June Book Haul

Hey everyone!!

This month I acquired a lot of books. I'm not exactly sure how, but it looks like I'm going to need a new shelf soon! Let's get started!

1. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 5/5

I bought this book at the tail end of May so I decided to include it anyways. Fantastic read and a great conclusion to the Mortal Instruments series!!

Click here to see a summary and click here to see my review and discussion!

2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

My rating: 4/5

My good friend gave me this book as an end of the school present. I ended up really enjoying it, it was a cute and sweet contemporary.

Click here to see a summary!

3. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 

My rating: to-be-read

I haven't heard the best reviews on this book, so I'm not rushing to read it, but I have it, as my coach gave it to me,

Click here to read a summary!

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5/5 

I had to buy this book in paperback so it could look pretty on my shelf!

Click here to see a summary and click here to see my movie review!

5. Bajo la misma estrella by John Green 

My rating: to-be-read or 5/5

I also bought it in Spanish so I could practice.

Click here for a summary!

6. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 

My rating: 5/5 

I love this book so much--it is one of my favorite contemporaries ever and it is super sweet.

Click here for a summary and click here for my review!

7. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5/5

Another adorable contemporary for you :)

Click here for a summary!

8. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

My rating: 3/5 stars

I found this at my library for 50 cents. That's what I call a bargain.

Click here for a summary and here for my spoiler free series review!

9. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

My rating: 3/5

Another 50 cents buy.

Click here for a summary and click here for a series non-spoiler review!

10, 11, and 12. The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel rating: 5/5

Clockwork Prince rating: 5/5

Clockwork Princess rating: 5/5

I love this series so much and I had to buy the whole series so I could have it on my shelf in real life!

Click here for a Clockwork Angel summary, click here for a Clockwork Prince summary, and click here for a Clockwork Princess summary.

Wow--12 books this month! I hope you enjoyed my book haul and found some inspiration for the next books that you pick up!

Happy reading!

Becki xx

My Favorite Booktubers!

Hey everyone!

Today I thought that I would talk about my favorite booktubers! A booktuber is someone who does what I do, but in video format. I watch more booktubers than the ones I listed below, but these are my favorites and the ones I go to first when they have a new video out. I discovered Booktube in February 2013 when I was searching for the TFiOS trailer on youtube. I saw that someone made a video that was a trailer reaction and the girl looked like Lily Collins. Ever since, I've been hooked! Here are my top five favorites (not in order...)

1) Abookutopia

This is Sasha, and she is Lily Collins's twin! She is obsessed with the Mortal Instruments and makes many other great review videos. She never fails to make me laugh and is the first booktuber I discovered. Here are some of my favorite videos from her:
Her TFiOS review
Her Dauntless Cake Video
City of Heavenly Fire Review and Discussion




2) PeruseProject

This is Regan and she is a hilarious booktuber who loves fantasy! Regan cheers me up when I watch her and she loves books so much...it's amazing.
Her Top 10 Fictional Boyfriends
Her Top 10 Favorite Book Quotes
The Summer I Turned Pretty Review and Discussion






3) polandbananasBOOKS

Christine is one of the most energetic people ever. She has amazing hair which she always flips around, a lot of enthusiasm, and always fangirls over books which makes me happy.
"Cry Me A Book River" where Christine talks about what books made her cry
On the Swings with Shailene and Ansel
City of Heavenly Fire Booktalk which is one of her famous booktalks
(P.S. I will post a link to all of her collab videos below from BEA that she did with some other amazing booktubers because you will laugh so hard you cry)



4) emmmabooks

Emma is a relatively new booktuber but she has so much enthusiasm and is really comfortable in front of the camera! She also loves TMI, which is a very popular booktube series by the way...
TMI May: One Liners Emma did this thing called TMI May for the celebration of COHF coming out.
TFiOS Movie Review
TBR Jar

5) ArielBissett

I recently discovered Ariel and she has some of the best discussions ever! You will be hooked. (Her hair is amazing. Just saying)
Mermaid Book Reviews
Marry, Kiss, Cliff Tag
How to Read More





I love so many more booktubers, but that's all for today! If you are interested in the collaboration videos with polandbananasBOOKS, ArielBissett, and more booktubers such as jessethereader, katytastic, and elizziebooks, go here! That is the link to one of the videos, and the rest are in the description bar.

Happy reading!
Becki xx

City of Heavenly Fire Tag

Hey everyone!

Today I thought that I would do the City of Heavenly Fire tag! I first saw this on emmmabooks's Booktube channel here and the original video is from the TheFandomsAddict here. So let's get started!

Disclaimer: This may have either COHF or TID spoilers. Read at your own risk.

