Tag: Richelle Mead

Reviews, YA Paranormal

Book Review: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Goodreads Summary:

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Review:

This book was perfect. PERFECTION. My feelings are still a bit crazy and I already slept on it. I knew I couldn’t write this review fresh of finishing it because my review would have started and ended at: ASDKJASRHGLKJHGKLAJGHAKDSJGH

You’re probably glad I slept on it as you should be. Okay, let’s start this. I promise I’ll try my best not to be super scatter-brained.

Silver Shadows was really hard for me to read. Especially at the beginning. Why? Because Adrian’s chapters in the beginning were killing me. They made me hurt. They pissed me off. I also saw some part of myself in him and I just couldn’t keep reading. It took me five months to start reading it again… and then I had to take another month-long break until I told myself one evening “YOU WILL FINISH THIS EVEN IF IT KILLS YOU.” I listened to myself and I am very glad at did because once I got past those initial heart-breaking chapters it was all action, action, and action. I wasn’t bored even once.

At first I was angry that Richelle had split SS into two point of views because SHE DIDNT DO THIS WITH VAMPIRE ACADEMY, and also because if a series or book doesn’t start of with me knowing this will be dual pov, I tend to hate the guy’s pov for some reason. All that explanation to say at first I kind of hated Adrian’s point of view. I was mad at Richelle Mead because how dare she do this to me, and I was mad at Adrian as well because he better not disappoint me or he would fall pretty fast from being my #1 fictional boyfriend to the bottom of my list. It was pretty tense for about 100 pages and then everything turned out to be alright. I adjusted and now I NEED Adrian’s point of view in my life.

I really don’t want to spoil much if you haven’t read it yet, but I do want to discuss Eddie Castile. He has gotten the short end of the stick not only in VA but BL as well. ITS NOT FAIR. Eddie Castile felt so guilty even though he knew Sydney purposely tricked him to keep him safe. Eddie’s life job is to protect others(moroi mostly), those who cannot protect themselves, and Sydney being taken from him and Eddie realizing too late that Sydney had tricked him hurt him badly. I was so happy to see that Jill used her princess authority (which she never has before) and ordered him to help Adrian get Sydney back, and that’s exactly what he needed. And if you read Silver Shadows then you know how things turn out. A happy Eddie is what we get,

I shall be cutting my review short and just say that Richelle Mead can do no wrong, and I can’t wait for the final installment of one of my favorite series in the entire world! I NEED THE RUBY CIRCLE IN MY LIFE NOW.

ADRIAN AND SYDNEY FOR LIFE.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Adult Fantasy, Special Review

ARC Review: The Immortal Crown (Age of X #2) by Richelle Mead

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Disclaimer: Thank you Penguin/Dutton Adult Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.

Goodreads Summary:

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

Review:

This woman did it again. I have no idea how she does it. The sequel to Gameboard of the Gods is even better than the first, and I thought the first book was pretty darn good. The entire time I was reading TMI I was at the edge of my seat. And I can honestly say I love Richelle Mead for always recapping in the first chapter of every single sequels because that means we don’t have to re-read in order to figure out what happened.

Can I just say I really hate Lucius and finding out he too is an elect made it worst!? OMG! I had a feeling he was an elect, but I thought I was being tricked into thinking that. I can already see him being involved in whatever dirty scheme we see in book three. I’m so glad Mae was able to rescue her niece. That entire rescue mission had me biting my nails, and Justin and Lucius dealing with returning to RUNA without her was crazy. Also, that ending. I died. How is it possible that Justin is now bound to the god even though he did everything to not make it happen?! THAT IS THE REASON WHY MAE LEFT HIM. SO HE WOULDN’T BE BOUND TO THE GOD. I was so mad. I hate those crows, but I kinda like them at the same time. Ugh. It was sweet though when Mae finally admitted she is totally in love with Justin. I really liked how their relationship progressed throughout the novel. A+ for relationship development.

This review is basically me fangirling and I am totally okay with that because it’s a Richelle Mead book, and I can only fangirl when it comes to her books.

Please read Ms. Mead’s new adult fantasy series. It’s to die for. 😉

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Other

Let’s Talk About… Most Owned Authors!

