Series I won’t finish

The other day I was looking at my Goodreads list and thinking about all of the series I have completed. This got my mind thinking, what about other series I have no intentions of finishing? Whether it’s lack of interest or I just don’t care about the series anymore, these are the 12 series I don’t plan on ever continuing.

1. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer
2. Private by Kate Brian
3. Heist Society by Ally Carter
4. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
5. Matched by Ally Condie
6. Elixir by Hilary Duff
7. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
9. The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman and Rick Kirkman
10.  I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
11. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
12. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

  Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

Summary from Goodreads.com

Setting

Throughout this novel we experience a breathtaking setting. Whether it was in Paris or Manhattan you’re bound to fall in love with the setting. Stephanie Perkins’ writing style flows fluently with perfection creating the ultimate romantic setting. I’m also glad that we get to travel back to Paris for this final installment, and that we get to see Manhattan as well.

Characters

Isla: I loved her character and character development throughout this entire novel. I’m glad we got to see and enjoy the novel through her narration. I also loved the first few chapters as we get to see how big her crush on Josh actually is.

Josh: Ah one of my favorite swoon worthy characters! I quite enjoyed his rebel side he had along with his artistic side. Josh made me develop a crush for him and made me want to fall in love with him.

Kurt: Eh. Yes he was Isla best friend, but I really could have cared less for this character. At points in the story he would annoy me, but over all I tend to ignore him.

Anna, St. Clair, Lola, and Cricket: I was pleased to see these characters return to the final installment. I’m always glad whenever I get to read about Anna and St. Clair.

“The Feels”

•         Love

This is the type of swoon worthy love that you can’t help but fall in love with. The amount of fluffy loving feelings created in this novel is beyond words. I enjoyed how Isla had her awkward crush at the beginning of the novel and that it blossomed into something beautiful at the end. I’m glad that Perkins’ created another guy character that makes me want to fall in love with them. And thanks to this setting everything was ten times more romantic and beautiful.

 

Final Thought

With the novel being so loving and charming I had to give this a 5/5 star rating. I enjoyed every moment with all the characters, setting, and plot. Stephanie Perkins could not have concluded this novel/series any better. I recommend this novel to anyone who wants to blush constantly and someone who enjoys young adult romance!

The highly anticipated conclusion to Kiera Cass’s #1 New York Timesbestselling Selection series, The One will captivate readers who love dystopian YA fiction and fairy tales. The One is the perfect finale for fans who have followed America’s whirlwind romance since it began–and a swoon-worthy read for teens who have devoured Veronica Roth’sDivergent, Ally Condie’s Matched, or Lauren Oliver’s Delirium.

The Selectio n changed America Singer’s life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen–and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she’s made her choice . . . and she’s prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Find out who America will choose in The One, the enchanting, beautifully romantic third book in the Selection series!

Summary from Goodreads.com

Characters

• America: Amen! I loved the way America acted in this final installment. It was like she finally got her shit together and stopped complaining. I don’t know if I was getting used to Cass’ writing style by this point and time, but I felt America wasn’t as whiny and I found her more enjoyable.
• Aspen: Aspen was weird towards the end of the book. Not so happy how his character turned out to be.
• Maxon: I once again loved Prince Maxon. His charm and style made me swoon. I must say he was my favorite character out of the entire series. But his little hiccup at the end was weird, but I forgave his actions.
• Celeste: Okay what the actually heck. Bad brutal girls like Celeste can’t come down to the level of wanting to take out all the girls in the competition, to being the friendliest. What Cass did to this character made me feel disappointed and frustrated. I wanted her to reign all the power yet she’s just this friendly girl now. No. Cass why did you do this?

Main Conflict

• During this final installment we see the so called “rebels” more of a threat as well as the competition is coming to an end. At the end of the book we discover what this whole ordeal ties up, but I didn’t feel a good dystopian setting with the rebels and I found them to be back ground noise. I really wanted to learn more about the rebel attack at the end, but I was let down. Also as the competition draws to a close we see the girls almost come together, which made me annoyed. This is suppose to be a cut throat competition not a friendly afternoon spent under a tree drinking tea with the queen.