1) How did I discover the Mortal Instruments?
I was in Barnes and Noble one day last May and I saw City of Bones. It looked interesting so I bought it. The next day I ordered City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels from Amazon because I was hooked.

2) Favorite and least favorite book?
(Note: I am including TID in this). Favorite is Clockwork Princess and least favorite is City of Fallen Angels.

3) Most beautiful part of the whole series?
Will and Tessa becoming engaged.

4) Favorite song on the City of Bones soundtrack?
I don't know what it is called, but it is the song during the fight scene at the Dumort.

5) Favorite cover?
Clockwork Angel because of Will Herondale.

6) Favorite and least favorite female character?
My favorite female character is either Isabelle Lightwood or Cecily Herondale. My least favorite is Maureen.

7) Saddest part of the whole series?
Either Jem or Will's death (or what we thought was Jem's death). I can't decide. I just cried through the whole thing.

8) Favorite Cassandra Jean drawing?

9) Am I more excited for The Dark Artifices or the Last Hours?

The Last Hours because then we will get more Will...

10) Favorite quotes?

I have too many! Probably either:

"It was books that made me feel that perhaps I wasn't completely alone." or

"One must always be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us."

11) Funniest part of the whole series?

Either Alec saying "Why can't people control themselves?", Magnus saying, "That's awful! Someone should have told you. Tell him the wards are down.", Jace saying that weapons bring him peace, or Will being right about demon pox.

12) A character you love and hate at the same time?

Jessamine Lovelace.

13) Favorite and least favorite male character?

Favorite is Will and least favorite is the Magister or Valentine.

14) Favorite Shadowhunter family?

I love them all, but Herondales for sure.

15) What Mortal Instruments books and merch do you own?

I own all six TMI books and all three TID books. I also own the City of Bones movie.

16) Favorite and least favorite ship?

Favorite ships include: Wessa, Jessa, Malec, Clace, and Sizzy. 

Least favorite ships include: Climon, Magnus/Camille

17) Your City of Heavenly Fire theories?

Well the book already came out, but you can find mine here.

18) Favorite scene from City of Bones?

I think this means the movie, and that would be the greenhouse scene.

19) What chapter/part made you cry?

Okay. There's a list. When Jessamine dies, the whole second half of Clockwork Princess, the second time I read City of Ashes when the Inquisitor dies (after I read the TID series), when Max dies, when Malec broke up, whenever Will was mentioned in COHF, when Sebastian died, when Simon lost his memories, when Simon was chosen for ascension, when Tessa and Clary meet, and when I saw Will at Jem and Tessa's wedding at the comic online.

20) Are you ready for COHF?

I have read it twice, so yes.

I hope you enjoyed this tag! Feel free to complete it! :)

Happy Reading!

Becki xx

CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

Hey everyone!

Today I am going to be reviewing and talking about City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. The first part of this post will be spoiler free, and then the second part will be a discussion with spoilers for both COHF and the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Review:
I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. This book was truly amazing and it was a great conclusion to this epic series. It contained so much character growth from the first book City of Bones until now. It is definitely one of my favorite books.

SPOILERS BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

I have so many feels from this book!! Most of my feels were actually from the Infernal Devices references though, because every time they mentioned Jem, aka Brother Zachariah, or Tessa, or Charlotte, or Church, or Jessamine, or, my personal favorite, Will, I squealed. If you haven't read TID you should not be reading this, because I will spoil it for you, but you will not appreciate this book to its full capacity. I loved seeing Jem and Tessa finally together, and every time that Will was mentioned I started crying. For example, when Tessa says he is at Jocelyn's wedding...SO MANY FEELS. And Jessamine protects the London Institute, and Magnus says, "I hope she's at peace now" or something like that. We also saw Jem steal Church, which was hilarious. And when Tessa gives Clary Will's ring...amazing part. When Jem was speaking Mandarin as well and when he said the people who raise you are your family, he was thinking of Charlotte. And when we find out that Fray is from Fairchild and Gray...I cried.

The character development in this book was phenomenal. Alec grew so much as a character and I LOVED him in this book. Izzy finally gave her heart away and she became so much more opened and we saw her how Simon sees her. Jace grew up. Magnus learned what it means to love, and I love him...his development from Clockwork Angel to City of Heavenly Fire is tremendous! And Clary finally became less headstrong and was a strong and worthy female protagonist. I thought that she matured so much from City of Glass to here and I loved seeing her growth.

Can we talk about Alec's sass for a moment? He was so so so funny! I loved his character way too much in this book. Here are some of his best lines: "I did not make a pie for three reasons. One because I do not have any pie ingredients. Two, because I don’t actually know how to make a pie." "And three?" "Because I am not your bitch." 
"You BROKE my PHONE." (Total white girl moment, Alec)
"Straight people. Why can't they control themselves?"

Jace was just as humorous as usual too. I love in the beginning when Jordan is trying to teach him to be calm and he is like what brings you peace, and Jace says war and weapons. 

Now let's discuss Simon. Everyone thought that nothing could happen to him, but then he forgets everything he's been through because of Magnus's dad. But luckily, thanks to Magnus and Izzy, he will ascend like Sophie. I was heartbroken over this part, but this was honestly the worst thing Cassandra did to us in this book, as she didn't kill off any main characters.

The deaths! Actually if you read TID seven main people died: Woosley Scott, Jordan, Meliorn, Maureen, Raphael, Sebastian, and Amatis. Other deaths include Emma Carstairs's parents, the parabatai, one of who was Endarkend, and Andrew Blackthorn. I wasn't too heartbroken about these and I thought that Cassandra was kind of too nice almost. I was most heartbroken about Sebastian's death, believe it or not, because of the way that Clare wrote it. Honestly, this book wasn't as heartbreaking as I thought it would be though and we can all tell that Cassandra Clare likes her happy endings.

END SPOILERS


That's pretty much all for my review! The last thing is that today I am going to rank Cassandra Clare's books:

1) Clockwork Princess

2) Clockwork Prince

3) City of Glass

4) City of Heavenly Fire

5) Clockwork Angel

6) City of Ashes

7) City of Lost Souls

8) City of Bones

9) City of Fallen Angels

Thanks for reading my review! I will see you back here tomorrow for the City of Heavenly Fire tag! Let me know your thoughts on this book below :)

Happy reading!

Becki xx

The Fault in Our Stars: Movie Review

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers of the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Do not read this unless you have read the book or watched the movie.

Hey guys,

Today I'm going to be talking about The Fault in Our Stars movie. Yeah. I saw this movie at an 11:35 pm showing on Thursday night and it was so emotional.

The Acting:
Shailene Woodley was the perfect Hazel. She was so capable of showing the raw emotion and her expressions were so so so good!! (I never saw Tris or Caleb).
Ansel Elgort. Perfection. He was the best Augustus that we ever could have hoped for. He has the cutest little smirks that he makes and he was so sweet. In the first half he was the cocky, arrogant, sweet guy that he was known to be and then he slowly loses that and becomes sadder and weaker.
Nat Wolff was a great Issac. I wish we could have seen more of Issac but the trophy scene was amazing.
William Dafoe was a great Peter...I hated him so much so it was obviously a good representation.

The Book to Movie Translation:
This was so so so accurate!! The movie starts off with John Green's line..."Late in the winter of my seventeenth year..." and it was so accurate! There were a couple of things off and missing, but the two most obvious to were the video game scene with Issac where he says "I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." and the very very end. They say "Okay" at the end (the most emotional word ever) instead of  "I do, Augustus. I do." Except for that, the movie was extremely accurate. There were so many lines from the book in the movie and that made me really happy. This is a book to movie adaptation done right.

My Experience Seeing the Movie:
So what you have to know is I am a huge book crier. I have read TFiOS about twenty-five times and it is in my top three books of all times. I re-read the book before I went to the movie and I was dressed in my 'Okay? Okay' shirt with my infinities necklace. I went in expecting to cry a lot, as I had previously cried reading the book. So I went in with my friends and started watching. I first started crying when Hazel was taken to the ICU. I was laughing whenever Ansel made a joke, and the trophy part was funny and emotional all at once. When they went to Amsterdam I was crying and when they went up to the Anne Frank House I was crying. And when Augustus tells Hazel I pretty much began sobbing and bawled the whole rest of the movie. The pre-funeral scene was so emotional and so perfect. So was the gas station scene. And when Shailene and Nat point out how pretentious Ansel is....oh so beautiful! Anyways... I cried a lot in this movie and was the loudest sobber in the theater. My friend's mom, after the movie, was like, who was crying so loudly? And that would be me.

My Thoughts on the Movie: (aka a really long ramble)
It was really really really really really good!!!!! There were a couple of flaws in the book, like when it might sometimes be a bit unrealistic. But then the movie admitted that was unrealistic...for example, Gus's speech to Monica's mom, and then he says "I can't believe that worked." Also, the end. I needed my "I do, Augustus. I do" line. The letter that she was reading was exact and then it wasn't. But I still loved it.Overall, I loved this movie so so much and I am probably going to see it again.

I hope you guys enjoyed my review...it was really long. I'm sorry if it was a boring rant. I just have a lot of feelings.

Happy reading!
Becki xx

P.S. My COHF review is coming...I really loved the book! I just need to re-read it so I can have a good discussion for you guys. See you soon!

Reading in School Tag

Hey everyone!

Today I was watching a video on Ariel Bisset's channel that she did a while ago about Reading in School. I found this subject really interesting, so I decided to complete the tag that she wrote.

Elementary:
1) What techniques do you think teachers should use to engage young readers?
I think that teachers need to encourage kids to read! Tell them why reading is so enjoyable, have discussions and clubs about reading, and overall make reading fun.

2) Do you think that it's the schools' job to instill a love of reading in children?
Yes, absolutely. The school and the parents' job.

3) What was your favorite elementary school read?
For what I read that was actually in class, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. For what I read outside of class, Harry Potter.


High School:
1) Do you think an incorporation of YA books should be made? If so, which YA books would you add?
I definitely think that YA books should be added to high school curriculum. I don't think that we should emit classics completely, because they are still important, but one YA book a year wouldn't harm anyone. I would add a John Green book (either TFIOS or Looking for Alaska) or The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. And my English teacher recently told me that The Book Thief is being added to the tenth grade curriculum, which is really exciting.

2) Do you think it's important to read books from a wide variety of nationalities?
Yes, I do. I only read books in general from US and the UK and I really want to change that. I think part of the problem is in school that is what they teach you are the 'right' books to read.

3) What was your least favorite book in high school?
My least favorite book was The Pearl by John Steinbeck. It really was a quite simplistic story and it didn't catch my attention at all. (Note: I am still in high school, so this question is only what I have read so far)


Beyond:
1) Do you think there should be an emphasis on creative writing?
Absolutely! I can write pretty good essays, but every time I try to write creatively, I find myself referring back to all the essays I have written. My English teacher this year told us specifically that the standards didn't give enough time to creative writing and that she wished that we could write more, but that there wasn't enough time. I think that maybe the teachers want to do more creative writing, but they can't because they have to follow the standards.

2) How do you feel that the reading you did in school has affected the reading you do now?
I feel like the reading that I did in school has almost made me want to read more, because I want to find books that I enjoy more than what I read at school. I think that for people who don't enjoy reading as much as me, however, this discourages them from reading because they think it is 'boring'.

3) If you had to choose one book that you've read in the past year, outside of school, that had to be taught in high schools, which would you choose?
I would choose probably The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. The reason is that this book has encouraged so many people to read and has made so many people who say that they 'hate reading' read. If this book can encourage people who dislike reading to read, then I say that it is an excellent choice for high schools to read. Plus, as I have re-read it like 15 times (literally) there are some great points that teachers could use for annotating/essays.


Thank you guys for reading that whole thing, if you did :) If you want to do this tag, go ahead and leave me a link below because I find this a really interesting topic!

Happy reading!
Becki xx


P.S. Come back within this week for my City of Heavenly Fire review (I am currently re-reading the series and am on the fourth book, then I will read it!) and my The Fault in Our Stars movie review (going to the premiere!)

Rebel Belle review and Blogger Shoutout!

Hey everybody!

I have a bit of free time right now so I wanted to post a quick review on a book I finished this weekend. Today I will be reviewing Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. This is my first Rachel Hawkins book, and I went into it knowing only that it was like a Southern Belle who came into superpowers. I can tell you this book is so much more! Click here for a synopsis from Goodreads.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! The girly aspects perfectly combined with the action moments, making this a book for girls or guys. For any guys reading it, the first 50 pages are so may be a bit too pink for you, but continue to read after that and you will love it! Harper reminds me a tiny bit of Celaena from the Throne of Glass series, with her love for dresses and her still incredibly fierce personality. This book seemed like a mix of Legally Blonde, NCIS (one of my favorite TV shows), and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Nicolas Cage movie). I read this book in one sitting, and it is very fast paced and very exciting! The supernatural and action elements were plentiful, but not as plentiful as some books can be. I did wish however, that there was more description of the Paladins and the history of who she becomes. (This isn't a spoiler...just something you will need to read the book to understand fully). 

I ended up giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars because it was a really good story.

One last thing... I want everyone to go check out the blog Spellbound Books! It's a really great blog with lots of fun hauls, reviews, and many more bookish things! Go check it out :) 

Happy reading!
Becki xx

Take my Survey!

Hey everyone!

I would love it if you would take five minutes to take a survey on my blog!

Here is the link! Thank you so much!

Becki xx

Book Cake Tag

Hey everyone!

Still studying over here, but I decided to take yet another break and do a fun tag I saw on YouTube! It's called a Book Cake Tag, where you basically make a cake out of books!

