2015 Yearly Recap

2015 was a very...... bumpy year for me. Overall it was good but there were a lot of lows and the amount of highs don't overshadow the lows. I often hesitated taking opportunities because change, especially big changes, scare me. I don't like it and because of that I missed out on a lot, not just in my "real life" but also with blogging. It's like I am purposely keeping myself stuck in the same routine and in the same place and I'm both frustrated that I'm stuck and I've done it to myself. Added to that is 2015 had a lot of family crisis for me. I don't want to go in depth because I don't know how my family would feel if I told you guys it, but needless to say they didn't make 2015 an especially good year for me.

There were good things that happened this year, though. I started college which was kinda of overshadowed by the stress that I haven't really figured out what I want to go for. I got a new job! Its not the best but it is still so much better than my last job which I sucked out and all of my colleagues hated me because I was bad at it. I did Nanowrimo once again and won! Yay! I take a lot of pride in this because I was behind in my word count for the majority of the month. The first two days were the only days I was caught up. When I had four days left in the month I was 10K behind my word count for that day. However, I somehow managed to get caught up and I finished it with hours to spare. Yay! I also meet one of my best friends. I don't have a lot of friends, and I'm not ashamed of this, and so whenever I meet another one I am so happy! She is da best and we were actually Nanowrimo buddies and we both won, yay!

Even though 2015 wasn't the best year I am very hopeful and optimistic that 2016 will be better. 2014 was a really good year and 2015 was kinda shit. According to the cycle 2016 will be another great year!  Its a new year and a new start. I know I sound sappy and cliche but it's the solace I am taking refuge in.

Moving on from that overly sappy and emotional rant. The books. Because of all that was going on this year; starting college, getting a new job, doing (and winning), Nanowrimo, I didn't really get to read a lot. I actually got into a huge reading slump in the end of August when school started and I never really got out of it. I used to read 6 to 8 books a month with zeal and eagerness but when August hit that went away. I don't even really know why I never got out of the reading slump. I'm hoping the excitement of the new year will kick start my love for reading once more.

~Quick Stats~

Number of books read (according to Goodreads): 52 books

My goal was 100 but I don't care that I didn't achieve that. I have actually never achieved that number, it's just the automatic goal for me. Someday I will get it *raises fist in determination*.

Also, I re-read a number of books multiple times so the actual number is probably more like 60 books.

Number of Re-reads: 15

When I'm in a reading slump I re-read a lot. So these 15 re-reads make up most of the books I read in the last few months.

Number of Pages Read: 16,305

Again, without measuring my re-reads.

Faves:

Queen of Shadows + Heir of Fire + A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. M

Because, duh Sarah J. Maas is the queen of fantasy.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

This was such a breathtaking love story and I loved reading every single page of it!

Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

I loved this contemporary not only because of the relationships, both romantic and family, but also because of the setting. A motorcycle gang that's portrayed much more realistically, hells yah!

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The writing was just beautiful and stunning!

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

I needed to know how this series continued and it was just as good as the first!

I get into much more depth about these books in my Best Books of 2015 post. 

I did not blog as much as I wanted to in 2015. I am so ashamed of this because I love blogging and I love my blog! I am so happy when I'm blogging and I don't like how I pushed this happiness away simply because I was busy. This next year I will definitely try to blog more. However, I'm not going to feel bad if I don't post as much as I want. I'm not going to let the fact that I don't publish two reviews, or even two posts, a week make me feel guilty. I realize it's okay not to blog that often nothing' wrong with it and so you shouldn't let it stress you out so much. Blogging for me is about getting away from the stress of my life and talking about books. Although, I will try and not take so many breaks from blogging. I took way to many breaks from blogging this year and I don't want to continue doing that.

I did redo my blog design a couple times this year. Every time I redo my blog it takes forever. I am very picky and I want it perfect. However, the only problem is I don't have a clear picture of how I want my blog to look. So there's a lot of experimenting and failing when I redo it. But I still love redoing it. I love how I get to be creative and I get to really make this blog my own. I am in love with the design of the blog as it is now and it took my a long time to get it this way.

How was 2015 for you? Good, Bad, Great?

Happy 2016 reading!

Best Books of 2015

I was intending to do the Top Ten Tuesday topic with this post but I forgot. I'm just going to say it honestly, I forgot and now this post  was born.