Veronica Porras (TTB)

I was recently catching up on my YouTube subscriptions and I saw Katystastic’s (a YouTube Book Blogger) video talking about her Top Ten Most Owned Authors. She went into detail that the authors on her list were not just authors whom she owned the most books by, but also that they were on her auto-buy list (if you want to watch the video, click here!) So, I thought to myself, I should do that too. Why the heck not right?

So today I will be talking about my Top Ten Most Owned Authors that are also on my Auto-Buy list. Here we go!

 

1

 

If you know me really well, this is not surprising. I own 12 of her books. All of the “Vampire Academy” Series and all that is out of the “Bloodlines” Series. I also have in my possession both “Age of X Series” books, “Gameboard of the Gods” and “The Immortal Crown”. Anything this woman writes, I love. Whether it be her paranormal young adult novels or her new adult series that has Fantasy, Dystopian, and Science Fiction themes in it, I read it all. Her writing has the ability to suck me in and make me forget reality for a couple of hours.

2

Now this may come as a surprise to many because I hardly ever mention Ms. Ally Carter. Probably because I read most of her books before I started my blog December of 2012. I own all of the Gallagher Girls Series, and all three books of the Heist Society Series. Total of 9 books. She has a new series coming out soon and I have no clue what it is about, but you can bet I will buy it without reading the synopsis.

3

A lot of people think of her as the YA Contemporary Queen of the early 2000s. Her books were crazy popular with good reason. Although I don’t click with the characters in two of her books, I will buy any book she writes. Her writing is poetic and beautiful. Some of my favorite quotes come from her books. She knows how to write a coming of age story that will sit with you for years.

4

She recently became an auto-buy author for me. The first book I ever read by her was “The Disreputable History of Frankie-Laundau Banks”. That novel was eery and haunting. The emotion was raw and deep. I felt things I never had before reading this book and really brought to light the issues we have with romanticized rebels (or criminals). Two years later, I listened to her read her new book  “We Were Liars” at the LA Times Books Festival and it prompted me to buy it. “We Were Liars” left me breathless. After that I went and bought most of the books she has published. I have 6 of her books in my possession.

5

There was a time in my life where I wanted fun summer contemporaries that still gave me some substance, but I also didn’t want them to be too serious. In comes “The Daughters” Series by Joanna Philbin. She’s another author whose writing just sucks me in. I feel as if I know her characters personally and I am their friend. It’s that intimate. I own 5 of her books.

6

Isaiah & Noah. That’s all you need to know. Okay, okay, just kidding. I’m not ending it there. 🙂

I own 4 of her books because that is all she has published. If she had more books published, I would own them all by now. What I love about her stories is that her characters are real. Their issues are real. You could say she uses the same freaking formula in each book, but she writes it in a way that doesn’t feel like she’s using the same formula to tell the story, and I freaking eat them up. She writes grittier young adult contemporary and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty when it comes to writing her books. She learned how to drive stick just so she could legitimately write the car scenes in “Crash Into You”. If that is not dedication to your work, then I don’t know what is.

7

We now have Ms. Sarah Ockler. Gosh Darn her stories make me happy. Her stories aren’t really always happy per say (“Twenty Boys Summer” broke my heart), but she writes them so well that I will sob through her books if that’s the price I have to pay to read them. I say she falls in the same category as Katie McGarry’s books with the whole characters dealing with real issues, but Ockler’s characters are a little less rough around the edges. I proudly own 3 of her books (and I need to get my hands on #Scandal as soon as its out! *grabby hands*).

8

My lovely Morgan Matson. How I love her so. I know that sounds a little weird, but I have been a faithful fan of her writing since “Amy and Rogers Epic Detour”. I waited for “Second Chance Summer” for an entire year, and now I have “Since You’ve Been Gone” in my hands. Although the premise for SYBG doesn’t sound as intriguing to me as the other two, I still wanted it and got it (Thank you Kayla you are the best!). Her writing takes me a little bit longer to read, nonetheless it entertains me and makes me happy. Even though her books are seen as sad, I don’t feel sad when I see them or read them. I get all giddy and happy. Yes, I’m weird. Deal with it. 🙂

(proud owner of all three books!)

