The Mid Year Freakout Book Tag

Hello everyone!!! It’s been months since I’ve done a tag and I really like this one. I was tagged by the wonderful Azia @ The Uncharted Word, you all need to check out her beautiful page.

To play fair because I know this tag is super late, I will only count the books I have read from January 1st to June 30th. Let’s start!

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1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2017?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This was such an easy answer because it’s really stuck with me. It’s actually one of the very first books I read in the beginning of the year. I have a full non-spoiler rave review here.

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Best sequel of 2017 so far?

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab! Hands down, best sequel I have read so far. I do plan on reading A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light in the next half of the year so I wonder if any of these will take it’s place lol. I have a non-spoiler review here.

 

 

 

 

 

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3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to?

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee! This book has asexual representation and if you don’t know, I identify as gray ace (demisexual). A lot aces in the book community have been raving about this one so yes!!!! Here is the synopsis:
After a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust into the limelight: She’s gone viral.

Her show is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.

And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, a fellow award nominee, suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual.

Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?

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4. Most anticipated release of the second half of 2017?

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle. Thanks to my twin, Lilly @ LairofBooks for mentioning it to me. Ever since she mentioned Spellbook, it’s been on my planner waiting to be released and purchased lol.
Here’s the synopsis:
One stormy summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hair clips and jewellery, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something bigger; something she won’t talk about.

Then Olive meets three wild, mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel and Rowan. Like Rose, they’re mourning losses – and holding tight to secrets.

When they discover the ancient spellbook, full of hand-inked charms to conjure back lost things, they realise it might be their chance to set everything right. Unless it’s leading them towards secrets that were never meant to be found . . .

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5. Biggest disappointment?

Lol I am going to get major side eye for this one and maybe lose a few more followers like I already did when I posted my spoiler rant review. However, I have to be truthful with myself. The answer is A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTWAR #3) by Sarah J. Maas. I found the book to be very problematic. The thing that upsets me most about this one was that it had a lot of potential (in my opinion) to be great. I really absolutely adored A Court of Mist and Fury so to read this one and see the outcome was just utterly disappointing.

 

 

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6. Biggest surprise?

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia! I loooooved that book so much! It was heavily compared to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I didn’t enjoy Fangirl at all. But! I loved Eliza and the graphic novel inserts. I wrote a non-spoiler review here.

 

 

 

 

 

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7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)?

K.Y. Robinson!!! I read her debut poetry collection The Chaos of Longing that was self-pub and is now officially signed by Andrews McMeel. The re-release of Chaos of Longing will be out in September. The Chaos of Longing made me cryyyyy!!! She also published two other poetry books under a pseudonym and I really loved them.

 

 

 

 

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8. Newest fictional crush?

I don’t have a fictional crush……

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9. Newest favorite character?

Sarai from Strange the Dreamer!! Gosh her character arc is amazing and her power is great too. Also, if you haven’t read Strange the Dreamer, you definitely should. I have a non-spoiler review here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10. Book that made you cry?

soft magic. by Upile Chisala. This debut poetry collection that came out a while back had me seriously tearing. There was so much beauty and honesty. Amazing poems of women empowerment. I would definitely recommend this! Here is the synopsis:
‘soft magic.’ is the debut collection of prose and poetry by Malawian writer, Upile Chisala. This book explores the self, joy, blackness, gender, matters of the heart, the experience of Diaspora, spirituality and most of all, how we survive. ‘soft magic.’ is a shared healing journey.

 

 

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11. Book that made you happy?

The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember! I have a non-spoiler review for it here. Finally a mermaid book with some norse mythology that was worth every second of my time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12. Favorite book to movie adaptation you’ve seen this year?

I don’t have an answer for this because either I cannot remember watching anything or I haven’t watch a book to movie adaptation this year. And I am going to lean with the latter.

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13. Favorite review you’ve written this year?

This answer goes hand in hand with the first question. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern! It was really fun to write that review, add quotes from the book, and aesthetic ❤

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14. Most beautiful book you bought or received so far this year?

Lol this is going to sound really pretentious but I have to go with my own poetry book love, and you. I am obsessed with my own book and the cover. Sorry not sorry haha *hides face in embarrassment*

 

 

 

 

 

 

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15. What books do you need to read by the end of year?

Whoa I have so many books to read by the end of the year but I’ll just insert the covers here and ones that are already out:

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and that is all for today! let’s chat in the comments about your thoughts and opinions on some of my answers! thanks so much for stopping by ❤

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A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas Book Review/Rant

please note that this review will contain minor “spoilers”
quotations because some things shouldn’t be viewed as spoilers, in my opinion.