~These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

This was such a touching love story! I loved every second of reading it! I loved how their relationship grew from hostility to annoyance, to friendship, and finally to being in love. It was just so sweet which was contrasted so well with the desperation of their situation. And the writing style was just so beautiful! I am in love with this women's writing.

~Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

I read this one very early in 2015 and I am kinda ashamed of it because this was released in 2014. I put off reading this one for far to long which baffled me because I loved it!! I loved every single thing about this book! The characters were so amazing, the plot was incredible, and the world was just freakin great! I re-read this book a good 3 times after reading it. I loved it!

~Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry is such an amazing contemporary writer! I love all of her books and this one was no exception! I loved it and I especially loved the setting! I never read a book surrounding the family of a motorcycle club and I loved it! I loved the family dynamic, the love story between Emily and Oz, the plot, everything!

~Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout's writing. I just loved this book! I loved the world and the characters and the plot! The story was a bit predictable but the characters and the romance totally made up for it! This book had another romance that I am in love with!

~The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

This book was just so poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful! The writing was just so amazing and breathtaking! I'm almost certain this author could write about someone making a phone book and it would still be beautiful. Not to mention the setting and the characters!! Everything in this book was perfect! The love story blew me away! It was full of longing and heartbreak and it pierced right through your heart!

~Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

This book was full of a lot of change. Ships sank and others built in their place. I know a lot of people didn't like this but I loved it! It was a bit of a shock to read but I really appreciated it! The characters were just as strong, if not stronger in this book; they had so much depth! It was beautiful! The plot was so great and it was all so great!!

~The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception was on of my favorite books in 2014 and its sequel was just as amazing!! I loved this book and this world and I think I'm a tad too emotionally involved with these characters. I just loved it and am obsessed with this author's writing style!

~A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This book was just such an amazing read! I loved it and I'm so glad that Sarah J. Maas decided to publish another series! But back to the book. I loved the story and even though it was very focused on the love story instead of the world but I didn't care because the relationship between Tam and Feyre was so fun and amazing to read!

What were your favorite books in 2015?
Happy 2016 reading!!

Fandom Mash-Up (20)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.

With the new year close at hand, you've decided that self-improvement is the way to go. But you need some inspiration. Which characters would you pick to inspire you to better yourself. 

Rose Tyler

She is awesome and she is never afraid to go after what she wants. I sometimes have problems with that. Also, she seems so alive that just being near her would be inspirational.

Luna Lovegood

Luna is the type of person who gives no shits if someone didn't like her. I could use a lesson on that. She would also be fun to just be around.

Avatar Aang

Aang found the perfect balance between being silly and being serious. He'd go from having fun flying through the sky or making marbles spin in a circle in his hand to defeating the must feared man in the world. Also, his determination is so inspirational. 

Mulan

She is another character who seems like such a cool person. I bet she'd have so many stories to say! And again she has so much determination and that would be so inspirational to be around. 

Princess (General) Leia

She is such a smart and intelligent person! It would be so much fun and really interesting to talk with her and be her friend. It would also be very interesting to see all that she does behind the scenes because she is so underappreciated in the Star Wars series and I bet she contributes a lot more than we see. She is just so focused and determined (that's becoming a theme it seems) that it would be inspirational to learn from her. Also, she is the queen of sass.

Who's on your team this week?
Happy Reading

Fandom Mash-Up (19)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.

It's party time! You're going out for a night of well-deserved fun! Who are you inviting along?

Rapunzel

She just seems so fun and cool. We'd go on adventures and maybe she'd bring Flynn along =D!

Amy Pond

I always wanted to hang out with her so of course she's on this list! She lives for adventure and never shies away from anything. 

Aelin Galathynius 

With her we would definitely get into a very dangerous yet incredible adventures. Rapunzel would tell us a myth from her land, Amy would be like "I wonder if its real" and Aelin would suddenly perk up and be like "lets found out!". 

Iron Man

He has a fun personality and he's rich. We could go to Rome or Paris for the night and fly around in his suites. Why the hell not?

Astrid (How to Train your Dragon)

I've always wanted to meet Astrid! She seems like such a fun character and she has a dragon! She'd be the life of the party!

Who would you hang out with?

Happy reading

Fandom Mash-Up (18)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.

You've succumbed to the Dark Side (they have cookies!).  Who do you want as your mentors of evil?

