it" trope. I just don't care what happens to the characters in the other books. I know they follow other couples but I'm not a fan of New Adult Romance at the moment.

2) Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

I enjoyed the first book but I just don't care enough to finish the series. It's a bit juvenile for me and the mystery isn't enough to make me read the other too. There are just better things out there.

3) The 100 by Kass Morgan

 

I just didn't like the 100 at all. It fell really flat for me. I am not going to pick up the other books and if I have a burning desire to find out what happens I'll watch the TV series.

4) The Ender Quntet by Orson Scott Card

I really enjoyed Ender's Game. It was shocking and awesome. I was on my toes reading the ending of the book. However, I am very happy ending the story there and I don't really need to know what else happens. It works amazing as a stand alone so I am going to keep it that way.

5) The Hundred Oaks Companion Series by Miranda Kenneally

I read Catching Jordan at the beginning of last year and it was very meh. I am not into YA Contemporary, especially when it's just high school/boy drama so I don't intend to read any more books in this companion series.

6) The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy by E.L James

I read 50 Shades of Grey just to see what all the fuss was about. I came, I saw and that's all I needed. If I want to know what happens I'll watch the movies. (Even that is unlikely)

7) The Clique by Lisi Harrison

I was into this series way back when and I never actually finished the series. I have no plans to ever finish it. It's a very juvenile series and I'm too old for that crap.

8) The Wicked Years Series by Gregory Maguire

I read Wicked a long time ago and it was an OKAY book. I am just not interested in the rest of the series.

9) The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

This is a series that so many people love but I just couldn't do it. I wasn't a fan of Twilight at all and I didn't bother reading the other books. I however saw some of  the movies so I get the gist of what happens.

10) The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I keep saying I'm going to finish this series but the more I think about it the less likely it'll be that I actually do finish it. I just didn't enjoy the first 2 books and I don't feel like forcing myself through the other 2. I own them all because I bought the box set but I doubt that I'll finish them.

That's them all! Let me know what book series you are quitting.