Top Ten Tuesday #4: books that were hard for me to read for various reasons

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday. This meme is created and hosted at The Broke and The Bookish. Every week there is a new top ten list for bloggers to take part in and enjoy!

So for this Top Ten i could only find 5 books which i consider a win since it means that i haven't read a lot of bad books or just that i haven't read as many books as I'd like to think.... Yeah...Anyway! 

1.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

This book started with premise but became so incredibly slow at times that was really difficult for me to finish. Well, there was also the fact that the heroine was pretty much obsessed with the Male main character that sometimes her behaviour was just to much for me to handle. I think this book took me about 15 days to finish... Overall though i did enjoy it as it became more fast paced towards the end at least.



2.

The Fellowship of the ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Although i really did enjoy it and reading it made me understand why everyone praises this book so much, i think that the author spend a big portion of the book describing the scenery that it made the book feel very slow paced.

3.

Pollyanna Grows up by Eleanor H. Porter

I read the first book in this series when i was 8 or 9 and really loved it- it was probably one of the first books i read by myself. The whole concept of 'the glad game' was really interesting and I had grown to love Pollyanna for her positive nature. BUT, when i got to the second book- one year later- it became very difficult for me to get through this book as easily as i had in the previous one. It might have been because i read this book during my adventure-book face when i was all about mystery and action and this book might have been a little too timid for me or because in this book Pollyanna's positivity had started to get a tad bit overbearing.

4.

Existence by Abbi Glines

I first read this book back in 2011 when i started getting into reading and really loved it. But, a few months ago when i decided to reread it, i could not, for the life of me, get through it. At one point i think i skipped about 50 pages just to get to the end. The main character, although she started as a strong female became too hung up to the love interest and suddenly the whole book started being all about the romance and everything else was put aside. 

5.

Blue Moon (The Immortals #2) by Alyson Noel.

This is another case of the 'sequel virus'. I loved Evermore, the first book in this series so much i thought this series was going to be one of my favourites. Then I got to Blue Moon. In this book, the MC changes drastically. For the worse. 

So which books did you find difficult to finish? Comment and tell me your picks or just leave the link from your blog so i can check it out myself! :D

Waiting on Wednesday #2

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we are eager to get out hands on!

Compulsion by Martina Boone

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

• Publishing Company: Simon Pulse
• Publication Date : October 28th
• Source: Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday #3: Top Ten Books On My Fall To-be-read List

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday. This meme is created and hosted at The Broke and The Bookish. Every week there is a new top ten list for bloggers to take part in and enjoy!

So basically these are the books on top of my TBR list for fall! Some of them are not out yet and I also should warn you that doesn't mean I'll be able to get through all of them during fall since i'm very busy with school this year (first year in high school and all!). !

Anyway enjoy!

1.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson

2.

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave #2)

3.

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds #2)

4.

Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (Heroes of Olympus #5)

5.

The Young Elites by Mary Lu

6.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2)

7.

Miss Peregrune's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

8.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

9.

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L Armentrout

10.

Half Bad by Sally Green

Which are your Top Ten books on your Fall TBR list? Comment down bellow and tell me! Or even better, go check out The Broke and The Bookish' blog and if you have a blog make your own Top Ten and link it in your comment so I can go check it out!

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

    The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organisation of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

The Mortal Instruments being one of my favorite series,  I had The infernal Devices high on my to-be-read list  for a-longer-than-I’d-like-to-admit time and when I finally got to read it earlier this month it really blew me away!

As a story it was well-written, engaging, full of twists keeping me at the edge of my seat at all times and action packed. It started a bit slow for my liking but I think that contributed to the world building which left me completely enchanted. I was fascinated by  Cassandra Clare’s view on the Victorian London and the fact that she tried to stay true to the rules and morals of that time such as the way she showed us through Tessa and Jessamine how women thought back then and what was their ‘duty’ according to society- we see an example of that by Tessa’s reaction on seeing Sophie dressed in gear. 

Another thing that intrigued me was how different Shadowhunter women where from everyday girls. For example, the girls who were Shadowhunters  were first fighters and then ladies whereas the ‘mundane’ girls had their mind set on finding a man and settle down and dress elegantly.  I found it really interesting observing the differences between them.

I loved the complexity of each of the characters and the way they intrigued you from their very first appearance.  By the end of the book I felt connected with them and invested in them and their storylines.

Magnus’ appearance was also an amazing addition to the book!  (Was I the only one who when I saw Camille and Magnus together I shouted: “Nooo! Malec forever!”….. Hahahaha! You should have seen the look my brother was giving me!)

Characters

Tessa, without a doubt, belongs in the small list of female main characters that I love.

She was strong willed, brave, had a functioning brain which she actually used and above all, she was a fan of literature. I loved the fact that she was willing to do anything possible to save her brother and that even though she was undeniably attracted to Will she wasn’t one of those female characters who swoons over the guy all the time and takes  whatever insult he sends their way.

Now, Will….. Oh Will…

William Herondale is one of the most complex and secretive main characters I’ve ever read about. Between his mood swings, his ability to quote famous novels and his occasional swoon worthy scenes….  I was torn between wanting to slap him and kiss him (you know, providing that, in an alternate universe, he was real *sigh*). Still, as a character he was very interesting and I’m really excited to learn more about his past in Clockwork Prince.

