Reader Rayna

Month: March 2015

  • March 2015 Wrap-Up & April TBR

    Can you believe it’s April tomorrow? Where is the time going?

    In the month of March I read a total of seven books! Holy carp, I have never read that many books in one month before! It was a great reading month, obviously, with both physical and audiobooks to quench my thirst for adventure.

    So, without further ado, let me go over the books I read this past month:

    • “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” by Laini Taylor. This book became a favorite of mine really quick as I read it. From the romance, to the mythological roots, to the characters, and more, I fell in love with this book and can’t wait to continue on with the trilogy. I rated this 5/5 stars. Read my review!
    • “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard. I went in with less than high hopes for this book and it kind of met my expectations. A lot of it was predictable and at times, annoying. I knew the plot twist long before it happened and I didn’t really connect with the characters or anything. I rated this 3.5/5 stars. Read my review!
    • “Falling Kingdoms” by Morgan Rhodes. I had the most difficult time getting through this book back in January, but I managed to finish it this month and I did enjoy it. I really loved each individual main character and how their stories are interweaving. Yes, it was a little predictable at times, but it was still a good story. I rated this 4/5 stars. Read my review!
    • “The Elite” by Kiera Cass. This is the second book in the Selection series and it was my least favorite of the three, but it was still a good read. America was really whiny and annoying in this book and made lots of stupid decisions, but it helped to push the plot along and to learn more about her world. I rated this 4/5 stars. Read my review!
    • “The One” by Kiera Cass. This is the third book in the Selection series and it was my favorite of the three. America really came into her own and proved she wasn’t just some lovestruck teenage girl, but someone who really cares about those around her and the kingdom. I rated this 5/5 stars. Read my review!
    • “Firelight” by Sophie Jordan. This was my TBR Jar Challenge for the month of March, which was to reread a favorite book. Well, I reread it, still loved it, but I was a bit more aware of the writing style and the characters within the book. My new rating for this book is 4/5 stars (where before it was 5/5). Read my review!
    • “The Kiss of Deception” by Mary E. Pearson. This was my first audiobook from Audible, and I must say that I am impressed. I love the book itself, and the voice actors are great. The story was rich and well thought out and written. I can’t wait for the next one to come on later this year. I rate this 5/5 stars. Read my review!

    I’m pretty dang proud of myself.

    As for next month, I don’t plan on reading as many books (I wasn’t planning on reading as many as I did this time, either) as I’m going to be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this April, but I do still plan on reading a few books, and they are:

    • “On Writing” by Stephen King. I got this book last year and have been wanting to read it since, so I thought what better time than another NaNoWriMo month? It’s a memoir on the craft of writing, and as I writer I am more than excited to read this book.
    • “Vanish” and “Hidden” by Sophie Jordan. For my TBR Jar Challenge for April, I picked finish a series. So, since I reread the first book, I figured I may as well reread the rest of the trilogy while I’m at it. I remember some of what happens in these books, but not everything. I wonder how my ratings will compare to when I read them before.

    So, since I’m going to be more focused on writing this month, those are all of the books I’m planning on reading in April. I may or may not read more, including an audiobook, but we’ll see how things go.

    Accompanying video: March 2015 Wrap-Up & April TBR

    What did you read in March? What are your reading plans for April? Are you planning on participating in Camp NaNoWriMo? Let me know!

  • March 2015 Book Haul

    Oh my gosh the books. I seriously have a weakness, guys. #ashamed

    Anyway, I got a bunch of books this month, including physical, ebook, AND audiobook, so I’m just going to jump right in to what I got.

