Reader Rayna

Month: October 2014

  • A to Z Bookish Survey

    This is a popular survey/tag going around the BookTube and book blog community, so I finally made my own! It was originally created by Perpetual Page Turner on her blog post here.

    Pretty much this a survey with questions/statements beginning with the letter in which it corresponds, pretty straight forward.

    A – Author you’ve read the most books from. As it stands right now: Stephenie Meyer and Veronica Roth. I’ve read four books from each of these authors.

    B – Best Sequel Ever I choose “Crown of Midnight” and “Heir of Fire” by Sarah J Maas, each of which is a sequel to itself, respectively. The series just continues to get better and I definitely love both.

    C – Currently Reading “City of Ashes” by Cassandra Clare. It’s a reread, but I’m marathoning the series, so… yeah.

    D – Drink of choice while reading Depends on my mood. It can be either milk, juice, water, tea… whatever I’m in the mood for.

    E – E-Reader or physical book? Physical books, for sure. I love the smell, the turn of the pages, the physical weight. It’s wonderful.

    F – Fictional character most likely to have dated in high school I chose Simon from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. He’s nerdy and funny and he just seems like someone I would have dated.

    G – Glad you gave this book a chance “The House of the Scorpion” by Nancy Farmer. It’s a fantastic book that I picked up randomly when I was in middle school/early high school and I loved it. Highly recommend it.

    H – Hidden gem book “A Certain Slant of Light” by Laura Whitcomb. It’s a book I read for summer reading in high school, and usually those books are way boring, but this one was fun and exciting. Again, highly recommend it.

    I – Important moment in reading life I don’t really think I have an important moment as I’ve always loved reading. I’m really not sure what to say about this one, haha!

    J – Just finished “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare. It took me almost the full month to read this book, and I don’t know why. It really wasn’t even that bad.

    K – Kind of books you don’t read Mystery, most non-fiction, horror…

    L – Longest book you’ve read “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer. It’s about 750+ pages, and it’s my longest read book to date.

    M – Major book hangover because of… “Allegiant” by Veronica Roth. ‘Nuff said.

    N – Number of bookcases you own Three total in the apartment, but the largest is my personal one.

    O – One book you’ve read multiple times “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer. I’ve read it four times, and I was working on a fifth when I stopped.

    P – Preferred place to read The couch is a nice place, or my desk.

    Q – Quote that inspires/gives you the feels from a book It’s a quote from “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. I’ll link it here.

    R – Reading regret “April Morning” by Howard Fast. Boring. So boring.

    S – Series you started and need to finish (all the books are out) …Where do I even begin?

    T – Three of all time favorite books “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer, “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J Maas, and “Firelight” by Sophie Jordan. Each are series/trilogies/sagas, so I loved all of the books in each.

    U – Unapologetic fangirl for “Throne of Glass” series by Sarah J Maas. I love each book, and they just keep getting better and better.

    V – Very excited for this release more so than others The next book in the “Throne of Glass” series, which will be released next year around late August/early September.

    W – Worst bookish habit I like sticking books in my purse. They often fold as a result.

    X – X marks the spot: start at the top left and pick the 27th book on your shelf “Crewel” by Gennifer Albin. Haven’t read this yet, but I will eventually.

    Y – Your latest book purchase “Falling Kingdoms” by Morgan Rhodes, “Exquisite Captive” by Heather Demetrios, and “Snow Like Ashes” by Sarah Raasch.

    Z – Zzz-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late) I’m really not sure about this because I try to go to bed at reasonable hours…

    Accompanying video: A to Z Bookish Survey

    So what about you? How would you answer these survey questions? Let me know in the comments below or link your own blog post in the comments with this survey!

  • NaNoWriMo 2014

    This article was originally written on Keep Moving Forward, my writing/personal blog.

    Sorry for the lack of posts, but I’ve been super busy with working and getting ready for my wedding on November 1st.

    Speaking of November, that’s when National Novel Writing Month is happening!

    Haven’t heard about it? NaNoWriMo is a yearly event where writers of all writing levels take part in trying to reach the goal of 50k words in 30 days.

    You’re probably wondering, “How in the world is anyone supposed to write that many words in that short of time?”

    It’s actually quite possible. Many people have achieved that goal and went beyond it within the time allotted, or even sooner. When inspiration strikes it’s hard to get it to stop.

    This year I will be participating in NaNoWriMo (even though it starts the day I get married). I already have an idea in place and I am really excited to be able to start.

    My story is going to be a Young Adult sci-fi-ish novel based around a boy who ends up finding his way into an alternate world where he runs into himself – literally – and switches places with his alternate self to escape the real world. Upon finding himself there, though, he discovers that this alternate world is a lot more dangerous than what he had expected and he has to survive it if he wants to get back home.

    I have the ending in mind, I have bits and pieces of how I want it to play out, but that’s all I’m probably going to give right now.

    If you’re thinking about joining NaNo this year, or if you’re a returning member, add me as a writing buddy! I’d love to be able to read your stories and communicate with you as to how your progress is going.

