Sunday, August 27, 2017

A Darker Shade of Magic Review

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 / 5 stars
Date Read: 8/11/17

This book is going to be in my top ten reads of 2017 and it also made it into my all time favourite books list. I will admit that I was a bit confused in the beginning of the story but it didn't take me long to figure out how the word and magic system worked.

In A Darker Shade of Magic there are parallel worlds. We have Grey London, White London, Red London, and Black London. The main character Kell is an Antari which means he is able to travel between parallel worlds.

I really like the characters in this book. We have two main character is A Darker Shade of Magic. Kell the antari and Delilah or Lila. This book is told in first person and we follow both of their point of views. A few other minor point of views are also scattered in the story.

Lila is such a strong character and always speaks her mind. My favourite character though is Kell.

The writing was amazing. Everything flowed nicely and there is something about V.E. Schwabs writing that makes the story even more addicting.

I ever read a book like this before so if you are looking for a unique book I highly recommend this!
Maybe a full detailed review will come later because right now I am still trying to gather my thoughts.

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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Unexpected Everything Review

The Unexpected EverythingTitle: The Unexpected Everything
Author: Morgan Matson
My rating: 4.5/ 5 stars
Date Read: 8/5/17

Morgan Matson book favourite list
1) Second Chance Summer
2) Since You've Been Gone
3) The Unexpected Everything
4) Amy and Roger's Epic Detour (only one I didn't like)

The Unexpected Everything follows a girl named Alexandra (Andie) and she had her whole summer planned out. Things changed though. Her father is a politician an is now under investigation and her plans to go somewhere cancel. Andie is now spending the summer walking dogs and of course hanging out with her friends.

Andie's friend group consists of Toby, Bri, Palmer, and Palmer's boyfriend Tom and eventually one more. One thing I like about this book is that the friendship between the characters were a big part of it. I feel like most contemporary are more focused on the Romance but this one focused on both and it made the story so much better.

Let's talk about Andie's summer job. A dog walker! One of my dream jobs. I mean dogs are just so adorable.

Back to characters. I thought all the characters had good character development. Toby was my favourite character till the end of the book. I started to like Clark more.

I predicted something that happened (can't say without spoiling but if you read it you probably know.) I will admit though contemporaries tend to be more predictable than fantasy books.

I love that we saw some characters from Since You've Been Gone. I fangirled a little (okay a lot) while reading this scene. I will recommend reading Matson's books in order of publication because sometimes she mentions some characters from her other books and it is always fun to see some of your favourite characters again.

Overall I highly recommend reading this book and it is a perfect summer read. I will say though that this book is long.


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Saturday, August 19, 2017

The Distance Between Us review

The Distance Between UsTitle: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Date Read: 7/29/17

I really really liked this book and it is definitely my favourite Kasie West book I have read so far. It is cute and very easy to get through and it has an important family dynamic in the story as well.

We follow a girl named Caymen Meyers, a seventeen year old who helps her mom run a doll store. SHe studies the rich that come into her moms doll store and watches them spend money on useless things. Then a young boy (17 years old not that young) named Xander Spence picks up a doll for his grandmother and at first glance Caymen can tell he is pretty rich. The two of them eventually become friends. Very predictable plot but addicting.

I liked how the story wasn't to instalovey but it was still a bit instalovey but not like I just met you and I am going to kiss you the day I met you inta love. The relationship took time to develop and they started off as friends.

I liked both characters. Caymen is a believable character and I liked how much she cared about her mom and that she helps her with the store a lot. Xander, I expected him to be a jerk but he was really sweet and I enjoyed him as a character.

Small love triangle in the beginning as well but nothing huge. It did not interfere with the story at all in my opinion and the triangle went away very quickly so it is not to bad. As a person who usually hates love triangles, I wasn't bothered with it at all.

I felt like the ending was very open ended and I wanted to know more and a sequel or a short story telling us what happened would be nice.

I would recommend reading this book between fantasy reads or giant books because you can read these really fast. Yes the book is cheesy at times. Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.