    Physical Books

    • “Gathering Darkness” by Morgan Rhodes. This is the third book in the Falling Kingdoms series. I got it so I’d have it on hand for when I’m ready to read it. This series is interesting and I do want to read it and everything. So…yeah.
    • “The One” by Kiera Cass. The third book in the Selection series, this is the wrap-up to America’s story as part of the Selection. Just like the rest of the series, I enjoyed it. I had to read it as soon as I finished the second book, and I did. You can read my review here.
    • “Never Fade” by Alexandra Bracken. This is the second book in the Darkest Minds trilogy. This is really hard to find in my area, so I made sure to pick it up as soon as I saw it. I haven’t started reading this trilogy yet, but I plan to soon.
    • “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” and “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman. Nail Gaiman is definitely one of my favorite authors and I’m excited to read both of these. One is about a man remembering the past and how strange that past was, with its many secrets and mysteries; the other is about a guy in London who comes across this girl, and once he had contact with her he is no longer in his own London, but in hers. I think both sound interesting, and in all honesty, Neil Gaiman is one of my auto-buy authors.

    Ebooks

    • “The Prince,” “The Guard,” “The Queen,” and on pre-order, “The Favorite” by Kiera Cass. These are all novellas from the Selection world from the points of view of different characters. I’m really excited to read all of these and get more from the Selection world. There’s just something about this world that pulls me in, man. And I’ll probably forget about the pre-order by the time it comes out… hopefully not.
    • “Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy” and “The Lost Herondale” by Cassandra Clare (feat. Sarah Rees Brennan and Robin Wasserman, respectively). These are novellas one and two of the ever growing world of the Shadowhunters. I love Clare’s work and so I just couldn’t hold myself back from getting these (actually, I could have, but I chose not to). I’m trying to not look at what they’re about because I know I’ll be spoiled for something.

    Audiobooks

    • “The Kiss of Deception” by Mary E. Pearson. This is a book that’s been floating around for a while with a lot of highly recommended reviews, so I’m really intrigued to read it. Because it’s in audiobook format, I obvious listened to it while I drove and whenever else I wanted.
    • “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown. Another big book, but in the adult world (gasp!). This is a fantasy book where people that are Reds are trying to build a civilization on Mars. They are the lowest class in society and when Darrow discovers that a lot of things have already been built and cultivated on the surface, he sets out to find out exactly why no one told him or anyone else. Sounds intriguing, very interested in reading it. Plus the narrator’s voice is awesome.

    So that’s everything I got this past month. I’m excited to get to these books in time, as well as happy I finished what I did.

    Have you read any of these books? Which do you recommend I read sooner rather than later? Let me know!

  • Rating System

    Okay, so I reviewed my post on how I rate books and I realize that I never really talked about how I rate books… Kind of sad, really. I mean, I talked about the means on which I base my rating off of, but I never really gave a clear picture as to the system I use! Shame on me!

    So I just wanted to clear up any confusion anyone might have.

    I base my book reviews off of a 5 star rating system, with quarter stars and half stars, as well. The following is my current rating system:

    0 Stars: I couldn’t finish this book it was that bad.

    1 Star: I managed to finish it miraculously, but it was still horrible beyond repair.

    2 Stars: It wasn’t a good book, but I still read it.

    3 Stars: It was an okay read. Heck, I may have even enjoyed it. But there was something about it that just didn’t click with me.

    4 Stars: I enjoyed it! This is an average rating for me if I find books in the genres I like.

    5 Stars: I LOVED it! It’s a definite reread in the future and one I will keep forever.

    Quarter star (0.25 and 0.75) and half star (0.5) ratings can become common in my system. If I feel the book is deserving of a slightly elevated rating, I give it the appropriate star accordingly. So say it’s a 3.75 out of 5 star rating: It wasn’t so bad that it was the star before it, but it’s not quite good enough to meet the next star higher.

    I use this system in all of my reviews currently. I also try to mention on Goodreads if a book is in the middle range between stars, such as the 3.75 rating.

    For movie reviews I base my ratings off of a ten star system. I usually only do movie reviews if it’s a book-to-movie adaptation, so please be aware of that. This system is as follows:

    0-3 Stars: I really hated this movie and don’t plan on ever seeing it again.