    Also, if you’re prepping for NaNo, don’t forget some supplies that you’ll probably want for the month: USB drive to save your stories in case some cataclysmic event happens to your computer; a computer or some other form of writing device (tablet, paper & pen, etc.); notebook to jot ideas down; coffee or tea to keep you up; and lots of supportive people who will bring your spirits up rather than kick you under the bus.

    NaNoWriMo is a fun, long, and stressful time, but it’s also worth while because at the end of it you’ll be able to say, “I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days.” It won’t be pretty, and it’ll definitely need to be polished afterwards, but you made it.

    In case you’re wondering, I’m going to try doing daily/weekly videos on my YouTube channel, plus some entries here, so if you want to check those out, please do!

  • Heir of Fire Book Review

    heiroffire

    Title: Heir of Fire
    Author:     Sarah J Maas
    Series: Book #3 in the Throne of Glass series
    Publisher: Bloomsbury
    Publication Date: September 2, 2014
    Genres: Young/New Adult – Fantasy, Romance
    Pages: 562
    Format: Purchased Hardcover

    “Heir of Fire” is the third book in the “Throne of Glass” series by Sarah J. Maas, and it is by far, in my opinion, the best book in the series thus far. This book has so much going on in it that not only develops the characters that were already known further, but it introduces and develops new characters, builds on the world, and sets the course for other plot lines that will take place in the series.

    It’s hard to not give away spoilers considering this is the third book, but I do want to do my best without doing so (if you want spoilers and for me to talk a little bit about what happens, you can view my video here).

    Celaena doesn’t start out as the typical badass that we have seen her be in the past two books, but rather a broken-hearted person after a loss. This actually got to be pretty annoying as it dragged on through the book, but I could see where she was coming from and why she was so upset for so long.

    The undercurrents here, though, helped her to fuel her magic and to help her really take control of not just others around her in battle or danger, but also of herself. It was very enthralling to read about, that’s for sure.

    Other characters in the book, such as Dorian, Chaol, and new characters, developed throughout the book as well.

    Dorian has a secret he must keep from his father in order to survive, as well as try to not hurt or alarm anyone around him.

    Chaol is having difficulty picking sides between loyalty from one person to the other. It’s actually quite disheartening how much of a struggle he has.

    New characters introduced, such as Rowan, Manon, and Aedion, are all crucial parts to the story and I believe they will each play intricate, and possibly heartbreaking, rolls in the story later on.

    Rowan is a Fey warrior who has been given the task of training Celaena in her magic and making her stronger before bringing her to a capitol magic city. He’s stoic and hard to crack, but does open up as time progresses.

    Manon is a witch with no heart or soul – or so she’s been told since childhood. She is disciplined and ruthless, but when her eyes set upon something massive, something in her seems to shift, though she doesn’t realize it.

    Aedion is, at first, portrayed as an antagonist, but as we learn more about him, he’s definitely fiercely loyal – to the right person. He also has a back story with Celaena that will make you want to go “aww.”

    Though that’s really all I can give without spoiling much else, I do recommend this book and if you’re reading the series, definitely continue with it.

    I rate this book 5/5 stars.

    Accompanying video: Heir of Fire Book Review

  • September 2014 Wrap-Up & October TBR

    Hello fellow readers. Today I’m going to talk about the books I read in September and the books I hope to read in October.

    First off, I only read two books this past month (technically 2.75), as I am still in the process of finishing the third book. As a slower reader, plus my busy schedule, it takes time for me to read larger books, so I have not been able to finish the third book in the “Throne of Glass” series yet.

    The first book I finished in September was “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J Maas. I thought this book was a fantastic read and it definitely was outside of what has been being published lately (a lot of dystopians) and so I thought that it was a great concept, fun, engaging characters and plot, and it was definitely 5/5 stars. Here is my blog review and my video review with spoilers.

    The second book I finished in September was “Crown of Midnight,” the second book in the series. This book was better than the last, and the characters continued to develop, the plot became darker, and the action was turned up. This is a great sequel considering many sequels tend to lose their zeal as the series goes on, and it definitely deserved the 5/5 stars, in my opinion. Here is my blog review and my video review with spoilers.

    The third book I am still trying to finish, though September has come and gone, is “Heir of Fire,” and it is the third book in the series. This book has gotten even better than the last and includes new characters, which means more perspectives, and the storyline flows nicely. Though I don’t have a review on it yet, I do expect to finish it by the end of this week, if not the next, so expect the review to be up! (I’ll link my blog and video reviews here when they’re up.)

    NEXT! My October TBR. These are the books I hope to get to reading this month:

    1. “The Merciless” by Danielle Vega
    2. “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer” by Michelle Hodkin
    3. “Asylum” by Madeline Roux
    4. “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman
    5. “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs

    What I hope to do is read all of the Mara Dyer series because the third book will be coming out in the next couple of weeks and I’d rather read an entire series before moving onto the next book, so that also means I’m going to try to read the second books in the Asylum and Miss Peregrine series, but we’ll see how much I can get read this month.

    If you have any suggestions as to what I should read first after I finish my current book, let me know in the comments below.

    Accompanying video: September 2014 Wrap-Up & October TBR