Friday 29 March 2019

Sequels I'm Unsure About


There has been a lot of sequels that I've lost excitement over due to many reasons, so I thought I'd list some of the books I've been thinking about recently.  

Sequels I'm Unsure About:


A Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Montague Siblings book 2) by Mackenzi Lee - After reading some reviews of this book, and finding a lot of people were disappointed in the characters, my excitement has decreased a lot.
    
Defy Me (Shatter Me book 5) by Tahereh Mafi - I loved the original Shatter Me trilogy and was so excited for the new books in the series to come out but I ended up being really disappointed in Restore Me so now I'm unsure of whether or not to read the next one.

Wayward Son (Simon Snow book 2) by Rainbow Rowell - I love Rainbow Rowell's books and I liked Carry On but I wasn't overly wowed by it and I've now forgotten a lot of what happened in it so I'm not as excited as a lot of people are for this book.


The Fiery Cross (Outlander book 5) by Diana Gabaldon - I love the overall story of Outlander but I haven't continued with the story in a few years and don't know if I want to go back to it or not.
  
Sea Glass (Glass trilogy book 2) by Maria V Snyder - I don't really know if you have to read the Glass trilogy to continue with the Poison Study series but I don't find this trilogy as exciting as the first three Poison Study books.

Marked In Flesh (The Others book 4) by Anne Bishop - I liked the first three book in the series but the series doesn't really leave much of an impression on me.


What sequels have you lost excitement over?

Friday 22 March 2019

The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag


I thought it'd be fun to do a tag because I haven't did one in a while and I've seen this one going around recently and liked the questions.
The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag was created by Books Nest.


QUESTIONS: 

A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read
I thought for this question I'd switch it up and ask whoever is reading this to recommend me one of their favourite all time books in the comments. 

A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up
The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano - I love Lauren DeStefano's writing so I've been excited for this book since it was announced but I still haven't read it yet.


A book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t gotten round to finishing yet
Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai book 2) by Tiana Warner - I started this trilogy fairly recently (just last year) and I really want to continue it soon because I enjoyed the first book a lot.


A classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but never actually read
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - I've heard a lot of quotes from this book and they always sound so interesting and makes me want to pick up the book.


A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air book 2) by Holly Black - I feel that everyone seems to be talking about this book since its release and I think I've already read some spoilers on it.


A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet
The 100 by Kass Morgan - The 100 TV series is one of my all-time favourites but I haven't read the book it was based on.  I don't think I will read the book since I've heard it's very different from the show. 


A book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - I've seen so many pictures of the book and they all look so pretty and it's making me want to go buy this book already.


Have you read any of these books? What are some books that you feel you should have read already? 

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Spring 2019 TBR


Spring is here so I thought I'd show some of the books that I plan on reading this spring and this is also the Top Ten Tuesday (a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) topic this week.  There are a lot of new releases in spring that I want to read also but I thought I'd keep this list short and only list the ones that are already out.


A Girl Called Shameless (The Exact Opposite of Okay book 2) by Laura Steven
Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle book 2) by Jay Kristoff
Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard



A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic book 2) by V.E. Schwab
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air book 2) by Holly Black
Wildcard (Warcross book 2) by Marie Lu



What books do you plan on reading this spring?

Tuesday 12 March 2019

Top Ten Tuesday- Standalone Books That Need a Sequel


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Standalone Books That Need a Sequel. 


Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
I really liked this book and would have loved to read more about the characters and their friendships with each other.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
I read this book at the beginning of last year and loved it so much.  I loved the writing and the characters and really wish I could read more of both.

I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman
I loved this book.  The characters and story were great, I would love to read more books about them.

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
I finished this book just this month and I enjoyed most of the book but I didn't like the ending that much so I wish there was another book to wrap things up.


I thought it would be easy to choose books for this topic but I realised that I'm happy that most of the standalones I read ended as standalones.
What standalones do you wish had a sequel?

Tuesday 5 March 2019

Top Ten Tuesday- Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is: Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With.  I only chose a few characters for this week's topic since it was hard to choose because most characters go through some very bad times.


Clary (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare) - I know a lot of people don't like Clary's character but I do and I loved reading about how she became introduced to the Shadowhunter World and I think she'd be a good character to switch with because then you'd get to experience that firsthand.

Angel (I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman) - I'd like to switch places with Angel because in the book she meets her favourite boy band and that would be great to experience. (Totally not imagining myself meeting GOT7 or BTS right now).



