The Circle (Spoiler Free) Review

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggers
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
Date Read: 1/15/17

Schools book club pick of the month

I thought The Circle was just okay. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I had problems with it but at the same time this book is also very eye opening.

This book follows a girl name Mae Holland who is hired to work in The Circle, the worlds most powerful and most influential internet company. She is very excited to work there and we basically follow her and see The Circle grow through her eyes. The age of transparency is beginning and people's lives are becoming more public.

The one thing I really liked about the circle was that it shows us what could potentially happen in the future. How influential technology is on our everyday lives. I really liked seeing that we need to know the boundaries of how far we should share our lives to the public because everyone deserves some privacy in their lives.

My biggest complaint about this book was that there was no chapters. Maybe it was the edition I read but there were no chapters. Not having chapters made the books seem longer than it actually was and it had a influence on how much I enjoyed the book. I also want to say that The Circle was a bit over descriptive and could be shorter.

The ending was not what I expected it to be. It was all this build up for one or two pages of conclusion. I feel like if they shortened parts of the book before the ending and extended the end the book could of been so much better.

As for the characters. I was not very attached to them. I didn't care about them ad I didn't like Mae especially in the second half of the book. I could really see how working in the Circle changed her and not in a good way. At least based on the events that happened the change in her personality was realistic. Still very confused based on that ending.

The concept of this book was very cool and unique especially with all these new technologies today. I feel like this book could of been better if it was written differently but I did still enjoy it. Overall a meh read but I still think that it was an important read and that if you want to pick it up I would say go for it.

There is also a movie and it stars Emma Watson so I will be watching it.

View all my reviews

The Shadow Queen (Spoiler Free Review)

Title: The Shadow Queen
Author: C.J. Redwine
Series: Ravenspire #1
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
Date Read: 1/9/17


The Shadow Queen by C.J Redwine is a retelling of Snow White. I will say that I did not hate it. I enjoyed some parts of it however it did not stand out in any way and I had a few problems with it.

This book follows a girl name Lorelai and she is a fugitive who is trying to claim the throne that is rightfully hers. The Evil queen has currently sits on the throne and has killed her father. In order to succeed, she must master a weapon that they both have in common which is magic. See tropes.

The Shadow Queen is not the most original book in the world. Person tries to get back throne and is one of the special people who has magic. Also Instalove. I did not care for the romance one bit, but I did understand that it was a retelling of Snow White and it did need a romance element in the story in order for it be follow among the lines of the story.

I wish we got more of Irina's perspective in the book. Yes we did see what she was thinking here and there throughout the story but I wanted more. I found her story line more interesting than the other two characters. The other one being Kol, newly King of a neighboring kingdom and need help defeating ogres also known as huntsman/prince.

Here is the part that bothered me the most. This book reminded me to much of the TV show Once Upon A Time (at least the early seasons) because of something that the evil queen does.

There were some interesting parts of the story despite the negatives. Some people can shape shift into dragons. I mean that is cool and definitely was one of my favourite elements in the story.

Overall the Shadow Queen was another generic fantasy retelling but I did like it but I know that those people who hate generic fantasies that are predictable will probably not like this. Yes I did predict a lot of things that happened in this book but I always try to predict things that happen in books. It is a bad habit. This book is hard to recommend but if you want to give it a shot I would say go for it.


View all my reviews

Poison Study (Spoiler Free) Review

Title: Poison Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study #1
My rating: 4.5/5 stars
Date Read: 1/6/17


I first heard of Poison Study a few years ago and it sounded very interesting, however I never had the motivation to pick it up. Last year I started hearing more things about this book and they were all positive and I finally decided to pick it up. I wish I read it sooner because I really enjoyed it.

Poison Study was released in 2005 (I think if not around that time) and it still is amazing. We follow a girl name Yelena who murdered someone and is next in line to be executed. Instead of being executed she is offered a position to become the Commander's poison tester. She takes the position and things happen. I won't say too much because going into the book only knowing the bare minimum about it helped me enjoy this book more.

Yelena is a strong character. Throughout the book she becomes even stronger and smarter. I liked her as a character and am excited to see what happens in her story next.

I also really liked Ari and Janco and they are probably my favorite characters in the entire book. Both of them had a sense a humor while knowing when it was time to be serious and not be funny.

The story line and plot of the book was interesting as the story kept me interested from the beginning. It took me about two or three chapters to get into the book but once I a passed that mark I was hooked. Things kept happening throughout the story making me want to continue reading and kept me wanting to know what happens next which is a good thing when reading a book.

I really want to continue this series soon and I hopefully will. It was originally a trilogy I hear but now it is not. If I don't finish the entire trilogy I do hope to finish the original trilogy.

View all my reviews

Before She Ignites Review

Title: Before She Ignites
Author: Jodi Meadows
Series: Fallen Isles Trilogy #1
My rating: 3.5/5 stars
Date Read: 12/26/17


When I first heard of Before She Ignites I knew had to read this book. A fantasy book with dragons and a main character with anxiety sign me up. One thing I did like about this book is that the main character Mira's anxiety was present throughout the entire book. It didn't just go away. She also takes medication to help with her anxiety with is also mentioned though out the story.

