Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly tag hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s prompt is…

Top 10 Recommendations for Audiobook Listeners

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I swear I feel like 2017 just started but like … IT’S ALREADY ALMOST JULY?!

I know I have complained a lot about all of the disappointing book releases I have read this year, but I think it would be nice to point out the bright shining reads as well ❤

These are listed in a completely random order.

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Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

 

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The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

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Monsters of Verity series by Victoria Schwab

 

 

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 Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

 

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Wayfarers series by

 

 

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Starflight series by Melissa Landers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

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The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

This one might be a bit tough of a listen for some people … because it’s heavy with the sexual content. Surprisingly I was fairly mature enough to feel

 

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What are your favorite reads so far this year? Comment below!

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Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Series That Got Better

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Series that got better

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Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 What are your favorite Hat-to-Love romances? Comment below!

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Favorite Children’s and Middle Grade Reads

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Favorite Children’s and Middle Grade Reads

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This post felt like a walk through memory lane for me! There are so many books and series I wanted to include in this list that I just didn’t have rooms for. I do find it funny that Samantha (the current host of T5W) pleaded with everyone to stray from Harry Potter and Percy Jackson (assuming that literally everyone was going to include those in their list this week) – well … I have literally never read a single HP or PJ book in my life … oops!

But here are some of my all time FAVORITE children’s and middle grade books and series that I HAVE read.

– Listed in random order –

Audiobook Monday | July.10.2017

Monday is the day I get my life together … cleaning the house, grocery shopping, you know … all the boring adulting type things. So needless to say … I don’t get a lot of reading time in. Luckily I have a bit of an obsession with audiobooks which happen to be the perfect way to read and adult at the same time! This is where I post about my audio-reads on Mondays when I can.

This Monday however, I will actually be heading back home from a week-long vacation in Florida (sigh … goodbye beautiful beaches … I will miss you!). So I will be spending at least 8 hours in the car and what better way to pass the time than audiobooks!

So, what am I listening to this Monday?

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Favorite Hate to Love Romances

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Hate-to-Love romances

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Ok seriously, this week’s prompt was “hate to love ships” … that was the wording … no explanation at all. So, my brain automatically went into a tailspin of “what does this mean” and “but there are multiple interpretations” and so I decided to interpret two ways with two separate Top 5 Wednesday posts this week. See my other post for this week HERE.

For this post,  I listed my top 5 favorite romances that started out as hate and grew into love (which by the way is one of my favorite tropes of all time!)

In my other post, I listed my favorite ships that either make me feel guilty for shipping them because they are oh-so-wrong or almost no one else ships them but me. My guilty pleasure ships if you will. You can find that post HERE.

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Hate-to-Love just has that special tension and emotion that I cannot get enough of! And usually it lends itself well to broken characters, characters with a shady backstory, or epic misunderstandings. All of these make me FEEL FEELINGS and I love it so much! I honestly have about a million examples of this but I have narrowed it down to a 5.

These will be listed in random order

*POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS BELOW*

Top 5 Wednesday| Top 5 Ships I hate to love

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) and is currently hosted by Samantha (Thoughts on Tomes). For more information, check out the group on Goodreads.

This week’s prompt is…

Top 5 Ships I hate to love

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Ok seriously, this week’s prompt was “hate to love ships” … that was the wording … no explanation at all. So, my brain automatically went into a tailspin of “what does this mean” and “but there are multiple interpretations” and so I decided to interpret it two  ways with two separate Top 5 Wednesday posts this week. See my other post for this week HERE.

In my other, I listed my top 5 favorite romances that started out as hate and grew into love (which by the way is one of my favorite tropes of all time!)

For this post, I am going to list my favorite ships that either make me feel guilty for shipping them because they are oh-so-wrong or almost no one else ships them but me. My guilty pleasure ships if you will.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

for Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare, Witchlands series by Susan Dennard, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

Top 10 Tuesday | Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly tag hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s prompt is…

Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017 So Far

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I swear I feel like 2017 just started but like … IT’S ALREADY ALMOST JULY?!

I know I have complained a lot about all of the disappointing book releases I have read this year, but I think it would be nice to point out the bright shining reads as well ❤

These are listed in a completely random order.

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Roar (Stormheart, #1) by Cora Carmack 

Hardcover, 380 pages

Published June 13th 2017

I just finished this book just over a week ago and I loved it SO so much! I still feel like I’m living in this world! My review is basically me fangirling for 15 minutes. Read the review here. 5/5 stars.

Roar | Why I Loved the Romance

 

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack – and why I loved the romance in this book

This aside is about the romance in this book, and while I kept it major spoiler free, if you are sensitive to any sort of mild spoiler information, emotional progression etc. you may want to avoid reading!

Apparently there is a review going around that voices the opinion that the romance in this book is problematic and could be triggering to victims of domestic violence and rape. I actually find this to be baffling only because I felt so strongly the complete opposite. While I respect the reviewers opinion and right to have it, I am concerned with how some people are responding to it’s suggestions as fact. Many even lowering their own ratings because of it.

A book review is essentially a persuasive essay, including one point of view and only the evidence and facts necessary to support the writer’s opinion (including my own). I simply want to give voice to another reader’s experience here to consider.

The bottom line is, we all read a book and process I based on our own personal context. So I wanted to share my experience with the romance in this book being both a domestic violence and rape survivor.

Book Review | Roar

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

Hardcover, 380 pages

Published June 13th 2017

5/5 STARS SOOOO HARD OMG!!!

ASDGOEPRNRKGJAEGA:REGOAEWHATISLIFE?!?!

What kind of wrapping paper do you think Cora Carmack prefers?

Gold and white stripes … or funky cats?
because…

I AM GIFT WRAPPING MY SOUL AND SENDING IT TO HER AS PAYMENT for this beautiful boooooook OMG!!

I.
Am.
Wrecked.

I STAYED UP LITERALLY ALLL FRICKING NIGHT!!! Like I have not gone to sleep … and it is 8:30am now … so … I will not be sleeping … again … and IT WAS WORTH IT ❤

I see spots and I don’t think they are real?! My eyes are rebelling.

BUT why do I have to wait for things?! I need book 2 now though … the universe owes me AT LEAST THIS!!!!!

PREPARE THYSELF … because this review is going to be a lot of random fangirling, poorly flowing points and epic gushing because I really adored this book!!!

Also I am running on a crazy lack of sleep right now … so the writing on this review is going to be awful … oops

The Story

(Goodreads synopsis):

“Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.”

Burn, Rewrite, Reread | Book Tag

I was tagged by Danielle @ Life of a Literary Nerd (check her out!), and it looks like so much fun!

Start by randomizing your Goodreads “read” shelf, pick the first three books, and assign an option to each. 5 rounds …. let’s do this!

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Round 1

Burn

The Notebook (The Notebook #1) by Nicholas Sparks

This was an easy choice because I hated this book. This book was SO BORING! I was literally listening to this audiobook while watching paint dry and I think the paint situation was more exciting. I gave this book 1/5 stars.

Rewrite

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This was a little tougher because The Great Gatsby is honestly one of my all time favorite stories! Unfortunately I find Fitzgerald’s writing to be a bit cumbersome. This is the only reason I chose it for a rewrite vs. City of Ashes. I just feel like it could be cleaned up a bit to make it an easier read. Still this book garnered a 5/5 star rating from me.

Reread

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

I didn’t love this series as much as I did Clare’s other works … but it was a solid read and I would be down for a reread at some point. No complaints really. Somewhere around the 4.5/5 stars on this one.