Questions:

1) Flour - A book that was a little bit slow to start off but that really picked up as it went along. 
I'm going to go with The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. This book had a bit of a slow start but I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

2) Margarine - A book that had a really rich and great plot. 
I'm going to go with Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. I just finished this book recently and it was so so so good! You must read the Codex Alera series!

3) Eggs - A book that you thought was going to be bad but actually turned out quite enjoyable. 
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I was in love with The Mortal Instruments and I thought that this series could never be better than TMI, so I had really low expectations. I ended up reading this trilogy in two days...and I like it better than TMI now. 

4) Sugar - A sugary/sweet book. 
I have to go with Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This book was so so so amazing! Please go read it...I loved it so much!!

5) Icing - A book that covered every single element that you enjoy about a book (funny moments, action moments, sad moments, etc.). 
Normally I would choose Harry Potter for this but I'm not because I am using it for the one below. I have to go with The Fault in Our Stars because this book has great character development, a plot twist that I did not pick up on (until I reread it and found the foreshadowing), I cried (great compliment for a book), a very cute romance (obviously), and a perfect new book crush <3

6) Sprinkles - A book series that you can kind of turn to for a little pick me up when you're feeling down. 
Harry Potter. Definitely Harry Potter. This series is my favorite of all time and it just makes me happy. Even when I cry, even when I don't, any of these books just picks me right up. I don't even have to read the whole book; just a random chapter or two can do much for me. :)

7) The cherry on top - Your favorite book this year so far. 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. Hands down. I read this back in January and I loved it so much!!! Great plot, great story, great everything!!


Hope you enjoyed this and hopefully I will see you soon! Happy reading!
Becki xx

Shatter Me Review

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the long break in between posts--finals in high school are so not fun. However, after June 3rd, I'm hoping to have 2-3 posts a week so look forward to that!!

Today I'm going to be talking about Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I finished this book a couple weeks ago and I thought it was okay. Not my favorite book by far. The plot is really interesting and it does pull you in and make you interested. However, I'm not the fondest of the characters. Juliette seems kind of like a spoiled brat half the book and she's just whining how she can't touch anyone. I realize this is a major issue but it's really annoying. Once the book progresses, she gets better but she is one of my least favorite protagonists. Adam is alright, but I don't really like him. He just seems kind of simple minded and simple overall. Warner seems more complex and I think there is more to him than the words on the page. Which is basically why I'm reading more.

Overall, I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. This isn't my favorite series, but I am curious to know the ending and will be continuing with Unravel Me when my finals are over!

Happy reading!
Becki xx

To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Review

Hello everyone!!

Sorry this is two days late, I had competition this weekend. Today I'm going to be discussing To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. This will be a spoiler free review!

This book is about a teenage girl named Lara Jean who has an older sister, Margo, who is going away to college, and a little sister Kitty. Lara Jean has a teal hatbox from her mother that she keeps all her love letters in. These letters aren't from boys, however. These are letters that she wrote to boys that she loved when she knew that she needed to be over them. She writes every thought in these letters, because they will be for her only. One day, the letters are mailed and Lara Jean has to deal with the consequences.

This book is fantastic! I loved the characters, the plot line, the suspense, and the relationships in the story. This story is really cute and a very light read but still really addicting. Also, this book isn't just about love and romance; it also emphasizes family and sisterhood. The relationship of the Song sisters is a key element to the plot and I just loved it. This book reminds me a bit of the 80's movie Can't Buy Me Love with Patrick Dempsey. If you have seen that movie and read this book, you will see why.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and gave it a 5/5 stars on Goodreads. This is one of the best contemporaries that I have read in a long time and I am so pumped for the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You.

Happy reading!
Becki xx

Twilight Series Review (NO SPOILERS)

Hey everyone!

Two posts in one day...to make up for my lack of posts the previous weekends! I'm going to be talking about the Twilight series today.

I liked this series. I'll admit it. The plot was enjoyable and interesting. I gave the first two books and the companion novella (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner) three stars on Goodreads and the last two books four stars.

I found the writing of the series to be very simplistic. The content was not appropriate for him, but my nine year old brother would have no issues with the reading level. This made me read these books extremely quickly and fly through them with no issues at all.

Bella is a very stupid character. She is weak, until the middle of book 4, and she is VERY dependent on male heroes. If you need a strong female heroine, do not read this series because you will hate it because of Bella. I understand why Meyer made her so weak, because at the bottom of this, it is a love story.

I thought that Meyer was very creative and put a new twist on the vampire story. This was a definite plus to the story and made me enjoy it so much more! Also, I found the side characters much more enjoyable to learn about than Bella herself. 

My favorite book is book 4, when Bella is NOT telling the story and Jacob is. (Best. Part.) I still enjoyed this series very much and look forward to reading The Host.

Thanks and happy reading!