Loki
Because dah. He is crazy and he loves it! One of the reasons why I love like him so much is because of how much joy he finds in the chaos. 

Rhys (ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas)
Here's another villain who seems to enjoy making chaos. Also, Rhys has so many layers and is so many shades of gray that reading about him is so interesting. And to actually see him in real life would be even more interesting. 

Regina/Evil Queen
Regina's story is so sad and I love how she tries to be good. And I think she would be such a great mentor because she could teach me all of her evil ways and manipulating plans. 


Darth Vader
Darth Vader is like the perfect mentor of evil because he is the perfect villain. He can also teach me how to control the force. 

The Master
The Master is one of my favorite villains because of how crazy he is and by the fact that he is a time lord! He also, again, have a kind of sad story and that brings so much depth to his character. Also, you're going to bump into the doctor now and again with him as your mentor. 



Who's on your team?
Happy reading

Book Recommendations: New Adult

So, a little background on this Book Recommendation. I started blogging because I wanted to share my thoughts about books. I wanted to gush and fangirl over my favorite books with people who loved books just as much as I do. I also wanted to recommend my favorite books to people and effectively have them become as obsessed about these books as I was. Over the years, I've realized I don't recommend books as much as I would like, and thus this new feature was born. I know this isn't original, hell it is probably the oldest feature for a book blog. Everyone does this and the first book blog ever probably did this. However, it is new to my blog and I wanted to do it, so I am doing it. 

New Adult is a genre that I don’t read often and because of that this post will be a little shorter than I intended my first book recommendation post to have.

"New Adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with main characters around 18-15 years of age. New Adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, moving past traumatic events, developing romantic relationships, and making education and/or career choices."

Wait for You by J. Lynn (A.K.A Jennifer L. Armentrout)

Reasons to Read: 

A very relatable character. Beautifully written love story. A hidden secret (cliché I know, but it's much darker than I made it sound). A broken main character. Amazing character development. Hot, smexy scenes. And incredible love interest.

Quote: 

“As long as the sun’s shining, shit can’t be that bad.” 

Personal Thoughts: 

This book wonderful and amazing to read! Avery is such a relatable and brave main character. She seems so real and her issues are so raw and yet relatable (she’s debilitating shy) that its incredible to read about her and how she grows. She has had this event happen to her and I won’t say what because it would spoil it, but it adds such a real and dark aspect to the whole story. Also, the fact that you don’t know what actually happen to her for the majority of the book adds this mystery dynamic to the story. Lastly, the romance in this one is great because even though they both like each other at the beginning because she has to go through these issues it makes their relationship grow. They’re not just chemistry, they develop this beautiful relationship that makes you root for them the entire story.

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Reasons to Read: 

Amazing characters and character development. A wonderfully tragic love story. A very relatable main character. Will give you all the feels!! (I am not kidding about that, I cried three separate times when reading this one).

Quotes:

"I don't want to be someone's second choice.” 

“There will never be a maybe someday.” 

Personal Thoughts: 

This book is one of my all-time favorite contemporaries! This book was just so emotional that I actually cried. I was thoroughly emotionally drained when I finished this one but in a good way. The author beautifully portrayed these character’s twisted and confused emotions and you couldn’t help but get caught up in the story and the characters. Read this one now!! It is breathtaking and beautiful!

Ten Tiny Breathes

Reasons to Read: 

A haunted main character. A beautiful love interest. Great character development. Beautiful writing. 

Quote:

“I can feel his very existence as if it's wrapping its hand around my soul, cradling it, trying to protect it from harm and I'm terrified. Terrified because I don't ever want the feeling to end.” 

Personal Thoughts: 

Okay, to be honest I didn’t like this book much. To sum it up, I thought it was full of clichés and all t predictable. However, I loved the dark aspect that was in this one. It added such an interesting dynamic to the story and made me much more invested with the main character and her struggles. And even though I didn’t like it much, so many others have and I seem to be the black sheep on this one, which is why I am still recommending it. 

I hope you go and read these books, especially Maybe Someday. If you were to read only one book from the post, read Maybe Someday!!

What are some of your favorite New Adult books?
Happy Reading

Fandom Mash-Up (17)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.


It's your first day at a magical school (WooHoo!) Who do you instantly hope will be there to make friends with? 

