Matched by Ally Condie

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did! The beginning wasn't particularly hooking for me but after the first fifty pages I really got into it. The title fits well with the book for more than just the matching ceremony, if that was putting anyone off reading it. I gave it 3.75 stars on goodreads c:

As I've already said, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I went into it expecting to like it but think woOW OMG KFGVNDKJVN which happened.

I knew from what I've heard on booktube that she would be paired with Xander although I assumed it would be more of a love triangle. Cassia was pretty obvious about loving Xander because they'd been friends for years and loving Ky because he was a splash of colour in a scheduled life, he popped up out of nowhere and excited her which I don't imagine to be difficult when everything planned out for you.

I liked how at the end Cassia didn't kiss Xander because she was right, he would hold onto it and forever be upset over her. I suppose it is such an awful thing to happen, considering that Xander expects the Match to be perfect, as everyone else does, it's worse because you don't choose anything, let alone your life long partner.

I hate the Society, it's so invading, Cassia in the bubble on the cover shows how truly trapper she is. There is nothing left to decide for yourself, you are completely dependant on the Society so that the people can never rise up against them, Nobody knows how to do anything except their jobs.

The 'I will not go gentle' was a lovely thing to tie everything together, her Grandfather would not comply with the rules so neither will Cassia, same with Ky and her father. They are rebellious for the good of everyone, not for themselves.


Right that;s all I think! Off to read The Darkest Minds,


-Emilia

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I finished reading this about two minutes ago so be prepared for ramblings of a lunatic disorganised thoughts. (did you see what I did there?)  Not what I was expecting, and I was expecting great things. It took me by surprise that it was so different and not in any way disappointing. I loved the writing, the protagonist, the antagonist and just everything.

I gave it five stars on goodreads!

The reason for the five stars is that this book ticked all the boxes.

REASONS FOR THINKING THIS:

1) Tahereh Mafi's writing style is poetic yet not fanciful, you are not lost and confused with her astounding metaphors but are enchanted by them instead. They have a connection to the world that you understand which is where some poetic writers go wrong. 

2) Juliette is probably one of my favourite protagonists ever because she is strong even though she has been oppressed her whole life and still doesn't feel the need to unleash her gift onto others like Warner wanted her to. That is an example of her good nature and strength, it's easy for a lot of protagonists to fall into a world of revenge and destruction, thankfully Juliette is strong enough not to forget her morales and her beliefs despite her cruel world. Well, I say 'her cruel world' but it is ours, we would run and hide if we came across someone who could kill you with the merest touch. 

3)There was a clear antagonist. I hate it when books just flit from one feeble antagonist to another for no reason, it's tiresome COUGH twilight COUGH. Warner reminded me of Klaus from the Vampire Diaries. His intentions were clear, evil but clear. I want to know more about his back story, (I do plan on reading Destroy Me), I wanted more of him in this book, he was clever and calculated and didn't miss anything. As much as I liked him as a character I liked that Juliette shot him. Far too often the main character is too timid to try and pretend that they like the person standing in their way to get what they want. It only reinforced my love for Juliette's character.

4) Plot wasn't overly complicated, it had a balance between 'stuff reader nEEDS to know' and unnecessary information. Okay, I wasn't entirely sure how the book was going to progress at certain points, it didn't bother me much because I was so engrossed. Either way, it was not predictable which is probably the most detestable thing a book can be. You want to try to finish it in case you're wrong but you just waste your time, this was NOT like that at all.

Hope you enjoyed, until next time,

goodnight, 

-Emilia c:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I've been waiting so long to read this and I was not disappointed! I didn't have much idea about the plot, only what people have said about the characters and what I saw in the film trailer. Rose and Lissa are great friends and they are so well suited to each other which was really enjoyable to read. The plot was not too complicated, gentle in yet exciting, the kind of book that makes you forget the real world and whizz through a hundred pages without even noticing!
I gave it four stars on goodreads c:

Rose is one of the rare female protagonists who actually knew she was pretty and wasn't afraid to let others see it/ too. I hope that the whole 'girl doesn't know how beautiful she was' thing dies out because it doesn't encourage people to appreciate that they are pretty and beautiful. 

Natalie and Victor were very surprising villains, I liked that I didn't even suspect them. I really should have, I mean, who else had access to Lissa's room?? Ah well, I have learnt that lesson. I certainly didn't expect Natalie to become a Strigoi until a few pages before it actually did. Speaking of which, all the Russian/Romanian/anything else added something special to the whole Vampire element. After all there are so many vampire books out there it's difficult to bring something new to the theme. The Moroi and dhampirs and whatnot achieved this really well.

The balance between high schooly-ness with boyfriends and revenge and the dark politics of the Moroi was very good. They mingled together creating this beautiful world that was both old fashioned and contemporary.

I look forward to reading the other five, I'm told they really pick up after book two!

Until next time (probably tomorrow),
-Emilia  c:

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle

My first Post-Christmas read.

This is the first book in a while that has just made me happy to read because it was warm and fluffy, perfect for christmas time. The three romances were totally different and equally as heartwarming. The three romances were very different, where they crossed paths was smooth and made sense. The characters were well developed even though they each had about 120 pages (except the last one). 

I gave it five stars on goodreads.

The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson

I liked the way that it was gentle, slow almost but in the kind of easing you into the story and setting everything up kind of way. Jubilee and Stuart was the simple beginning, not too much thrown at you right from the word go. That's why it's so nice to have a book where it sets your mind at ease, it doesn't drive you insane by leaving tiny clues everywhere. It's like a restful sleep to calm you down. 