    4-6 Stars: It was okay, but I mostly didn’t enjoy it. There were some things that were okay, but most of it just didn’t work for me.

    7-9 Stars: I really enjoyed the movie and maybe I’ll watch it again sometime in the future.

    10 Stars: I better own it. Amazing.

    The quarter and half star ratings fall into place in this system, too.

    So those are the overall rating systems that I have in place right now. They work for me and that’s all I’m looking for right now.

  • Insurgent Movie Review

    Insurgent movie poster. Source: MTV
    Insurgent movie poster. Source: MTV

    There will be spoilers! If you have not read the book nor seen the movie, please come back when you do!

    Please read my reviews for all the books and the Divergent movie before continuing on, too, please.

    Veronica Roth‘s second installment in the Divergent series, “Insurgent,” opened last weekend and I went to see it with my husband. Frankly, I went in with kind of low-medium expectations. The first movie was pretty good, following the book decently, but the trailers I had seen for the second movie didn’t really impress me at all.

    Well, frankly, it reached my expectations. Actually, it was worse than my expectations.

    It started out kind of strong. The group was in Amity just trying to get by and hide from Jeannine and her lackeys and all of that. But from there it just kind of went downhill.

    I’m just going to list everything I found wrong with it from book to movie, then comment on everything else afterward.

    Book-to-Movie Adaptation Impressions

    • Where the hell was Tris’s PTSD? For a great majority of the second book she was so overcome with grief and shock and horror over having killed her friend, Will, in the first book that she literally could stand to touch a gun. And yet within the first five minutes they have her 1) wielding a knife at Peter like she’s a freakin’ ninja, and 2) she’s carrying a huge gun and shooting at people like it’s nothing. Um. Uh. No. I was so peeved within the first five to ten minutes of the movie when I realized they weren’t going to play with her PTSD. Just. UGH.
    • The Factionless on the train was cool and everything, don’t get me wrong, but for some reason it just came off weird. And then when they went to the warehouse… Where the hell did they get all of this technology and gear to make it by? They were supposed to be living in run down shacks and stuff, and yet there were no such things lying around anywhere in the movie. I just… okay, I could see how it worked visually for the movie, but in terms of book-to-movie? Nu-uh.
    • Tobias’s mother could have been his sister. That is all. I seriously felt sexual tension through the screen and it was extremely uncomfortable. Literally the whole theater laughed quietly at the fact that the actress playing his mom was literally probably two years older than him.
    • Where the hell did the box thing that had to be unlocked with Edith Prior’s message come in? I don’t remember that in the book at all. I thought it was just on a chip or something. And the whole beating the simulations thing? Yeah, cool in concept, but it didn’t exist in the book.
    • Where was the uprising and take over by the Factionless? That was a MAJOR part in the book and they cut it out completely! Not. Happy.
    • Also, WHY was the entire population going for the fence? It was only supposed to be like… five people or something. I just… NO!
    • I did like Caleb’s betrayal as it was portrayed in the movie from the book. Good job.
    • Peter was the highlight of the whole movie. Good job, Miles Teller, for being such a great actor and portraying Peter beautifully.
    • Oh, and wasn’t it supposed to be Tris who kills Eric, not Four? Like, where was the retribution for Tris? I just. I don’t understand.
    • Remember when Edith Prior’s name was mentioned at the end of the book and all hell broke loose? Yeah. Where was that in the movie? The projection didn’t even mention her name. It was supposed to set off some events in the last book.
    • OH. My biggest problem from the movie: TRIS was supposed to kill Jeanine. NOT Evelyn. What. The. Hell. That was another MAJOR part from the book where Tori was supposed to catch Tris and there would have been a trial, etc. *unleash the fury*

    Okay, I think I got all of my frustration out. If I missed anything, it’s because I’m choosing to forget it.

    Now let me comment on specifics of the actors, CGI, plot, how they’re going to move forward, etc.