Sirius Black

I didn't chose Sirius because I love him, no of course not. I chose  him because he seems to be fun to hang out with! He knows all the hidden places in Hogwarts and if this new magical school isn't Hogwarts than we can explore the school together!

Celeana Sardothien

This was obvious, wasn't it? Celeana would be so fun, and also very dangerous, to hang out with. And you know that if you become one of her friends she would walk through hell and back for you. She would also be great to help with the homework because she is freaking kick-ass. 

Sophie Mercer (Hex Hall)
Sophie Mercer is so freaking funny and sassy that I fell in love with her on page 1. She is the sass queen of the YA genre for sure. I like people who share my humor and she does for sure! She is also a very terrifying and kick-ass witch!

Katara (Avatar)
I think out of this group I've made, Katara is defiantly the rational thinking one that would keep us out of made and stupid situations and would remind us to actually study. She would definitely carry us through the semester. Katara is also very kind and caring and who wouldn't want to be friends with her?

Baz Grimm-Pitch (Carry On)
I just met Baz since I am in the middle of Carry On but he is freaking great! He is sassy, smart, and loyal. I would love to be friends with him! Also, he is freaking great with magic, so if the magic in this school is like his then he would be a great study partner.



Who's would you want to be friends with?

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children Books

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

So, I read this book months ago when it first released and I never got around to writing a review. Here it is, better late than never right?

I went into ACOTAR with very high expectations. It was Sarah J. Maas and it was getting nothing but amazing reviews. After finishing it, I released my bar I set for Sarah J. Maas books wasn’t high enough. This book blew me away, I loved every second of reading it! The characters were amazing and so complex! the plot started off very predictable, but then Sarah J. Maas threw a curve ball at us and it turned amazing. The world was, unsurprisingly, just so wonderful and immersive.

To start off, I adored the characters in this book. I thought the main character Feyre was wonderfully written and had this very realistic strength to her. She wasn’t the normal, kick-ass female main character you see in fantasy. She was physically strong and she could fight, yes, but she was also very mentally strong and the fact that she was able to adapt and deal under her situation gave her this realistic quality. Being able to fight and kill everyone in sight isn’t very realistic because we don’t live in that kind of world, but being able to stay calm and focused in very high stressed situations, that’s a strength I would want. All of the other characters were written just as amazingly as Feyre. They all felt real and they had so many sides to themselves and they felt just so real that you couldn’t help but get invested in their lives.

The world was amazing! Sarah J. Maas is so good at world building! I loved reading about the world and “seeing” the world! I really wish we got to see more of the Fearie world and the different lands, but it seems like that will happen in the next book.

This book was very attention grabbing and fast-paced. I flew through the pages. However, this was due more to me being invested in the characters and wanting to read more about the world than the plot. The plot was very…generally. It was very much a first book because the majority of it focused on the characters, establishing the relationships between the characters, and world building. I was okay with this though because, like I already said, I still flew through it. Also, it allowed the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin to grow and developed, which adds evidence to the fact that this is a fantasy romance than anything else. However, I would like to make it clear that I still loved this story!

Another aspect of this plot was it was kind of predictable. However, when we got to like the 300-page mark because everything went to hell! It was here where the whole book shifted in a really, really good way. The plot did a 180, the feel and tone of this book turned dark, and the emotions you got from it turned nasty (in a good way). It went from being this slow burning and sweet love-story to death and dying. It was this aspect of the book that really made it incredible to me. It shied away from the norm and become this unique and suspenseful book. However, I will say that because this change was so sudden it was slightly off-putting. It took me a while to get back into the rhythm of things. So at first I didn’t like this but right before the end I was back to loving it again.

The emotions in this book were amazing! Sarah J. Maas has this way with words that pulls the emotions from you. If the character is feeling happy, so are you, if they are feeling sad you feel sad for them. This is freaking wonderful to read because it makes you so invested in the story and characters! Towards the end, with the shift, so many emotions poured from this book. It was so incredible to read that I have so much respect and admiration for Sarah J. Maas. I loved it!!!

Overall, I would recommend this outstanding book to anyone who can read. It has this incredible romance that slowly builds throughout the story, a world that is so intriguing you have to continue reading just to seem more of it, a main character that is relatable and complex, and it will make you feel and the feels! I can’t wait for the sequel to release, even though I am a bit wary about the love triangle that seems to be developing, but I have faith in Sarah J. Maas.