Becki xx

P.S. I'm team Edward

April Wrap Up//May TBR

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the weekend of no posts, but it was my brother's birthday and I was really busy. But here I am today with what I read this month! There are so many books (20!!) that I am just going to list them, but if I put a * next to it that means I will be doing a review on it or the series once I finish them and/or have time to do it.

Starters by Lissa Price
Enders by Lissa Price
The Evolution of Mara Dyer* by Michelle Hodkin
I am the Messenger (already have a review) by Markus Zusak
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
That Summer by Sarah Dessen
5 Summers by Una LaMarche
Uglies* by Scott Westerfeld
Furies of Calderon (review here) by Jim Butcher
The Summer I Turned Pretty* by Jenny Han
It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
Burn for Burn by Jenny Han
Twilight* by Stephanie Meyer
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
The Assassin's Blade* by Sarah J. Maas
Lola and the Boy Next Door* by Stephanie Perkins


Remember, if you want a review on another of these books or want one over another, leave a comment below!


Now for my May TBR:
(Finish) The Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE by Cassandra Clare

I'm doing the Clare-a-thon guys and I'm so excited for the last book.
But. I. Have. To. Wait. Until. It. Is. At. My. Library.
Because I can't buy it until it's a paper back. Unless I buy the kindle version...haha

Happy reading!
Rebecca xx

Book Haul-ish Thing

Hey everyone!

So today I got a package in the mail from Barnes and Noble...let's all be so happy! I was mad though because they messed up one of my books...but more details below :)

1) The Evolution of Mara Dyer
I got the second book and it looks gorgeous and I've already read it but it is so beautiful on my shelf. I will have a review/discussion on this book coming soon!

2) The Darkest Minds
I am so excited to read this! The cover is really pretty and I've heard such great reviews of it on Booktube...(and this cool thing that polandbananasBOOKS did with the author)

3) The Fault in Our Stars
I already owned this book on my Kindle but I now own it in paperback...except that the stupid Barnes and Noble messed up my copy and left a big black streak in the back of it. Thankfully, they're sending me a new one...


And I also went to the library and picked up like a thousand books to read that were on hold for me...

1) Pretties
Sequel to Uglies

2) We'll Always have Summer
The third book in the The Summer I Turned Pretty series (I need to get the first two...come to me!)

3) The Assassin's Blade
Novellas that are companions to Sarah Maas's Throne of Glass series. I'm super excited!

4) Unravel Me
I have wanted to start this series for a while now, but this is the second book

5) Burn for Burn
I don't know what this is about but I have heard really good things about it

6) Lola and the Boy Next Door
It's Stephanie Perkins...basically cute contemporary fluff that I want to read

7) Academ's Fury
Next book in the Codex Alera series which I am loving so far!


So that's it for today! Hope you enjoyed seeing what I'm going to read and know that a lot of reviews will be coming soon!

Rebecca xx

I am the Messenger Review

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to talk about the book I am the Messenger by Markus Zusack, who is also the author of the acclaimed novel The Book Thief. This will be a non-spoiler review!

I did not like this book. I didn't like it at all, really. The characters were not very interesting to me, the plot line was repetitive and boring, the love interest was stupid, and the ending was weird. I felt like the main character Ed Kennedy was kind of idiotic and stupid and just bleh. Love interest Audrey is very unrealistic and not probably at all. I loved The Book Thief so much and I had really high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, Markus Zusack's writing style here was boring and the whole story seemed to go by without Ed gaining anything in the end. I ended up giving this story a 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads because it had the potential to be very good, but did not end up being that way. I did not like this book, but other people did so you still may like it.

Have a great day!

Becki xx

Top Ten Books that Made Me Cry

Hello readers!

Today I'm going to state the top ten books that have made me cry. Number one is the book that I have cried the most in. Starting with number 10...

10) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Okay, if you haven't read this, what is wrong with you? Go read it spoilers Dumbledore dies.

9) Divergent
I just got so emotional okay? Tears were falling in a constant stream at the end.

8) The Hunger Games
Well, people die in this book. You should know that, after all, that is the whole premise of the book. I won't tell you why.

7) City of Glass
Now in tears level this is when we start needing Kleenexes. When a characters 'dies', it's all over.

6) Mockingjay
Okay if you haven't read this I'm about to spoil you: Prim and Finnick. That is what caused me to physically shake with tears dripping down my face. 

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I think this one is obvious but now we have reached the point of sobbing loudly. 

4) Allegiant
No spoilers. Just a very depressing ending. And me using a multitude of Kleenex.

3) The Book Thief
Okay at the end of this book I was so mad that I nearly threw it across my school's field. Never read the end of this book at school. 