    General Movie Impressions

    • Shailene Woodley was a great actress, as always, playing really good at emotions when in Candor and other intense parts. Her chemistry with the other actors was great, too.
    • Naomi Watts (Evelyn) was too damn young looking. Pick an older actress, or do a better makeup job.
    • The CGI wasn’t as realistic in this movie as the last one. It looked artificial and felt artificial. Before, I felt like it was believable, like what was happening and being used was actually happening to the characters. But this time? No.
    • The acting in general seemed forced. They all seemed uncomfortable in their own skin, like they were trying to force the scenes out. Like I said, Miles Teller did a fantastic job portraying his character and loosened up the strain a bit.
    • The fight scenes were so fast and so blurred together that I could never see what was happening. Who hit who? What just happened? I couldn’t figure it out.

    They took a lot of liberties that I was not happy with. They could have made the movie so much better, they could have shown what really happened in the book and included some flair here and there no problem. But this movie was a hot mess.

    Despite all of these complaints, I did still enjoy it for the separate entity that it was. Yes, there were a crap ton of problems, not just with the fact of how far they strayed from the book, but the quality of the movie, the CGI, and the acting, too. But I could still see decent films developing after this; I just hope they don’t suck as much as this one.

    My overall rating for this film: 5.5/10 stars.

    Do I recommend seeing it? Sure. If you want to see it, go for it. Do I recommend going in with high hopes? No.

    Did you see the movie? What are your thoughts? Let me know.

  • Auto-Buy Authors

    I got this idea from Raeleen over at padfootandprongs07, and I just had to chime in with my own picks.

    We all have our own favorite authors whose works delve into our souls and make a home there. Some authors more than others, and even though we may not like all of their works, we still manage to buy every single thing that they put out.

    These are auto-buy authors.

    Of course I have mine, too, but I didn’t really realize they were auto-buy authors until I saw Raeleen’s video.

    So, let me go over some of the authors whose books I get no matter what.

    • Sarah J Maas – I love her books so much! If you haven’t been around my blog to figure that out by now, then where have you been? Her writing is fun and engaging, drawing the reader in to the world around her/him. Maas writes fantastic worlds and stories with unforgettable characters who are relatable and oh so fun. I currently own four books, including a novella bind-up, by her.
    • Kiera Cass – When I discovered the Selection series, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it at all. But once I got into it I was sucked in by the romance and wonder of it all. Seriously, I really loved the trilogy as a whole, and I even got all of the novellas of the series that are out thus far. I currently own six of her books, three of which are novellas, with one novella on pre-order.
    • Cassandra Clare – I. Love. Her. Writing. Seriously, her writing style is beautiful and awesome and very engaging, bringing the reader in to the story where we get to know the characters, their problems, and how they try to figure it all out. Clare is one of those writers whose writing and books I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. She’s definitely an author I look up to as a writer myself. I currently own twelve books written (and coauthored) by her, including novellas.
    • Laini Taylor – I fell in love with her writing upon reading “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” and how she is able to make a story and characters that touch my heart in so many ways. She has a great writing style and the way she weaves her story is one that truly is magnificent. I currently own two books by her (and I’ll be getting the third soon).
    • Neil Gaiman – He is a fantastic writer who has had many years working on the craft. I love, love, love his writing and how his voice as an author is so strong. He’s great at writing fantastically twisted stories with characters that you either hate or love, but that’s really the beauty of his writing. I really want to delve into more works of his for sure. I currently own four books by him.

    So though there are only five authors on here, those are really the authors that I feel deserve these spots on this list as of this current moment. As I continue to read more and experience more authors’ works, I’m sure that that’ll change and expand. I love these authors so very much, and if I ever had the chance to meet them in person I’m sure I’d thank them profusely for creating works that have not only inspired my own writing, but for showing me that there are so many wonderful possibilities out there to imagine.

    Accompanying video: Auto-Buy Authors

    Who are some of your auto-buy authors? Let me know!