The Ending

• Well that was rather annoying. The ending to me felt so abrupt and rushed I almost had a sense of whiplash. I really love the epilogue but from chapter 31 to the very end of the epilogue was beyond ridiculous. I felt as if I was driving in  car and had to come to a complete stop right away as the yellow stop light turns red. THAT IS NOT OKAY. Can I just please have more information on what is going on and we can go from there? You had 289 pages to get through and you couldn’t add a bit more? Such a shame.

Other Feelings

Predictions

• Ahhh… This is something I wish Cass could work on in her spare time; not making such cruddy predictable endings to characters, character’s family’s,events, and the list goes on and on. Please don’t make things so easy and predicable. Please give me an amazing feeling of suspense and cliffhangers.

Final Thoughts

• After caving in and seeing a signed copy on the shelf I bought the book. I must say I was much more impressed with Cass’ writing in this final book, which made America more bearable and made this my favorite book of the entire trilogy. I decided to give this book ⅗ stars. I really liked the book overall, but the ending was a huge disappointed… oh well. Glad I finished this trilogy and knocked it off my TBR list for 2014. In the future I don’t see myself picking up any more of Kiera Cass’ work.

Summer 2014 Reading Challenge

Summer 2014 Reading Challenge

My 6 Genre Challenge

The other day I came across a bookmark when I was cleaning my room. I looked it over and I thought this would be a perfect little challenge for my summer reading. I took six genres and thought of a book I would like to read at some point and time this summer. My list includes:

Choose a book from the following Genres:

-Mystery: Twisted by: Sara Shepard

-Sci-Fi: Shatter Me by: Tahereh Mafi

-Fantasy: Clockwork Princess by: Cassandra Clare

-Contemporary: My Life Next Door by: Huntley Fitzpatrick

-Adventure: The Maze Runner by: James Dashner

-Historical Fiction: Seeking Signs by: Staci Angelina Mercado
With those books in mind, hopefully I will get through all of them this summer. As of last night I decided to pick up Shatter Me. Now let the start of my genre challenge begin! You can also check out my video below of myself sharing some other reading challenges that I’m taking part of this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxZzJO4EAh8

Book Review: The Elite by: Kiera Cass

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Summary from Goodreads.com

Found myself mostly annoyed with this second installment. Was not my favorite book almost like a down grade from the first.

Characters

• America: If she didn’t spend all of her time wasting on which guy she could have been with this trilogy, this series could have ended in two books and been a much more enjoyable reading experience.
• Aspen: Please leave the castle, that’s all I have to say. Due to his annoying presence I feel like America can’t have her full potential experience as a competitor during the Selection. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a negative experience with a character.
• The King: Is it sad that I like the king at the end? No? Well okay then. When he shares a conversation with America, I swear that was my favorite part of the entire book, because we get to see an emotion other than whiny, sad, or confused.
• Maxon: Kind of glad he built a bridge and got over his little America stage and found a happier place. Still sad though that the nice guy is finishing last again in this book and I hate that America still plays him.

 

Main Conflict

• The main conflict shifted more towards the competition and the so called “love triangle”. We get to see the girls actually brawl it out with a major girl fight which was nice to read about. About half way through the book I felt a tension rose that necessarily wasn’t there before. At times it was nice to feel America get tense and her boots shaken about the whole ordeal. And then the love triangle. Once in the book I counted a six page difference where she made up her mind on who she wanted to be with. This was more towards the book which ended up getting on my skin. I wished the characters could be more realistic or that America would get caught with Aspen already and leave the palace.

 

Author’s Writing Style

• I feel like the author’s writing style is overall bland. I wished that it could become more poetic throughout the entire book. The only part where I think Cass as a writer took time is when she wrote what Maxon said and all his heartfelt lines.

 

Other Feelings

Love Triangles

• Holy cow do I have a lot of feelings and emotions about this topic in general and in this story. After I finished a chapter about how America was head over heels in love for Maxon, not even a page later she would be back thinking or even hanging out with Aspen. Towards the end of the novel I see her pull away and make more of a decision of who chase after, which was nice to finally make more of a decision. But for goodness sake I can’t stand the way Cass writes this love triangle.