9

She’s actually a last-minute addition because I didn’t think I owned enough books to add her to this list, but alas I do! I own 3 of her books and a novella. Jessica Park wrote “Flat Out Love” which is one of my favorite contemporaries of 2013. I loved it so much that I went on and read “Flat Out Matt” and “Left Drowning”. I devoured them. I recently purchased “Flat Out Celeste” her newest novel in the “Flat Out Love” world. (Kayla I know you’re gonna be mad, but I bought the kindle version okay! It was only 3.99. I couldn’t resist!!). I think the reason I am so amazed by her is because she is an independent author. She does not publish her books through a big publishing house, but through an independent publisher. Her books are edited so well that I almost want to pee my pants at how happy it makes. She’s an indie author who got it right. It gives me hope for future indie authors and indie books.

10

Surprised to see this? I know I’m not. Why? Because I’m one of those few people who loved “Allegiant”. I loved the Divergent Trilogy as a whole. The world she created, the way she wrote it, the trilogy sucked me in and I never wanted to leave it for the real world. Sadly, I had to, but if she publishes something in the near or far future, even if it sounds boring, I will buy it. I don’t care. I love her that much. (And honestly how can we forget Divergent? That was one of the best first books in a trilogy I have EVER read!) I own three of her books (and soon four! haha get it?! Because the new book is titled Four and it’s the fourth book!!! No… I just think it’s funny… okay… *walks away shamefully*).

11

Lastly, we have an honorary mention because if this woman had published “Isla and the Happily Ever After” sooner, she would have been able to make it on the list officially. We all love Stephanie Perkins and we all know why. I feel like she is the recent Queen of YA contemporary and no one has come close to dethrone her. At least not in my book. Her books are all sugar, sweet, and honey. They make you feel all happy and bubbly inside. BUY HER BOOKS!

 

We have finally reached the end of this really long post for which I apologize, but I did have a lot to say and yet I feel like I didn’t say enough. I’m going to go ahead and tag Kayla over at The Thousand Lives and demand she do this because I want to see what she comes up with, and I think most of you might want to know too! If anyone decides to write a post like this, please let me know and send me the link. I want to read your posts and have discussions about our most owned authors that are also on our auto-buy list.

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Other

16 Blogging Days of Winter – Day 1

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Favorite Books Set In Winter-Time

There are several books that I love that are set in winter time. The books in my list are all over the place. Some are YA contemporary, some are paranormal, but overall I suggest you read them all because they are the perfect books to read on a cold winter day.

  1. Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson – Three authors. Three Stories. One Town.
  2. Frostbite (VA #2) by Richelle Mead – This is the second book in the vampire academy series and let me just tell you, ski resort, vampires, danger, and love.
  3. The Fiery Heart (BL #4) by Richelle Mead – This is the fourth book in the Bloodlines series which is the spinoff series of VA. Even a cold California winter can get hot real fast. 😉
  4. Suite Dreams by Rachel Hawthorne – This is the perfect, most fluffiest book for the winter time. If this book were a drink, it would be a hot chocolate with marshmallows.

What are some of your favorite winter time books?

Random

Day 11, 12, 13, &14 of the 30 Day Book Challenge

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Life tends to get in the way of my 30 Day Book Challenge posts and I’m not liking it. Here are the three days I missed and today’s entry!

Day 11: A book you hated

” The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson”

Day 12: A book you used to love but not anymore

“I used to love Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. Now, I find it dull and lackluster. ”

Day 13: Your favorite writer

“My favorite writer at the moment is Richelle Mead. I love that woman’s writing.”

Day 14: Favorite book from the favorite writer

“This is a tough one but I would have to say Shadow Kiss.”

Random

Day 2 and Day 3 of the 30 Day Book Challenge

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Hello Guys!

Sorry for not posting day two yesterday. I had a very busy day. Busier than I had expected but nonetheless, I will make up for it in today’s post.

Day 2: A book that you’ve read more than 3 times.

The only book I’ve read more than three times is the Bible. About a year ago I started re-reading books but before that, I would never re-read a book. It was a rule of mine. I’ve thrown that rule out the window.

Day 3: Your favorite series.

My favorite series is the Vampire Academy Series.

Why? There are too many reasons why. 🙂

I’m still writing the TFiOS book review but it will probably be another week before I post it. Don’t forget Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead comes out tomorrow! Go out and buy it!