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, This is a Great book!

Happy Reading!

Mini Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Series: None

Format: Graphic Novel

Author: Noelle Stevenson

Publisher: Harper Teen

Goodreads Summary

The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it "a deadpan epic."

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Recently I've been getting into graphic novels and when I saw this one I had to get it. It was about a feisty shapeshifter, a conspiracy from the villains POV, and art; all put together in 300 pages. I will not lie, besides the plot the fact that this was a graphic novel that had almost 300 pages also swayed me to buy this one.

This Graphic Novel started out very simple, it had a simple plot, seemingly simple characters, and simple, anti-subtextual dialogue. However, I think that's where the brilliance of this novel really comes from because as the story progresses the plot becomes more complex, the characters are shown in a more complicated way like they are in fact people, the dialogue develops so it isn't so simplistic. The whole book grows and develops, not just the characters, and that brings you closer to the book and give you such a rewarding reading experience.

The plot was very interesting to read. It kept me interested in what was going to happen and what the characters were going to do, even though it was slightly predictable. I really loved how we got to see everything from the villain's POV because it made it feel much more unique and different. It also allowed us to really appreciate the characters because it highlighted the goodness and evil in everyone. It allowed the readers to see the goodness in the "villain" and the faults in the "hero".

The best thing in this whole story was the character depth the author slowly added. I don't necessarily want to say character development even though this story contained a lot of that because it was very focused on the emotions of the characters and whatever pain they had previously experienced. This was really highlighted by how the story slowly introduced the characters depth, as I previously stated because it allowed the reader to appreciate it much more.

Now, the final thing I would like to talk about is Nimona. She was one of the best characters I've read  and the fact that this was achieved in a graphic novel where character depth is a lot harder to achieve is so impressive. Her story goes from fun and silly to tragic in a heartbeat.  That is all I want to say about her because I think one reason her story was so impacting to me was because I didn't expect it.

Verdict: Read this graphic novel! It is the perfect for getting into the Graphic Novel genre and will still be enjoyable to veteran readers. It is also relatively cheap (at least for me) and I'm still impressed it almost had 300 pages because that is almost unheard of for graphic novels.




Happy Reading:

Fandom mash-Up (15)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.

You've decided to set off on an adventure across the world.  Who are your travel companions. 

The Doctor

Of course he is on this list. He is perfect because this is what he does, he travels and I would love to travel with him! Also, this doesn't specify which world, so we could go off and see the universe. 

Fred and George Weasley

I think they would make everything so much more fun and we would get into the best adventures together. Also, if we get into a pickle, they could use their magic to get us out of it. I also see them becoming good friends with the doctor. 

Merida (Brave)

She has this soul for adventure. She wants to explore and wants to see the world, which is one of the reasons why I think she didn't want to get married, because it would prevent her from following her dreams. She also stands up for herself and others, which I think would come in handy sometime down the road. 

Starfire (Teen Titans)

Starfire is an alian princess and because of that doesn't know much about Earth. She is always very interested in learning our cultures and seeing our world. So, I think she would love to come with on this adventure and since she has this bubbly personality she would be so much fun to be around. 

Katara
Katara has already traveled most of her world  and so I think she would be perfect to travel with, whether we were exploring earth or her world. Her healing abilities might come in handy as well. She is also really freaking awesome and I would love to be friends with her!


Who would you have on your team?Happy Reading

Harry Potter Moment (14)

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a  meme hosted by Leah @ Uncorked Thoughts  and Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews. The idea is to share a favorite moment, magical item, character, spell, quote, object from the books, films or J.K.Rowling herself!  How to join up &  upcoming topics here.

Rename the books in the series from Ron's perspective 

This was such a fun topic to do!! I loved brain-storming ideas and remembering what Ron's big moments in each book were!

Ron Weasley and His New Two Best Friends

Ron Weasley and The Howler

Ron Weasley and Scabbers Vs. Crookshanks

Ron Weasley and My Best Friend Is Popular and My Other Best Friend is Dating

Ron Weasley and A Keeper Only Needs Luck

Ron Weasley and The Dreaded Love Potion

Ron Weasley and Death + Sadness = Fred

What were your titles?

Happy Reading!

Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies

Series: The Wrath and the Dawn #1

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

 Goodreads Summary:

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. 

This book has been hyped up so much since it has released and I am very wary about reading hyped up books. So, needless to say, I was nervous going into this one. I had such high expectations and I was afraid this book wasn't going to meet them and I was going to be immensely disappointed. However, even with my high expectations I was blown away by this book! The characters were amazingly dynamic, the writing was breathtaking and made me feel all the emotions, and the plot was so gripping that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!

One of the things that really stood out for me in this book was the amount of POVs it had. The way the POVs were set up it allowed you to see the big picture. You didn't get to see one single individual's story, you saw them all and how they all connected to one another. This was a wonderful way to tell this story because it accented the love story between Khalid and Shahrzad and really put together the story.

The writing was outstanding! It was so beautiful and breathtaking! I could not get enough of it! It captivated me and left me wanting more. Renee Ahdieh is a brilliant author! It was so amazingly written that all of the emotions the characters felt were so real. While reading this book I felt everything the characters felt and that just made the book! It gave the characters so much more depth and made the reading experience so much better!

The characters in this book were amazing! They were so beautifully written and, as I said in the last paragraph, everything the characters felt, you felt and that added so much to their depth. I think why I loved these characters so much was because they had faults, they weren't perfect. They had problems, they had trust issues, they had hatred in their hearts, and that made them seem so real! That also allowed us to see the good in them, especially Khalid. By highlighting the characters faults, it allowed the writer to have them grow and for us to slowly see their goodness. This made them so complex and wonderful to read!

On that note, I loved how there wasn't a clear evil person or villain; everyone had a valid reason for whatever they did, whether it was raging war or killing innocents. You could never really be mad at any of the characters, even the ones ruining other's lives because they never intended for it. No one wanted to ruin anybody's lives and when they did the guilt destroyed them. This just added so much to the story because it made the characters so much more complex since you could never fully hate any of them.

The only aspect that I didn't really like was how fast Shahrzad started developing feelings for Khalid. It was toeing the line between insta-love and kind of fast love. However, this didn't really affect the story for me because of the intense and raw emotions the characters felt and the author beautifully wrote. If this book didn't have this emotional aspect to it this kind of maybe not insta-love thing would have really bothered me, but the emotions made it seem real.

Overall, this was a beautifully written an emotional raw book that blew me away! I loved almost everything about it, the characters, the world, the plot, the feelings, everything! I can't wait for the next book because I need to know how their story ends, I need to know! I would highly recommend this book to every single person ever.

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, this is a great book. 

Recommend if you like: Fantasy, the Raven Boys, & Love Stories

Happy Reading!

Fandom Mash-Up (14)

This is a new fun feature hosted and created by Micheline over at Lunar-Rainbows. For this feature, there will be a new fictional scenario each week and you will create your dream team of five different characters from five different fandoms around this scenario.

You've encountered a new monster you've never faced before and you need to learn more about it in order to take it down. Who do you want on your research/fighting team? Keep in mind that ideally, these people are both book smart and able to fight.

Chuck Bartowski
Chuck is a nerd, simply put. He his a computer genius and if any organization or governing body knows about it and are trying to hide this new monster he will hack into their servers and find out everything they know. Also, he can kick ass.

Sam Winchester
Sam was the obvious choice. He is a huge book geek, he loves researching and is very good at it, and he can get a wifi signal anywhere. So if we have to hide from the organization or governing body who are now trying to kill us, we can keep researching where ever we end up. 

Gandolf
Gandolf is the wise old wizard and not only does he know a lot about everything his magic would came in handy. His magic would open doors for us, allow us different ways to kill the monster, stun it, or make us invisible from the bad guys who are trying to cover everything up so it doesn't become public. 

Remus Lupin
Lupin is perfect I think. Not only  is he incredibly smart, but he knows a lot about monsters.He could help us research and make up a spell for killing it. Although, hopefully this whole situation will be settle before the full moon. 

Valek
Valek is known for his amazing fighting skills, but he is also really smart. He owns a freaking lot of books and I dare you to tell me he hasn't read every single one of those books and they are just for stopping intruders. Also, he is really good at spying so if nothing else he can break into the organization's headquarters and find something to blackmail them with so they won't kill us; or if that fails he can help us dismantle it so they can't harm anyone else. 



Who would be on your team?
Happy Reading