Lou (A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood) - A Sky Painted Gold in set in the 1920s and Lou attends some great summer parties.

Harry Potter (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling) - Harry Potter goes though a lot over the HP series but I think it would be interesting to experience all that magic.  From learning he's a wizard, practising magic and attending Hogwarts, would all be amazing.  


What character would you like to switch places with?

Monday 4 March 2019

Book Review: Song of Sorrow (Sorrow #2) by Melinda Salisbury

Book: Song of Sorrow
Series: Sorrow book 2
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Genre: YA fantasy

{I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own}

Sorrow Ventaxis has won the election, and in the process lost everything... 
Governing under the sinister control of Vespus Corrigan, and isolated from her friends, Sorrow must to find a way to free herself from his web and save her people. But Vespus has no plans to let her go, and he isn't the only enemy Sorrow faces as the curse of her name threatens to destroy her and everything she's fought for.

My Rating: 5 STARS

My Review:
I loved Song of Sorrow, it was such an exciting read.  Song of Sorrow begins with Sorrow trying her best to hold Vespus off on his plans whilst also trying to protect her friends and from the very start, where we see the fallout of the ending of State of Sorrow until the end where everything is wrapped up, I was so engrossed in the story.

I was already so attached to the characters in the first book but I loved them more in this one.  I loved how we got to see all of Sorrow's friends interacting together and I thought those scenes were so fun to read.  Sorrow and Irris's friendship was still heavily focused on in Song of Sorrow which I was glad to see because I love their friendship.  We also see more of Luvian and his family in this book and I loved reading more about him.

There are so many great characters in this duology and I loved how well written they all are.  I liked how much Sorrow grew from the beginning of this book and where she is at the end, her character journey was so nice to read about.

The plot was full of surprising twists and turns like the first one and I loved how in Song of Sorrow you could really feel the stakes were raised.  

Overall I loved Song of Sorrow and I think it's a great ending to the duology.  If you liked the political intrigue in the first, you will love this one.  I thought it was an exciting read from start to finish with amazing characters that I'm going to miss reading about. 

Friday 1 March 2019

February Wrap Up 2019

What I Read:


Nana vol 1 by Ai Yazawa - 3 STARS 
Nana vol 2 by Ai Yazawa - 3 STARS 
I did like the first two volumes but I don't feel fully connected to this series yet but I definitely think it's a series where the characters grow a lot as the series goes on so I'm hoping I'll love the next few volumes more.


Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman - 4 STARS
Starfish is one of those hard hitting emotional books that talks about a lot of heavy topics so at times it was tough to read but I'm really glad I did read this book.  I loved the writing and I really liked the way the author described anxiety in this book.

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4 STARS
I liked the overall plot of this book and the premise of how your life could be different had you made another choice.  I loved the writing, it felt so easy to read and flowed really well, I quickly flew through the book.

In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children book 4) by Seanan McGuire - 5 STARS
This is my favourite book in the Wayward Children series, I loved the other books in this series but I felt a special connection to this one.  I loved Lundy's story, it's so beautiful and bittersweet and I loved the world and the characters Lundy made friends with.  


State of Sorrow (Sorrow book 1) by Melinda Salisbury - 4 STARS
I reread this book for a readalong this month and I enjoyed reading it again.  It's a great fantasy with a lot of political intrigue and interesting characters.

Song of Sorrow (Sorrow book 2) by Melinda Salisbury - 5 STARS {I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher}
I loved Song of Sorrow and thought it was a great end to the duology.  I was so engrossed in this book and loved reading about all the characters, I'll be posting my full review of it soon.


My Bookstagram pictures for February (xo_reader_kyla):



TV:  I watched some great TV series' in February, like:
Tidelands- I started watching this on a whim, I didn't know too much about it but I really enjoyed it.  It's a series about Sirens and it's full of mystery, I liked a lot of the characters and the last few episodes were full of action and twists.
Strong Woman Bong-soon - This is now one of my favourite kdramas, I loved it so much.  I loved the overall storyline and loved the characters, I didn't want this series to end. 
The Umbrella Academy - This has been getting a lot of hype recently and I have to say it definitely deserves the hype.  I now have quite the obsession with this series.

MUSIC: I loved the comebacks of MONSTA X (Alligator) and Dreamcatcher (PIRI) this month, I've been obsessed with these songs.

I'm happy with my February wrap up, I read and loved a lot of the books and found some favourite TV series in February.  I hope March will bring the same.  What did you read or watch in February?