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Books I Want To Reread

Veronica Porras (TTB)

toptentuesday-1Thank you to The Broke and The Bookish for creating this lovely and fun Tuesday meme.

Today, The Broke and The Bookish gave us the choice to pick whichever Top Ten Tuesday we wanted so I picked Top Ten Books I Want To Reread:

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

VA is one of my favorite books and series. And I am actually rereading it at the moment. 

2. Heist Society by Ally Carter

I absolutely loved all of the characters and I want to revisit them. Like old friends. 

3. I’d Tell You I Love You But I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

The last book of the series is coming out soon. I want to re-read them all so I’m up to speed. And I LOVE spies.

4. Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald

I’m a little heart broken so… I wan to read this to make me feel better.

5. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

There is just something about this story that I just loved. And it has cupcakes. Yup. I know, CUPCAKES.

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book was phenomenal and I want to fall in love with four all over again.

7. Ana and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This story is so cute. I just absolutely loved it.

8. Love Story by Jennifer Echols

There are no words for my love for this book. I always want to re read it. 

9. Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

I read this book back in 2009 and I absolutely loved it. I want to re read it to see how much I would love it now.

10. Girl Overboard by Justina Chen

I remember I loved this book in 2008. I want to feel the happy feeling it gave me when I read it then.

What are some of the books you want to re-read?

Are they similar to mine?

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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I haven’t been doing the Top Ten Tuesday posts for that long so I went back to the Top Ten Tuesday Archives of The Broke and The Bookish, who are hosting this lovely Tuesday meme, and I found a Top Ten I would have liked to do. At first, I thought it was going to be easy but then I noticed I’ve done a review on almost every book I’ve read this year. This Top Ten Tuesday ended up being much harder than I originally thought. Without further blabbering from my part, here is my Top Ten list for this week!

Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For:

1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2. The Selection by Kiera Cass

3. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

4. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

4. The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

5. The Daughters (the whole series) by Joanna Philip

6. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

7. The Liar Society by Lisa Roecker

8. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

9. Love Story by Jennifer Echols

10. Vampire Academy (the whole series) by Richelle Mead

 

 

Which books would you like to review if you had the chance?

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger

Veronica Porras (TTB)

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Another Top Ten Tuesday! Woo! This is exciting. I’m on a roll. Thank you to The Broke and The Bookish for hosting the Top Ten Tuesday meme. Without further ado, here I go!

Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger

  1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
  2. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
  3. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
  4. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
  5. I’d Tell You I Love You But I’d Have To Kill You (Gallagher Girls Series) by Ally Carter
  6. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
  7. Let It Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson
  8. Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald
  9. The Daughters by Joanna Philbin
  10. Love Story by Jennifer Echols

I haven’t been blogging for too long which lead to a long list of books I could choose from. I picked books I’ve read in the past 4-5 years because they are fresher in my mind.

What are some of your favorite books?

Editor Letter, Random

March Recap

Veronica Porras (TTB)

This month has been a crazy and busy month for myself but I’ve managed to post 4 book reviews and finish reading a total of 9 books!

The books were:

  1. Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney: Review 4/5
  2. Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X#1) by Richelle Mead: Review 5/5
  3. The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen: I absolutely disliked this book. I am never again going to buy a book that I’ve heard nothing about. I was really disappointed by the amount of sex stuff in it which made me skip a lot of the book. The quality of the writing was also horrid. I don’t understand the hype around this book. 1/5
  4. Juliet Immortal (Juliet Immortal #1) by Stacey Jay: It took me 3 months to finish this book. I found it hard to get into it and the characters weren’t relatable at all. 3/5
  5. If We Kiss by Rachel Vail: Another book I was disappointed in. I’m happy I only paid a dollar for it on my nook. 2/5
  6. Imperium (Cicero #1) by Robert Harris: Review 5/5
  7. Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini: I had to read this book for a class and I found it very interesting. Its a fun academic read. 5/5
  8. Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3) by Ally Carter: Review 5/5
  9. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki: This book was eye opening and brilliant. A must read for all Americans and Cultural Generational Americans. 5/5

If you would like to recommend books that I should read or would like to discuss any of these books with me feel free to leave a comment.

Happy Reading!