2) Clockwork Princess
Hysterical IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK. THE MIDDLE. By the end I was a wreck and just was crying on my bed in a ball.

1) The Fault in Our Stars
I read the end of this for the first time at school and that was a mistake. Everytime I read this, I end up with red swollen eyes, a stuffed up nose, not being able to breath, in a corner of my bed sobbing.

So that's it for this optimistic post today!

Rebecca xx

Goodreads and Furies of Calderon Review

Hey everyone!

First off, just to let everyone know, I finally got a Goodreads account! I'm put on there as Rebecca and here is where you can find my profile.

On to the first book of the Codex Alera series...

It's called Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, published in like 2002.

Merlin. 
This book. 
Was so amazing. 
Like how have I not read this before.

Here is my review from Goodreads:
Wow this book blew me away. I kept hearing about it on Booktube and finally Regan at peruseproject convinced me to read it. Very captivating and very entertaining! I was glued to this book for the end of March and am so excited to read the next in the series! I love the characterization of all of the characters and the flipping of perspectives made the book much more intense. This book was filled with action from beginning to end!

Thanks for reading!

Becki xx

Confuse the Muggles Day!

Hello fellow Potterheads...

For those of you who are on Tumblr or Pinterest, you might have known that today was Confuse the Muggles Day.

If anyone is extremely nerdy like myself and dressed up, comment below because I would love to know! I personally wore Gryffindor socks, my Hogwarts sweater, my Gryffindor scarf, my "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" necklace, my time turner, and had my wand with me just in case I ran into any other wizards. Needless to say, I was the only person at my school who did this. So comment if you either saw someone dressed up or dressed up yourself!

Becki xx

P.S. Today is also Fred and George Weasley's birthday...no surprise there.

"The Diviners" Review

Hey friends--

This week I just finished the book The Diviners by Libba Bray. I haven't read all the books on my TBR because I went to the library, but I finished this and I have to say, it was spectacular. For those of you who haven't read the book, this will be a spoiler free review!

The book is set in the midst of the 1920's, where bobs are the latest fashion, in New York City. Teenage Evie is sent to New York to live with her bachelor uncle as punishment for her mistake in her hometown of Ohio. However, Evie has a dark secret--she has a supernatural power which is what got her in trouble at home in the first place. As her uncle is called to the scene of a murder, branded with a symbol, due to his knowledge of rituals, Evie may have the chance to use her power to help solve the mystery of this serial killer.

This book sparked my interest immediately from the start, with its mix of adventure, fantasy, history, and romance blended to perfection. This is the first Libba Bray book that I have read, and it was a fantastic read. The main character Evie is spunky and upbeat, but also has some very visible flaws which sometimes makes you dislike her. Sometimes during this book, I would stop and be like "Really Evie? Why would you do that?" That was my only main issue with this book. My favorite character was the actress that Evie meets, Theta, due to her bravery and the challenges that she overcame. Another cool thing about this book is the change of perspective. Usually it follows Evie from third person, but occasionally it switches to other people with secrets in the city, people who all have some connection to the murder, Evie, or supernatural powers.

Overall I honestly really enjoyed this book. It has a fantastic plot line that continues throughout the story and keeps the reader engaged. I would suggest it to anyone who likes historical fiction, mystery, or romance. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Becki xx

Divergent Movie Review (Spoilers)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW INCLUDES SPOILERS

Okay so I saw this movie last night in IMAX and it was simply amazing! I'm going to review this in a kind of organized fashion:

Characters:

Shailene Woodley as Tris

Honestly I thought that she was an amazing Tris. She really showed both her vulnerability and her strength which was great, and her character development was good. However, sometimes she just didn't hit me at the right point, like as an Abnegation when she's at dinner after the test. Maybe it was her dad, maybe not, maybe it was how that part didn't follow the book, but in very rare parts (only like twice) I felt like Tris wasn't being true to her character.

Theo James as Four/Tobias

Perfection in a guy right here. Theo James was the perfect Four and the character was spot-on to the book. I fell in love with him all over again when I watched this. The shirtless scene made me so happy :)

Kate Winslet as Jeanine

Kate did a spectacular job. I thought that her character fit the movie so well and she lived up to my expectations. Sometimes she was a bit different from the book but honestly it's a movie and they couldn't include everything.

Ansel Elgort as Caleb

I love Ansel. He's so beautiful and he and Shailene did not make me think of TFIOS at all... these are signs of good actors guys, when they can play a couple and siblings. Back to Divergent though, like Ansel was a very believable Caleb and the only part I was sad about was that they didn't give him glasses. But he does look so cute in blue.

Miles Teller as Peter

Great actor, of course. Very believable and he made me laugh.