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin (Book #3)
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

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if you read this book and loved it, please don’t take this as a personal attack. this is just my standpoint and personal opinions. i’m going to be real here and just say that after this book, i will no longer be supporting this author due to the reasons below. let’s get started!

i was very excited for this book! especially after how much i absolutely loved A Court of Mist and Fury (book 2). and after seeing the ending of book 2, i was left with the ultimate book hangover. i had found myself scrolling through tumblr days after looking for fan art, aesthetics, conspiracies for ACOWAR…EVERYTHING… but then, Empire of Storms which is the 5th book in SJM Throne of Glass series happened and i saw a lot of similarities to A Court of Mist and Fury. i had my speculations, i thought that maybe Sarah J. Maas was really tired of the Throne of Glass series and just wanted to spend her time on her newer stuff. no, i was wrong. A Court of Wings and Ruin happened and that proved my little theory so wrong.

i’m not going to lie and say that i hated ACOWAR from beginning to end. i was really into the first 200 pages or so till i started rolling the hell out of my eyes noticing a lot of inconsistencies in the plot and it was dragging as well. i completely understand that the plot is going to drag on, now that more books are going to be added but c’mon! this could’ve been sooooo good! i feel like this book had so much potential to be great.

i also noticed that she was still pretty much copying and pasting from one series to the other. there’s a theory out there that Throne of Glass and ACOTAR are parallel universes to one another and i’m starting to semi-believe it. or maybe it’s just that SJM has gotten lazy. she started adding witches and pirates into this series too…ahem…ToG

it doesn’t stop there though!!! FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD PLEASEEEEE STOP MAKING YOUR CHARACTERS HISS AND GROWL. i already had to endure it with ALL OF THRONE OF GLASS.

i’m still not done ranting. i have a lot more heavier things to discuss like sexuality, race, and abuse. but in the meantime can we discuss how Rhys and Feyre were having sex all the freaking time while there was a war going on?!?!? hoooowwwww, whyyyyyyy, like who has sex in the middle of a war camp?!?! i’ll tell you who! Rhys and Feyre. there’s just some things i don’t understand at all. when it came to book 2, i completely understood the angst and them getting with one another. but in this book?! they’re preparing for war  and there is war, like Sarah…i do not care about the page long sex scene between the two..there are more important things than how they make love to one another after fighting in a war. YA NOT TIRED FROM ALL THE FIGHTING?! CAUSE I SURE AM!! issa no from me.

which leads me to two things…sexual favors and pinching. Sarah has this way of twisting her characters around out of the blue, like i found Rhys and Feyre a little too different for me. now, i completely understand growth with characters but SJM loves to switch on them. i can name a few characters from both series but i’m going to keep my focus on Rhys who’s like the biggest softy in book 2 but yet is asking Feyre for sexual favors when something is done and it’s like wait what? and i feel like he’s being a complete douchebag and wanting Feyre on the sidelines at all times and i was like “where’s Rhys from book 2 who was all about equality and feminism?”

and the pinching which i consider abuse..they kept pinching one another and it was so disturbing to me. regardless of the context and how “playful” it was, i couldn’t deal with the two pinching one another a few times throughout the book. stop pinching one another, some people associate that with abuse. also, although this book is New Adult, Bloomsbury targets this as YA and i think about the audience that reads this book..i don’t find it appropriate for teens to read about pinching their significant other. this was normalized behavior in this book.

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now can i talk about race for a second here?

sarah j. maas is known for her lack of people of color (PoC). like literally, they are in the books and don’t last much. or they’re usually in the background..like we always are in media…and i say we because if you don’t know, i’m Puerto Rican *waves the flag high and proud*

i was already pissed off and wanted to DNF this book with everything else that was mentioned above but then my blood started boiling when the war had just started and the first people that get attacked is the court that’s filled with PoC. this is when i have a problem because in media, when you have white people who are the main characters, the first ones to die are us PoC. this is a fact. this has become an actual joke between us PoC. we can watch a movie and be like “how much you wanna bet that the first person to die is the PoC?” i obviously cannot speak for every PoC but with my interactions with others..this is a thing that happens.

and i cannot support authors who keep doing this and making it okay to use us for their advantage and plot point. i know this is something that a lot of us in the book community speak up about. i also know that it’s our fault as consumers that we keep purchasing these books. because it gives the okay to publishers to keep pushing these types of books out.

which leads me into my next point…sexuality.

so people are going to dismiss the fact that SJM literally stereotyped the living shit out of a bisexual character by stating that he wanted a foursome with other characters? like if bisexuals in real life don’t get enough shit by people who think they’re promiscuous and confused and just want to sleep with everyone?

