Book Review/Discussion: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Beware: Spoiler Warning)

Ah, Sarah J. Maas, once again you have successfully completed the art of tearing my heart into shreds and only leaving my tears in its wake.

This book was great. I liked it—a lot. Okay, more than a lot, really.

But...

I'm going to be 100% honest and admit that I did not love it. And I definitely did not like it nearly as much as its predecessors: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and The Assassin's Blade.



In all sincerity, I feel that the main reasons why I liked this book and gave it a 5 star rating despite it's somewhat mediocre storyline are because 1. The author is Sarah J. Maas. 2. I love the series far too much to let anything cloud my appraisal for it. And, 3. A lot of things happened in this book that I had been waiting for and wanting to happen for a very, very long time.

After the jaw-dropping, action packed ending in HoF, you better believe it when I say I went into Queen of Shadows prepared for the most exciting, thrilling, action filled book in the series yet—or so I thought.

Instead, I was first met with the complete opposite.

My new Bookstagram series: #ExploringBookshops

If you don't know already, I am an avid Bookstagrammer, and in fact, it was posting about books on Instagram that got me started in the field of book-blogging.

Now that I have had my Bookstagram for over three years, one of the struggles I seem to constantly face is a lack in creative inspiration, along with a fear of my posts being too repetitive. There are days, I admit, when I become bored of my account, which lead me to take a break and wait to be hit with a sudden impulse of creativity for my photos.

Recently, I've been thinking quite a lot about ways that I can improve my account and "up my game," I guess you could say. And, hence, I came up with the idea of creating a new series on my Bookstagram: #ExploringBookshops

The hashtag is pretty straight forward, and it surprisingly has not been used yet on Instagram, so I have decided to utilize it myself, in what I hope becomes an interesting collection of photos from all sorts of bookshops (preferably independent) that I visit around my town, state, and one day across the country (and maybe even world!).

My goal is to expose my book-loving friends and followers to the magic of independent bookstores and to encourage people to support their local bookshops, as they are owned by hardworking people who share just as much of a passion for books as we do.

Each time I visit a new bookshop, I will snap a photo, research about its history/ask the employees about the shop, and post about it on my Bookstagram with the new hashtag mentioned above.

I'm very excited to begin this new series, as not only will it inspire me to explore as many independent bookshops as I can, but it will hopefully inspires others to the same as well.

Love is in the Air: Top 5 Books Every Romantic Should Read

Across the world, February is known as the month of love, and for a lonely book lover like me, it doesn't mean relationships, but romance novels—lots of them. Captivating romance novels are very hard to find, especially when originality comes into play. I've concocted a list of the 5 best romance novels every teen should read. From the cobblestoned streets of Paris, France, to the frigid chill of Chicago, these following novels evoke a deep sense of what it must feel like to be in love, and before you know it, you've fallen head over heels in love with relatable fictional characters and dream-like settings.


1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
 Perkins is by far the queen of contemporary romance, and Anna and the French Kiss is the living proof. This novel follows American student Anna Oliphant as she travels to Paris for boarding school, where she meets the "English-French-American-Boy-Masterpiece" Etienne St. Clair. Talk about swoon worthy. I guarantee that you'll leave this book feeling gut wrenched and yet extremely happy. This book definitely gives you one heck of an emotional rollercoaster—from tears of distress to tears of joy, and it'll stick with you forever.

2. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Time travel and romance? Yup. I know. This book is quite the tearjerker. Niffenegger's poetic way with words allows her to literally reach into your heart and give it a good twist as you read this novel. An absolutely remarkable romance, this book tells the tragic love story of Clare Abshire and her husband Henry DeTamble—who also happens to have the power to time travel. The problem: he time travels completely against his will. The novel explores Clare and Henry's relationship, from the day they met, and how Henry's ability to travel is both incredible and terrifying, with the boundaries of their relationship constantly being pushed to the breaking point.

Update: #CurrentlyReading

I thought I'd make a little post sharing what I'm currently reading, and that is: Four by Veronica Roth.

It's been 2 years since I first read the Divergent trilogy. And to finally be back in the world of Factions is absolutely incredible. When I first heard that Veronica Roth was going to be releasing Four after her Divergent series, I didn't quite take any interest in it. After finishing Allegiant, I thought I was done with the books and knowing more about Four just didn't seem quite necessary. 

But, here I am, 2 years later, reading the book I never thought I'd read, and I'm actually enjoying it. There's something satisfying about hearing a story from a different perspective. Now that I'm discovering more about Four's world and what he went through, I feel like I've established an even higher level of connection with him than I had while reading Divergent. 

What's your current read? 

Wanna keep up with all my latest reads and such? Check out my bookstagram.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - Book Review

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: June and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dive and wears red lipstick and does the talking for both of them.

But three years later, at sixteen, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways... until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life.

The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to each other, they'd have the chance to remake their world.



Review: I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when I turned the last page of this magnificent novel—I hadn't felt such a vast array of emotions all at once in a very long time, and I definitely wasn't expecting this book to give me a punch in the gut like it did...

January Wrap Up - A Successful Reading Month

What a month! In January, despite the vast amount of things I had to get done for school (finals suck), I happened to get a pretty hefty amount of reading done, which I'm genuinely happy about. My Goodreads goal for 2016 is a grand (not really) total of 50 books, because last year, I missed my goal by ONE FREAKING BOOK. 49 out of 50. Can you tell I wasn't happy? I literally wanted to slam my head against the wall. I don't think I'm ever going to forgive myself...but anyway, that's a whole other story for some other time.

Today, I'm going to be sharing with you all the books I read in the month of January, along with my ratings. A link to the Goodreads info will be listed beneath each book.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch - Mini quick review

My rating: 2.5/5 stars
Genre: YA Fantasy
Synopsis: Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now the Winterians' only hope for freedom is the high survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter's magic and rebuild the Kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter's defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians' general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend and future king, Mather—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she's scaling towers and fighting enemy soldiers just as she's always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn't go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics—and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.




Talk about disappointment.

I went into this book expecting so much, especially after hearing so many wonderful reviews, but honestly...