 

Final Thoughts

• After enduring and finishing this book I would have to rate this a 2.5/5 stars.Even though this book dragged on for forever and ever with the constant whining, I still somehow magically liked the ending and I how no clue as to why that would happen. I decided to rate this book a 2.5/5 stars. It would have been 3 stars but oh goodness America is to blame for that star rating with her love triangle of not making up her mind and acting like a two year going through their “terrible two stage”. While Maxon on the other hand did everything right. He saw opportunity as America was being distant and he took full advantage for it! And Aspen… lets not even go there. What an irritating little shit head who just either needs to run away from the castle OR gets special treatment and magically gets killed off by one of the rebel groups. I don’t know if I will be picking up the third book.

 

Current Thoughts on Reading…

So this month has been ultimately crazy. With projects on projects and prom, I’ve been busy up to the brink. But here’s the bad thing that comes with all of this craziness, no reading time what so ever. Yeah, I haven’t enjoyed the books I’ve read this year and lack of free time is not helping my feelings for the books that I am currently reading. I just feel reading is more of a chore than a fun free time activity for myself.

For the next month I plan on reading a bunch more. My last day of school is quickly approaching which brings the positive side; more time to read! I’ve picked a few books from my contemporary section so that hopefully this can get me back into my love for reading. The books are…

1. Eleanor & Park by: Rainbow Rowell

 

 

 

 

 

2. My Life Next Door by: Huntley Fitzpatrick

3. Twisted by: Sara Shepard

 

 

 

 

4.   And continue reading A Geeks Guide to Dating by: Eric Smith

I don’t know what’s up with my reading lately and I think I just need to take a break from all distractions and school work to just feel no pressure at all, and get back into the swing of my love for reading.

April TBR

So as the crazy weird reading month of March is dwindling down, I’ve decided it would be out of my best interest to get back on track with my reading. Since before March I have only read 2 books for this entire year… (yes very shameful I know), but March was my turn around point. I was required to read Water for Elephants by: Sara Gruen for a class assignment and dreaded every time I read it. My second book I read was Grasshopper Jungle by: Andrew Smith. The book was quite weird and didn’t fit my interests. My last book I’m finishing up the month with is Divergent! It feels sweet and lovely to be rereading one of my favorite books again, which sparked my motivation to read again, which is the real reason behind this short TBR list for the month.

I’ve already planned on reading The Selection and The Elite by: Kiera Cass for my Contemporary Literature class as part of my project. Then after I’m finished with those books hopefully I can move onto the rest of my TBR pile. I’m hoping to read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by: Jennifer E. Smith as part of dwindling down my unwanted/not really interested bookshelf. Then the last book I really hope to finish is Prodigy by: Marie Lu. I started this book back in the beginning of February and then slowly gave up on it. The characters and their actions felt like I was reading Insurgent by: Veronica Roth and I just did not want to read about that at the time.

Hopefully I can get through this small list as the school year is beginning to end and everything becomes very busy very fast.  But I know for sure I will complete my first two books by Kiera Cass! Once I complete them there will be a book review for each, so look forward to that in the future!

Currently Reading: July 8th, 2013

HOLY COW. That is all I can say and think right now. After finishing up Perfect by: Sara Shepard, my mind is completely blown. I did not see that ending coming, and boy does A’s mystery keep getting more and more intense! I really enjoyed this book and gave it a 5/5 stars on goodreads. I’m so glad I got this series and I’m also excited to continue it as well. Honestly don’t know what to say, because I’m so speechless. I highly recommend reading the Pretty Little Liars series.

Currently Reading/My Review: February 15th, 2013

Today was the day I finally finished John Green’s book, The Fault in Our Stars. I’m normally the girl who doesn’t cry over books, but this one really got me to let out all the tears. The relationship that grows between Hazel and Augustus (Gus) is phenomenal and beautifully written. And it made me think about my own relationship and how I would survive if I was Hazel. This book has also helped me understand a bit more about life in a way.

Some of my favorite quotes in the book were “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” (page 111), “Oh, I wouldn’t mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” (page 176), and “Nothing gold can stay.” (page 278).

I rated this book 5/5 stars on goodreads.com. I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. It has made the list of the top books I have ever read. I think while reading this you can feel the greatness and power of John Green and his impact on literature and life.