annnnnnnd let’s not forget that Mor all of a sudden is lesbian and SJM seriously wrote that scene like a fucking PLOT TWIST. sorry not sorry but umm stop making the LGBTQIA+ community as a plot twist.

issa fail.

and i am sure that SJM pulled this when she realized their was a deal of adding more books because she obviously needs to extend the series and it’s characters. BUT SHE COULD’VE DONE SO MUCH MORE THAN PULL THAT CRAP! like her main plot was already being pulled into a million different directions and so were the characters. so now all of a sudden, Mor is lesbian and you had to tell us that in book 3? FOH! annnnd it’s also still a secret cause she only told one person. therefore, SJM now has you stringing along to keep buying her other books to see how Azriel finds out about her being lesbian.  mmmmm k.

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the only reason why i gave it a 2 star was because SJM definitely builds it up for the future books to come and she knows how to keep you on edge. there are characters that i care for and liked what she did with SOME of them. she definitely left me with tons of questions which i feel like will eventually be answered in the next 3 books but i won’t be reading them. i will forget about this one in a few days.

and that is it for my ranty review. any thoughts? let’s chat in the comments ❤

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Twitter: @ChicNerdReads

Empire of Storms Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: Empire of Storms (Book #5)
Series: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, “YA”
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

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Disclaimer: This is the 5th book in the series, if you haven’t read the series at all then it will come off as a spoiler to you. If you have read the series but not this book, then carry on =)

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My Initial Thoughts After I Finished:

My Thoughts Now That It’s Been A Few Hours:

It’s still a joke. Sarah has played us.
*screams*
*catches a tantrum*
*laughs hysterically*

I honestly feel like my 3 star rating is being generous on my end. I am so baffled that a very loved series for me has become a parallel universe to A Court of Mist and Fury. No, but seriously. HAVE YOU READ THAT ENDING??? LMFAO!!!!!!!! I sent Lilly from Lair of Books so many voicenotes after finishing this book, I probably sounded like a maniac #sorrynotsorry

Okay okay okay..on to the review.

I was really happy when I got my copy in the mail and at first I was loving it and breathing it in. We get different perspectives from the characters which I always tend to love books with multiple POV. Some of my all time favorite characters from this book are Manon Blackbeak, Aedion Ashryver, Lysandra, and Elide. I couldn’t get enough of Manon. If Sarah had written a whole book about her, I would read it. I wouldn’t read Sarah’s grocery list but I would read a book about Manon. I would also read a book about Aedion and Lysandra because they’re total babes and I want to protect them forever.

This book follows the quest of Aelin returning to her throne in the mist of a war that’s brewing and centered around her. She is the key to all of this that’s going on. She must also gain allies to win this war and take back what’s rightfully hers.

Whatever. The whole plot of this book just really confused me and SJM was adding all this extra stuff to the plot that made no sense. I mean the writing was good and fast paced. I felt like for a nearly 700 page book, I finished it quickly considering I have a full time job and child (my dog!! my child is my dog).

However, SJM was doing the thing again and that thing is: summarizing.
SHE WAS SUMMARIZING IN A NEARLY 700 PAGE BOOK! You want to know why? Cause she was busy hooking everybody up and writing all these unnecessary sex scenes. Listen, the sex scenes in A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury are freaking fine by me because it’s New Adult Fantasy being told as a Beauty and The Beast/Hades and Persephone retelling. THIS SERIES DOESN’T NEED THAT THOUGH!!!

These characters are in the middle of a war, flirting, thinking about body parts, getting all hot between the legs. And SJM pretty much wrote the same romance for each of the couples. Trust me, I love romance and I love all the steamy stuff but reading some of this was awkward. Can you not? Can we focus on killing Erawan, Maeve, and winning the throne back? Can we focus on the plot? Can we focus on Aelin getting her court and throne in order? Can we?

What SJM should’ve done was focus on the plot rather than summarizing it and writing those lengthy sex scenes.

OH-MY-GOSH and what was up with everyone snarling, growling, and hissing? Are you a savage or human/fae? Cause this is what I pictured:

Aelin was really annoying to me in this book particularly. I disagreed with a lot of her choices, disagreed with how she treated some of the characters, and I most definitely didn’t like her “holier than thou” attitude. Like miss fire breathing bitch queen needs to humble herself and learn a thing or two. Cause last time I checked she was running through like an assassin.

Overall, this book is forgettable and my least favorite. I liked the pacing, I liked reading about certain characters, and I like the world that SJM has created. However, I just didn’t like the ACOMAF 2.0 she pulled, they are way too similar. Maybe if you haven’t read A Court of Mist and Fury, this book will be up there for you.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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