I really liked Jem. He was very kind-hearted and compassionate compared to Will and his story completely broke my heart but I still do like Will a little bit more…. ( Sorry Jem fans!)

Lastly, I can’t end this review without talking about my favorite character….. Henry Branwell! I adored Henry from the moment he entered the dining room with his arm on fire and without even realizing it! He is such a funny, good-natured character!

I have a feeling he’ll do great things in the next installments of the series!

Overall, this book was a solid 4.5/5 for me and not because I thought it was lacking something but because from what I’ve heard and saw this series will get even better in the next books!If you haven’t read Clockwork Angel I recommend you pick it up immediately, especially if you are a TMI fan!

Book info:

• Paperback, 479 pages
• Published, August 31st 2010
• Publisher: Walker Books
• Genre: YA / Paranormal / Historical fiction
• Rating: 4.5/5

HAVE YOU READ CLOCKWORK ANGEL BY CASSANDRA CLARE? WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT? 

Waiting on Wednesday #1

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases we are eager to get out hands on!

The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she's too busy trying to actually survive. Her town's population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she'll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie's sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can't survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her.

• Publishing company: Delacorte Press
• Expected Publication: June 9th 2015
• Source: Goodreads

Stacking The Shelves #1

Stacking the Selves is all about sharing the books you recently added to your selves. Wether they are in the form of a paperback, hardpack, ebook, audiobook, or a book you borrowed from your friend or the library and of course review book. It's hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Although it might have been a painfully slow reading month so far as i've only managed to finish reading one book and that was about 200 pages....I did do a little online shopping and now i'm here (After a 12 days' gap... well done Anastasia..) to do my first (of many) Stacking the Selves!
Enjoy!

Purchased

Anna and the French kiss trilogy/companion novels

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Comment and tell me if you read any of these books and if so did you like it? So excited to start reading them! :D

Top Ten Tuesday #2:Top Ten Authors You've Only Read One Book From But Need To Reed More

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday. This meme is created and hosted at The Broke and The Bookish. Every week there is a new top ten list for bloggers to take part in and enjoy!

1. Holly Black

I read The Coldest Girl In Cold Town at the end of 2013 and fell in love with Holly Black and her Writing! I'm planning to read more of her work in the future, and with The Iron Trial in the stores now it'll probably be soon.

2. John Green

I'm ashamed to say that i've only ever read one book from John Green, that being The Fault in Our Stars (and that days before the movie came out) but this book captivated me so much that i'll definitely be picking up more of his books as soon as i can!

3. Rick Yancey

Read The 5th Wave back in January. Still on a book hangover....

4.Neil Gaiman

Now that's just way too imbereshing... I read Coraline by him about four years ago and loved it. Yet even though i have both The Graveyard Book and The ocean at the End of The Lane sitting on my selves i have not picked either of them up.

5.Katie McGarry

Loved Pushing the Limits by her! Definitely planning to pick up more of her books!

6. Colleen Hoover

My first (and only) Colleen Hoover book so far is Slammed (which i'm planning to do a review on soon) and it 100% did quite an impression on me!

7. E. Lockhart

Her writing in We Were Liars was just.... just... I don't.... I can't....

8. Rainbow Rowell

So incredibly ashamed to say that i've only read Fangirl by her, and of course loved it but I haven't read any of her other books yet! Eleanor and Park I'm coming for you!

9. Huntley Fitzpatrick 

I was left with so many wonderful and fluffy feelings from My Life Next Door ( Expect a review in the next few days) that i just have to pick up more of her books!

10. Lauren DeStefano

\And finally i couldn't leave miss DeStefano. I have not read the whole The chemical Garden trilogy but her writing at Wither made me want to read more of her work.

So what do you think? Whom of these authors should i make a priority to read more of?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Plot:   A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

We were Liars was my first time reading a suspense novel and it was the perfect book to introduce me to this genre! This book was amazing for a number of reasons.                                    

Let’s start off with this:

                

This. Book. Has. A MAP!

 Fun fact about me: If a book has a map I’m already loving it! Judge me all you want but a book with a map is my guilty pleasure!Yet this book didn’t just start off great! With an intriguing plot and a writing style full of emotion in conjunction with the main character’s habit to use fairy tales so as to describe the events happening in her life, this book kept getting better and better!

Another thing that amazed me about this book is that, In sight, this book seems pretty thin and gives you the idea that you’ll fly through it in just a few hours, (which you will, but for an entirely different reason) but E. Lockhart’s mesmerizing writing made this 200 and something page book feel like a 350 plus one!

General thoughts: A well-written, full of mystery and quite a bit of suspense novel, We Were Liars, is definitely a book that keeps you at the end of your seat wanting more!

Book info:

• Paperback, 240 pages
• Published, May 13th 2014
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Genre: Contemporary
• Rating: 4.5/5

Top Ten Characters Who Would Have Sat At My Lunch Table In High School

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday. This meme is created and hosted at The Broke and The Bookish. Every week there is a new top ten list for bloggers to take part in and enjoy!

Behold, the strangest and most awesome lunch table gang of all time!

1.  Leo Valdez from the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

2. Tessa Gray from the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

3. Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

4. Della Tsang from Shadow Falls series and Shadow Falls: After Dark by C.C Hunter.

5. Magnus Bane from The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices and The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare.

6. Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

7. Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

8.  Morpheus from Splintered by A.G Howard

9 & 10. Katy and Daemon from the Lux Series by Jennifer L Armentrout