Nothing seemed particularly generic about these stories which was absolutely wonderful, I was afraid they'd all be a bit samey, alas I should've had more faith in one of my favourite authors! (john green, in case you were wondering.)

I have yet to read any of Maureen Johnson's or Lauren Myracle's books, after this I expect I will soon.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green

Something I really enjoyed about this story was (deliberately or not) the characters (to me) felt reminiscent of Pudge, the Colonel and Alaska which was nice, if you've read Looking for Alaska you'll know why. John Green has a very obvious writing style which somehow manages to translate thoughts into text really well, it's one of the reasons I enjoy his books so much. 

This section of the whole book felt like a snipet from one of his other books rather than a short story like the others, perhaps because he's the only one that has other stuff I've read/  As always I laughed aloud when I was supposed to be asleep!  There's always one character in his books that hold the bulk of the humour, in this case it was JP, in others it was Ben/the Colonel/Isaac/ect. (PS John Green is really good at building sexual tension, (PPS I felt weird writing that on somewhere other than tumblr).

Ah how I have missed John Green's books.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle

If I had to pick a favourite of the three this is the one I would choose. I liked how Addie was self-absorbed, it's refreshing to have a character with really obvious and common flaws.  (It's kind of strange how few self absorbed protagonists there are considering the staggering amount of people who are.) 

I thought Lauren Myracle handled the character flaws well and the whole guardian angel thing could've gotten really cheesy but thankfully it did not. 

Addie is one of the most real contemporary protagonists I've ever read, although I have not read many. She had a playlist of sad songs and uplifting songs and, in my mind, that felt real.

Also, who doesn't love stories that involve teacup pigs? 

I can't wait to start reading more of all of their books in the future!

s'laters,

-Emilia

PS. Christmas Books Haul-thing coming soon. (AKA when there is natural light around, ten thirty at night, shockingly, provides none)

BookTubeAThon Update #2

Where to begin? 

I read one of the books I said I would, however I enjoyed it immensely. The book I read was Skulduggery Pleasant. cKHFGKJFG I FORGOT HOW AMAZING IT IS. Derek Landy's writing is so beautiful and Skulduggery himself is so much like the Doctor! How did I not see this before? The characters are alive in my mind, they are so well crafted that I can see them in my head saying things in their own voice that never wavers. If you like sassy/witty characters, welcome to Skulduggery Pleasant's world of sass!

I do plan to read Monsters of Men at least because everyone raves about it and I really enjoyed the first two.

gUYS CHRISTMAS IS SO SOON AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?? NEW BOOKS, I AM SO EXCITED! ARE YOU?? UNLESS YOU ARE CELEBRATING ANOTHER FESTIVAL WHICH I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO WRITE FOR FEAR OF OFFENDING PEOPLE.

ahhhhhh I'm sorry, it's half one in the morning.


i will return tomorrow with more coherent babblings


Emilia

BookTubeAThon Update

So I have not being doing well this booktubeathon, partly because I want to finish the book thief before I read anything else and partly because I've been lazy.

I am enjoying the Book Thief but my interest in the story fades in and out. The narrative is quite jumpy because Death (narrator) is always telling you little snippets of new information and breaking up the story. Four years have passed since the beginning, I think, and Liesel is now thirteen which is quite confusing to read, I've found. I like it better when stories flow nicely, this one feels a little disjointed.

Anyway, I intend to finish it soon, if not I'll just read one of my other reads like Uglies or Skulduggery Pleasant because I know I'll enjoy them. Perhaps I'll pick up 'I am number four' by Pittacus Lore which I am borrowing from the library. I also want to read Artemis Fowl at some point but I could not for the life of me find the first one in the library, only the other million books!

I have decided to read Skulduggery Pleasant now instead of tbt because I want to eNJOY READING IT!

s'laters,
Emilia

Top Five Books to Re-read

Before Christmas I like to re-read many of my favourites and these are the ones I plan to at least skim through:

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Ahhhh, I just love reading any of Ally Carter's books again and again because they remind how good books can be without dragons and sorcerers and epic romances. Kat and her band of criminals are such wonderfully real characters, they are the kind of people you could actually hope to be (Sadly we can't all be the Chosen One). Kat is clever and funny and interesting. Anyone can be all those things, without needing to acquire the power of some ancient gods. The plot tricks you into thinking it's simple when really there is a maze of background info buzzing behind closed doors. The best part is that it never becomes same-y. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (spoilers)

In light of the film being released my love for this trilogy has been reignited (get it??). Catching Fire is my favourite of the three because the rebellion has started but there is still the Hunger Games which is always my favourite part. The character development between HG and CF is so amazing, you can see it especially well when she is going up in the tube into the arena for the countdown and in HG she is panicking and terrified even though she has a chance, in CF she knows she has a chance and she will use it. Oooh I'm excited.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling

Just like everyone else I want to read about Harry's first proper Christmas. I will be watching the film too because Hogwarts in the snow is my favourite landscape.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson books are easily the funniest books I have ever read. The main character is so utterly hilarious and silly and girly. Occasionally, it's nice to have someone who doesn't have the world resting on her shoulders, just the weight of getting a boyfriend. These books helped me through a sad time, if you could see the dog-eared-ness of my copies you could tell I have read them over and over and over. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

I am currently reading TBT and I have strong suspicion I shall be reading it again soon.

(BOOK REVIEW COMING SOON)

Until next time, 

-E x