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer and she knows she is special. Very unoriginal I know but the story is still good trust me the pros outweigh the cons. When Mira discovered a secret that challenges the things that the treaty she was named after stands for, she is thrust into the pit as a prisoner.

I will admit the first half of the book is very slow and boring. Nothing happened. It was constant talk and it was very boring but the second half of the book was so good which is why I rated it 3.5 stars and not 4.5 like I would of if the beginning was good. This book is very political heavy as well so if you like political fantasy's you will probably love this book.

I wish dragons played a bigger role in this book. Yes they are important but there were not a lot of dragons in the book. I think we will see the dragons more in the future books and I am excited to see what happens next. Overall I do recommend this book. Just remember to push through the first half because it is very slow.

View all my reviews

Top 10 Books I want to read in 2018

I have so many books I want to read in 2018 so I thought I would make a TBR of the books I want to read the most. These books are not including 2018 releases and all of these books have already came out. These are in no particular order. Books in a series will be grouped together as one.

1) A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas











2) Empire of Storms / Tower of Down by Sarah J. Maas




3) Renegades by Marissa Meyer











4) A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab











5) The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson











6) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor












7) In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeomi Park












8) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling













9) Moxie by Jennifer Mothieu











10) Dumplin' by Julie Murphy










So those are the top ten books I want to read this year. I didn't go into a lot of detail but most of the reasons are the same. Either the books have been on my TBR for a long time, I want to catch up or finish the series, or it was a 2017 anticipated release that I didn't get to. Hopefully writing this list down would motivate me to read the book. Thanks for reading!

Favourite Reads of 2017

Today I will be sharing my top ten favourite books that I read in 2017. So far I read 86 books and I enjoyed the majority of them. In fact I struggled making this list so I do have honorable mentions at the end. I tried to make this list in some kind of order from my least favourite of the favourites to my absolute favourite. I also cheated a little and if I read more than one book in a particular series I grouped them together. We are also not including rereads on this list which is why Harry Potter is not on it.



#10 The Thousandth Floor and The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee


I read both of these books this year and loved them! The Thousandth Floor is actually my first read of the year. This book takes place in New York in the future. In New York there is a building that has 1,000 floors and we follow 5 characters who live in that building. I don't want to say much about it but yes you need to read this book. I will say this trilogy won't be for everyone. There is a lot of drama in it and some of the characters can be annoying at times but the books are addictive and very entertaining and I loved it!


#9 Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

 I was the biggest fan of historical fiction till recently and part of the reason was because of the Author Ruta Sepetys. I love her writing and her other book Between Shades of Grey and yes I loved this one even more. Salt to Sea follows 4 different character during World War II. This book taught me about events that I never knew happened during the war. It is also obvious that Sepetys did research before writing this book and I really appreciated that fact. This is by far my favourite historical fiction read ever and I cannot wait for her next book. If you love historical fiction you need to read this book or any Ruta Sepetys book.


#8 The Darkest Magic by Morgan Rhodes

 I read the A Book of Spirits and Thieves last year and I really loved it. I finally decided to pick this book up and I think I love it even more than the first book! The Darkest Magic is the second book in the A Book of Spirits and Thieves trilogy. I think it is a trilogy correct me if I am wrong. Due to the fact that it is a second book in a series I can't really give a synopsis of the book. If you were wondering whether or not you can read this series before or after the Falling Kingdoms series it doesn't matter. You can read this series without even reading the Falling Kingdoms series but both are amazing and you should read both of them. The Darkest Magic easily got a spot on this list. I love the characters and the world basically everything about it. 


#7 A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I read both ACOTAR and ACOMAF this year however ACOTAR did not make it onto this list. Sarah J. Maas is one of my favourite authors so I am not surprised that ACOMAF made it on the list. This is the second book in the ACOTAR trilogy following Rhysand and Feyre. Fun fact Rhysand is not on my top ten favourite male characters of all time he is though on my 11th favourite. I know an unpopular opinion. I enjoyed this book so much more than the first one though. The Night Court and the Inner circle are absolutely amazing. I am excited to continue on with the series. The second half of the book though was just wow.


#6 Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

 I absolutely love Morgan Matson's books and when I saw that this book was available on Overdrive I had to pick it up and it became and instant favourite. Second Chance Summer follows a girl name Taylor Edwards and her dad receives terrible news and her parents decide that they would spend the summer at their lake house one last time as a whole family. It is a cute summer contemporary book that has some romance in it as well as family. Yes family plays a big part of this book and I think that is one of the reasons why I love this book so much. The characters were also amazing and I really loved this book and I remembered after I finished it I literally recommended it to all my book loving friends. I also read The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson and I did enjoying it just didn't make the list.