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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Flame in the Mist Review

Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1)Tittle: Flame in the Mist
Author: Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 3/5 stars
Series: Flame in the Mist book #1
Date Read: 6/16/17


I really enjoyed this book and I do recommend it. Do not go into this book thinking it will be very fast paced because it isn't. Also do not judge the book by the first half of the story. The first half was so boring that I considered DNFing it. After reading some reviews people said that it picked up and it did and I ended up enjoying the book more than I thought I would.

Do not go into this book thinking it is going to be a Mulan retelling because it really isn't. The only thing that is similar to Mulan is that Mariko, the main character, dresses up as a boy. It takes place in Japan.

If you don't know this book follows a girl named Mariko and she journeys to the imperial palace to meet her future husband but on the way there there was an attacked by the Black Clan and they were trying to kill Mariko before she reached the palace. Mariko survives and dresses up as a boy to infiltrate the Black Clan and get revenge.

I won't lie there is a romance in this book. I won't say with who but I will say that I ship it even though I hate it at the same time. Do you know what I mean.

I never read a book set in Japan before and it was honestly a refreshing new setting. I enjoyed the world although I thought it could of been developed a little more. I also wish the characters were developed more as well.

I honestly am still confused a bit by this book since I don't remember much of what happened in the beginning because I skimmed it so try not to skim the beginning if you plan on reading the book and it is hard but try. It may allow you to enjoy the second half more than I did.

I do recommend this book but if you are in a reading slump do not read it because the beginning is again, very boring and it will probably push you in a farther into the slump. I will also say that if you love fast paced books, this may not be for you.

I have heard mixed reviews about this book so I cannot promise you will like it.

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Sunday, August 13, 2017

To All the Boys I've Loved Before Review

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1)Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before book #1
My rating: 3.5/ 5 stars
Date Read: 6/21/17

I never heard anyone say that reading this book is sort of stressful in the beginning and other parts but most of it is extremely cute.

This book is told in first person and we follow Lara Jean's point of view. I will admit Lara Jeans narration sound a bit younger than her actual age. There was something in the writing style which I cannot pin point that makes her narration seem younger.

If you don't know this book is very well about Lara Jean and every time she has a crush she will write a letter to them pouring all her thoughts into the letter and address it and everything but never send it. Instead she puts it in the hat box that her mother gave her. There are five letters in total. One day someone sends them out and she has no idea who and now they all find out how she felt about them.

Now this is the part that stressed the crap out of me. I knew the letters are going to be sent out. It says it in the synopsis. I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting and it is stressful knowing something bad is going to happen the main character and you have to keep waiting. After that happened though the majority of the book was really cute and I found myself smiling at the computer. (ebook)

#teampeter because I honestly found Josh annoying throughout most of the book. I actually liked Peter and that is all I am going to say due to spoilers.

When Lara Jean figures out that the people got the letters, the way she does is kind of funny.

Overall I do recommend this book. For the most part it is cute and fluffy.

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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Along for the Ride Reveiw

Along for the RideTitle: Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
My rating: 4 /5 stars
Date Read: 7/2/17



I really enjoyed this book and this is probably my second favourite Sarah Dessen book unread so far.

This book takes place during summer and we follow the main character Auden as she spends her summer with her father and stepdaughter in a town called Colby. Auden is a straight A student and lives either her mother. Her mom works at a university. Auden's life is very academic based.

I loved the family aspect of the book and how well I thought it played a bigger part of the book than the romance which was a nice change. I really liked Auden's brother Hollis though. Even though he is a minor character he may be my favourite.

The character development I guess was pretty good. I felt like some of the changes the characters went through were realistic.

The world building in my opinion was good. I could visualize Colby clearly in my head. Colby is a town by the beach. A great place to spend the summer in my opinion.

I honestly did not ship the main character with the love interest. In fact I ship none of the characters with any characters except for Maggie and Adam.

Overall I do recommend this book!

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