(I also loved Christina and Will :D)

Things that I Missed:

Paintballs

In the capture the flag scene, they had those weird gun-like guns instead of paintball guns which lacked that element of fun that the Dauntless portray. I still loved this scene but I missed the humor when in the train they were testing the guns out.

Four controlling the computer

There was the whole Jeanine thing at the end where they inserted the tracker in her (proving why she hated Divergent, in my opinion: because she wasn't Divergent) and made her shut down the system. I liked when Four was still convinced by Tris to come out of the serum, but I missed all the excitement of that, and the excitement of her convincing him by calling him Tobias.

Tris calling Four Tobias

enough said

Meeting Will's Sister

I feel like this is going to create an issue in Insurgent...

Uriah

Again, obvious... though his name was on the scoreboard so I have hope.

Caleb's glasses

Personal thing...I just really wanted to see Ansel Elgort in glasses 

Christina and Will's relationship

This is such an important factor in Insurgent, plus they are adorable. It was there but not obvious

Scenes that I Loved:

When Four Beats Up Al, Peter, and Drew

Such an intense scene but lovely, well thought out, and made me love seeing Theo's strength of his character.

The Ferris Wheel

So close to the book! I loved Theo's line..."Everyone's afraid of something" was amazing. Plus both Shailene and Theo did such an excellent job in this scene

Tris holding the flag

This part is not actually like the book, because there Christina gets it, but still very, very happy and exciting scene for her.

Taking down Eric in the Capture the Flag

They were so thrilling in this part and it made me so happy.

Tris and Four's Fear Landscapes

Perfect. I felt like I was there. The whole 'think like a Dauntless' thing was really well thought out and interesting to in my opinion, even though it wasn't in the book, I really liked it. Plus Tris's fear of her and Four's relationship was spot-on. 

Tris and Four's Kiss

I'm a sucker for romance and this was just beautiful, and the actors were very real about it.

Tris's First Hamburger

From the book(!) and an entertaining scene

Will, her mom, and her dad

I bawled my eyes out. I was with some friends, my sister, and my mom and my mom always makes fun of me for crying in movies. But the girls behind us were sobbing too so it made me feel much better about myself. I just wanted to cry harder and harder! But so realistic

Overall, this movie was amazing! My favorite part was probably either capture the flag, when Four and Tris hold hands during the simulation, seeing Caleb in the Erudite compound, or the kiss. I couldn't decide. The producers did a fabulous job, however and I hope I've inspired you to watch the movie! Let me know your thoughts below.

Rebecca xx

City of Lost Souls Review and TMI theories

Hey guys!

Today I'm going to be talking about one of my favorite series. I absolutely love Cassandra Clare's writing and I think that it's really beautiful and just amazing. I just finished rereading City of Lost Souls so to begin here's a spoiler free review:

The beginning starts off reiterating with the cliffhanger that the previous book leaves us in and goes into depth of detail about the mysterious disappearance of one of the male characters. In this book, Clary grows and develops as a character and her main flaws, hubris and wanting to save everyone she loves in exchange for saving the world, are blatantly expressed. The book leaves us with yet another cliffhanger, making us anxious for the upcoming release of the final book in this series in May. Relationships are left in disarray and readers are left wondering how the characters will solve these final issues. 

Now my theories are going to all have spoilers in them so if you have not read this fantastic series, stop reading this and go read the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

1) Alec and Magnus have to get back together. If they don't or one of them dies, I will be left in a book hangover for an extremely long time. 

2) 6 are to die and one is a boyfriend. Who could possibly die? My guesses are: Maia, Jordan, and I don't know. 

3) If you've read the snippets, WHATS HAPPENING TO SIMON AND ISABELLE!?!?

4) The heavenly fire in Jace needs to be transferred to Jem so he can marry Tessa.

5) I want to see Tessa and Clary interact so badly! But Will won't be there... :(. And how does Jocelyn know Tessa?

6) Jem and Church reunite. 

7) Jace sympathizes for Will xx

Okay well now that you've heard my rant, let me know what you think of this series at the bottom. 

Rebecca xx

March TBR

Hey friends,

Here's what I'm planning to read for the first time / re-read this month. Enjoy and hope you find some good recommendations!

Currently (re)reading: 
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

TBR:
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (re)
Starters by Lissa Price (re)
Enders by Lissa Price 
Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
Divergent by Veronica Roth (re) {movie comes out in theaters March 21st}
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (re)
Allegiant by Veronica Roth (re)
Emma by Jane Austen
Magnus Bane Shorts by Cassandra Clare
Prodigy by Marie Lu 
Champion by Marie Lu
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Already Read:
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Legend by Marie Lu

Hope you enjoy!
Becki :)