#5 Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes 

Yes another Morgan Rhodes book made it on my list. I can't give much of a synopsis for this book because it is a sequel (5th in the series). The Falling Kingdoms series is known to be the YA version of Game of Thrones so for you Game of Throne lovers you may want to check this series out. The first four books are on my all time favourite books list for there is no surprise that this one also made it on the list. The world of Mytica is amazing and the characters are phenomenal. I also need more Magnus and Cleo in my life. I cannot recommend this series enough and cannot wait for Immortal Reign to come out. Also have you seen that cover! I am fangirling so hard right now.


#4 Warcross by Marie Lu 

Yes I still haven't read the Young Elites trilogy yet but I just had to pick up Warcross. I heard so many good things about it and had high expectations going into it and I was absolutely blown away. When you have high expectations going into a book and those expectations were exceeded, you know you read a good book. Also note that the author said this book takes place ten years from now. I am still not over it. Basically Warcross is a virtual reality world. Emika Chen is struggling to pay rent and is a bounty hunter trying tracking those who use the game illegally. When Emika is is need to make money fast and accidentally glitches herself into the Warcross opening game. Instead of getting arrested, she is contacted by the creator game to spy in the tournament to fix a security problem. If that does not sound interesting I don't know what is. I loved this book so much and cannot wait for the next book 


#3 Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper was a surprise favourite. I read this book around the beginning of the year and I read Hunting Prince Dracula around October. I loved both of them instantly. I cannot decide which one I loved more. Stalking Jack the Ripper follows a girl name Audrey Rose Wadsworth and she lived in London during the time of Jack the Ripper and gets very interested in the cases. One thing I love about her is that she is a strong character and she works in her uncle's laboratory to practice forensic medicine even though it wasn't considered lady like. She didn't care what others thought and I really liked that. Also Thomas Cresswell is definitely one of the most swoon worthy guys I read about in a very long time. I highly recommend this book especially during the Halloween time.


#2 A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering Shadows by V.E. Schwab

 I heard so many amazing things about this series and I knew A Darker Shade of Magic would become and instant favourite but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. In this world there are parallel Londons which are named after colors. Black, Red, White, and Grey. Kell is from Red London where magic and society is flourishing. He is one of the last remaining Antaris who can travel between Londons. There is also another character named Lila Bard and I love Lila so freaking much. I also love Kell and Rhy and basically I love all the characters. I haven't read the last book yet because I don't want the trilogy to end. Of course I know that V.E. Schwab is writing some sort of spin off series and I am super excited for that and I cannot wait to read the last book even though I am so nervous to read.


#1 Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare 

If you have been following me on Instagram (@andreasbookishthoughts) you probably know I love Lord of Shadows. This book had all the feels. Yes you do need to read The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy first. Lord of Shadows may also be my second favourite Cassandra Clare book! I love the characters especially Kit. I wasn't a fan of him in the first book but now I freaking love him and he may be my favourite character in this series. It keeps changing. The ending though. I won't say too much but as soon as I finished this book I knew this book was going to by my favourite of the year.

Honorable Mentions

This section is in no particular order

1) Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

2) Simon vs. The Homo sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

3) Geekerella by Ashley Poston

4) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

5) Wires and Nerves by Marissa Meyer

So those are my favourite reads of the year 2017. I already posted my most disappointing reads of the year which you can find here. I still have a few other end of the year posts coming. What are some of your favourite reads this year? Hope to see you in my next post! 

Invictus Review

Title: Invictus
Author: Ryan Graudin
My rating: 4/5 stars
Date Read: 12/18/17

Invictus is the first Ryan Graudin book I read and I loved it. I am not a big fan of of time travel books as I didn't enjoy most of the ones that I have read. I actually haven't heard a lot about this book and I don't think a lot of people read it. Definitely an under hyped book.

Invictus is kind of hard to explain without spoiling it but it is best to go into this book without knowing too much but here is a small synopsis. We follow four different characters who are aboard a ship called the Invictus. The main character is Farway and he is born outside of time and is the son of a time traveler. He fails his entrance exam into the governments program and ends up taking a job in the black market stealing valuables from the past.

This book is very unique or at least I found it very different from the other books I have read in the past. Maybe it is because I am not a fan of time travel books and don't read them often.

I absolutely love the characters. I love how all the characters are close and work so well together. All of them are unique and have there own special talent. Imogen (I think) has a pet red panda. I repeat pet red panda. That made the book twenty times better. I also really liked Imogen. Gram is one of my favourites in this book for some reason. I think it is because he can solve Rubik's cubes. For those of you who never tried to solve a Rubik's cube, they are extremely hard to solve. About three years ago I finally learned to solve it and now it is very easy and I can solve it under 3 minutes. I never read a book with a character that also liked to solve Rubik's cubes so I found that very unique.

The missions were very interesting. I would say that I enjoyed both halves of the book, though I did like the second half a lot more. I found the very beginning of the books slow and a bit confusing. It took me a couple chapters to fully understand the world and how everything works but once I understood it I fell in love with the story. The time travel element is so cool and the other thing that I can not say due to spoilers is amazing.

Overall I do recommend this book and more people need to read it!

View all my reviews