Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in School

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

It's a back to school themed freebie this week, so I went with:
Books Set in School

I didn't really care for most of the books I had to read for school, so I decided to make a list (a little shy of 10) of some of my favorite books set in a school.

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling


I. Just. Want. To. Go. To. HOGWARTS.

2. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater


I heart this series so much!

3. Finishing School by Gail Carriger


Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality focuses on teaching its students fine arts such as spying, poisoning, and weapons concealment. I definitely wish those courses had been available when I was in school, lol.

4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead


Still one of my all-time favorite vampire series.

5. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta


My favorite Melina Marchetta book after her Lumatere Chronicles trilogy.

6. Shades of London by Maureen Johnson


I love how this series mixes paranormal, suspense, and humor. Hoping that there'll be a 4th book one day.

7. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins


I don't read a lot of contemporary, but this one, set in a boarding school in Paris, was a winner.

8. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray


I loved the blend of historical fiction/supernatural in this book, which takes place in a boarding school in Victorian England.

What books made your list this week?

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump

Trying to get back onto a semi-regular blogging schedule by jumping back into Top Ten Tuesday! This week's topic is very fitting because I feel like I've been battling a huge reading slump all year. :/ Maybe if I reread one of these books/series, I'll finally snap out of it!

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen


My favorite book ever. ♥

2. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding


This is my go-to book whenever I need a really, really good laugh.

3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling


4. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare


5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare


Because when I think, "reading slump" I also think, "melancholy Danish prince" lol. Seriously, though, I love Shakespeare, and this is my all-time favorite play.

6. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder


I've read this a couple of times, and the slow-burn romance still makes me swoooon.

7. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater


8. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi


I recently read Restore Me, the 4th book in the series, and it was the fastest I've read a book all year.

9. Vicious by V.E. Schwab


Another page-turner. Can I have the sequel, Vengeful, already?!

10. Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels


Written by Gene Luen Yang and featuring stunning art by Gurihiru, the AtLA graphic novels are the next best thing to having new episodes of the TV series.

What books do you recommend for breaking out of a reading slump?

Monday, August 20, 2018

Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1)
By Sarah J. Maas
Publisher:
Bloomsbury YA
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: The war with Hybern may be over, but Feyre and Rhys’s work to rebuild their court has only just begun. There’s also growing concern over discontent among the Illyrians, who fought alongside Feyre, Rhys, and their friends, as well as unease about the border between the human and Fae lands being unguarded. The Winter Solstice is approaching, though, and with it the opportunity for everyone to join in the celebrations and take a much-needed break from their worries.

Review: With A Court of Wings and Ruin supposedly concluding Feyre and Rhys’s arc, I was very intrigued to see what awaited in A Court of Frost and Starlight. I was particularly curious about which characters would be the main focus and where the future books might be headed.

Well, this novella didn’t quite turn out to be what I’d anticipated. Feyre and Rhys still feature very prominently here, and I really feel that their story ended with A Court of Wings and Ruin. While we get third person POVs in A Court of Frost and Starlight from Cassian and Mor, this is still very much Feyre and Rhys’s show, and, I don’t know . . . it’s time for them to take a backseat to other characters at this point?

The Feyre of A Court of Frost and Starlight spends her days shopping, painting, and pushing paperwork around. I have to say, the shopping killed me. Not just Feyre plunking down serious cash for everyone’s Winter Solstice gifts, but the details of other characters’ purchases, too. I really started to miss the days when Hybern could launch an attack at any moment and Feyre and co. were ready to kick some Hybern ass.

If you’re looking for action in this novella, you’re not going to find it. The closest A Court of Frost and Starlight gets to battle is some disgruntled Illyrians and Nesta death glares. There’s really not much of a plot here, either. I realize this is a bridge novella between the two halves of the series, but I still expected some kind of anchoring story line. Instead this reads more like a series of vignettes until you reach the sneak peek of the next full-length novel, which for an excerpt, felt more cohesive.

I never imagined myself saying this, but I think I’m officially tired of Feysand. There are so many times when all they can think about is how hot they are for each other, and ughhhh—the number of times they refer to each other as “my mate.” Although I noticed this in the previous books as well, it was a lot more pronounced and annoying here because with fewer pages than a regular novel, there are a lot of instances of “mate” crammed into the 200-plus pages of this novella.

It pains me to mention all these issues I had with A Court of Frost and Starlight when I enjoyed the first three books so much, but this was definitely not on the same level as the novels. As much as I was still invested in characters like Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren, the Feyre/Rhys saturation was too much. I’m a bit wary about reading the next novel when it’s released, although I must say that the excerpt was quite interesting.

All in All: I’d seen some pretty savage reviews of A Court of Frost and Starlight prior to reading it, and sadly, they do make some valid points. This novella just didn’t add anything to the series, at least for me, and I would have been fine with the series just picking up again with the next full-length novel.

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

July 2018 Recap

Goodbye July, hello August! I actually read 2 books and 1 novella in July! Woohoo! It's been quite a while since I got that much reading done in a month; it helped that the 2 books were both very enjoyable: Gail Carriger's Competence and Tahereh Mafi's Restore Me. The novella, however, was a bit of a different story. I was quite disappointed with Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Frost and Starlight. Sorta ranty review posting next week.

I also wrote my 300th review. When I started blogging 6 six years ago, I probably wouldn't have pictured myself having the dedication to write that number of reviews. Or still be blogging after 6 years, lol.

I hope you all enjoy the waning days of summer! The temps here in Florida won't get cooler for a while yet, but I'm totally ready for some sweater weather and fall Bath and Body Works scents! XD

Reviews Posted:

Featured Posts: