Category Archives: Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday: Biggest Book Hangovers

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Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday as hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey. Today’s topic is all about our biggest book hangovers. You know, those times when you’ve read a book – good or bad – and you are stuck with whatever happened in that book for a certain amount of time afterward, causing you hardship in terms of reading more? Yeah. You know.

So, here are my top five worst book hangovers:

5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

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Even though I can’t remember a lot of what happened in here since I read it around this time last year, I do remember that I LOVED IT. It was on my mind for days and days and I just couldn’t shake Akiva or Karou off. I can tell you that this was the better kind of book hangover because even if it prevented me from starting to read another book, this one was definitely one that I’ll read again and again and again, and gladly have another hangover because of.

4. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

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I wanted to binge read the second and third books so bad when I got around to it, and after finishing this one I was like, “I need more.” This was, again, a really good book hangover because I craved more. I really wish we could’ve seen what happened after the events in this one, but alas, we do not.

3. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

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I think because of the hype that this turned into a sour hangover for me. I was so conflicted as to my thoughts and feelings on this one and I didn’t really know what to do or anything. I know that I liked some parts more than others, but I just remembered being in a sort of dazed state afterward.

2. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

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This was the BEST kind of book hangover because not only was it the first audiobook I’ve listened to, but it was one that stuck with me TO THIS DAY. I’m still thinking about Lia, Rafe, and Kaden (mostly Kaden) and wanting to get more from their world. I was in such a slump when I read the second book that I want to give it another go because I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping. Maybe I’ll get the audiobook for that one to get into another auidobook hangover.

1 . Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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Do I even need to explain why this one was the WORST book hangover ever? I was stuck in a rut for WEEKS after reading this. I can say that this book literally brought me into a depression because of how it ended. It was just bad in writing and emotionally. I just can’t.

So there you have it! My biggest hangovers were mostly good, so I’m really glad about that.

What books have given you a book hangover and why? Would you read them again and see if they gave you the same effect? Let me know!

Top 5 Wednesday: Biggest Badasses

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Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday as hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey. Today’s topic is all about the characters that we think are the biggest badasses. You know the ones I’m talking about.

5. Kelsier from The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

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I love his egotistical nature because he thinks himself to be a badass, I swear. His use of Allomancy and the skill he has to wield it is incredible. He’s certainly a force to reckon with, that’s for sure. And I think he’s slightly mad, but you know, sometimes you have to be.

4. Lia from The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

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I mean, of course Lia’s a badass. Not only did she flee her country to get away from an arranged marriage and to gain freedom, but even when she goes through really tough trials she still keeps her chin high and still shows that she’s not afraid, that she can handle whatever’s thrown at her. And I think that not only shows courage, but true badassery.

3. Kate Daniels from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

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She’s, like, the definition of badass. Kate is one of those heroines that doesn’t give a crap, ain’t got time for that, and will take you down first and ask questions later. I love her character and think that she’s a really good show of strength and determination in a world gone to hell.

2. Celaena/Aelin from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

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Did you not expect to see Aelin on this list? I mean, really, she’s an assassin, for one, and she’s just a badass for another! She knows how to kick butt, kill a person, wields magic, and also loves to dress in all of the latest girly fashion. Yes, she’s pretty badass if you ask me.

1 . Aeduan from Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

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A new favorite of mine, Aeduan is definitely a badass. He might have a slight anger problem, but he’s able to control his emotions. I think the biggest reason he’s a badass: he can control other peoples’ blood once he has their scent. And if that isn’t scary enough (or cool enough), but even if he’s mortally wounded his body kicks into high gear to repair him. Freakin’. Epic. And badass as hell.

There you have it! My list of badass characters. Who are some of your favorite badass characters? Let me know!

Top 5 Wednesday: Disappointing Eye Candy

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Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday as hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey. Today’s topic is our top five more disappointing eye candy reads. What does that mean? Well, you know when a book has an incredibly beautiful or eye catching cover, but the content of the book disappoints you? Yeah, this is that list.

So here are my top five disappointing eye candy reads:

5. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

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I really like this cover and how it represents each of the three important characters in this book. I love the colors and how it looks like cutouts and just the overall aesthetic of it. But the content inside of it really let me down. It had gotten a decent amount of hype last year and so when I read it I was left confused, annoyed, and just disappointed. Check out my review for more thoughts.

4. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

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I love the covers of this duology a lot. They’re beautifully photographed and the typography is lovely. And for this book in particular it’s not that I didn’t enjoy the story overall – it’s that the love triangle felt like a plot device and I just couldn’t jump on it. If that forced triangle hadn’t been there then maybe I would have liked it much more than I did, but yeah, that was the disappointing part of this book. Check out my review for more thoughts.

3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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Okay, honestly, these book covers are awesome. Featuring skylines of the city and their world, plus really cool looking symbols, I love these covers. But the content of this third book just brought all of that admiration to a halt. Not only was it near impossible to differentiate between Four’s and Tris’s voices in this book, but also the ending – though valid – was depressing as hell. And the plot of this particular book made no sense at all and didn’t really flow with the first two. So disappointing. Check out my review for more thoughts.

2. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

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While this cover is simplistic in design, I love the minimalist feeling of it. The red dripping down symbolizes the importance of blood in the book, but the content of the book was just short of what I was expecting. This book was hyped through the roof last year, and many, MANY people were let down by its contents. I’m going to continue with the trilogy, though, and give it another shot, but upon my first read through, I didn’t enjoy it. Check out my review for more thoughts.

1 . The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

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A recent read, this book trilogy has beautiful covers depicting Kestrel, the main female character, in her society clothes. Each cover is beautiful and really shows the overall mood of the story. But this first book was such a huge let down for me because I wanted to love it so much. I found it to be boring and lifeless, the only time the characters came alive was when they kissed or were near each other. So, so sad because I really hoped to love it. Check out my review for more thoughts.

So there you have it, my top five most disappointing eye candy.

Let me know what books you loved the covers of but thought that the story could have used more.

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Buzzwords

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Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday as hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey over on YouTube. Today’s topic is about the top five buzzwords that turn us on to books. These are the words that will draw us to a book no matter what the book is actually about.

I had to seriously think long and hard about my buzzwords because I’ve never really thought about it before, but here are my top five words that get me buzzing:

5. Magic/Super Powers

Who doesn’t love a little bit of magic in their lives? I love magical elements in books, whether they be elemental, mind powers, super strength, Allomancy, or whatever the case may be: I love magic. I think it’s mainly because magic doesn’t really exist in the real world, at least not the way it does in books, and I wish it did. If I could choose any magical ability it would be two things: the ability to fly and the ability to control the elements, kind of like the Avatar. Some of my favorite books with magical elements are: the Mistborn trilogy, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, the Shatter Me trilogy, and the Kate Daniels series.

4. Female Protagonist

I love females in the spotlight! Seriously, almost every book I read now features a leading lady at the forefront and I love it. Women are very strong, capable beings (and don’t get me wrong; male protagonists are cool, too!) and I highly enjoy seeing them in a position of power, so to speak. Some of my favorite heroines include: Celaena/Aelin from the Throne of Glass series, Lia from The Remnant Chronicles, Karou from the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Cath from Fangirl, and Vin from the Mistborn trilogy. All of these leading ladies have a huge role in the stories that they’re in, but they’re also flawed which I think makes them even more amazing.

3. Faeries

Okay, here’s a weird one, I guess? I love faeries. I love reading about them, seeing how they act in different worlds and stories, and though many of them are the same: cold, inhumanly beautiful, cunning – they are all just incredible. Each has their own personality and each has their own way of life. I love the diversity of the species and types and that not all of them are beautiful, but some are actually grotesque or cute or huge or tiny. There’s so much variety in them. Plus, I love the lore behind them and I find myself drawn to them in ways that’s hard to explain. Some of my favorites include: the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, Trolls by Brian and Wendy Froud, and Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

2. Fantasy

This is a fairly broad and huge category, don’t you think? But if you honestly didn’t see this coming then where have you been since I started blogging? I love fantasy, whether it be high fantasy, urban fantasy, a touch of fantasy, whatever; if it’s fantasy, I’m all over it. Now that’s not to say that I love every fantasy book that I read, but I do enjoy a great deal of them and how authors are able to come up with such beautiful, vivid, detailed worlds. Some of my favorites are: the Throne of Glass series, the Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices, the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the Remnant Chronicles, the Song of Ice and Fire series, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, the Harry Potter series, and the Mistborn trilogy.

1 . Romance

Again, another broad topic, but this is my number one buzzword for books because, well, I love love. Love, and particularly romantic love, is one of the best things, in my opinion, in the world. Not just books, but the world. And to read about different types of romance is an extreme pleasure of mine. Honestly, if a book doesn’t have romance in it at some point then there better be a damn good reason as to why I’m reading it. I just love being able to see two characters come together and realize their feelings and how I see it happening from an early part of the story and it just makes it that much sweeter. Some of my favorite romances are: the Starbound trilogy (all of the romances are amazing), Jace and Clary from the Mortal Instruments series, Kate and Curran from the Kate Daniels series, Cath and Levi from Fangirl, Tamahome and Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi, Karou and Akiva from Daughter of Smoke & Bone, and so, so many more that I don’t want to list them all for fear of dragging this post out for too long.

So yes! Those are my top five buzzwords when it comes to books. Each one is very precious to me in its own way and I am pretty happy with that.

What are your top five buzzwords when it comes to books and why? Let me know!

Accompanying video: Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Buzzwords

Top 5 Wednesday: Books to Read By the Fire

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Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday as hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey. Today’s topic is our top five favorite books to read by the fire, aka holiday/winter reads. So here are my picks in no particular order:

5. The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

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This adult urban fantasy series would be nice to curl up by the fire with because not only does it have action and fantasy, but there’s also a slow burn romance that’s just filled with tension as the books progress.

4. The Starbound trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

This trilogy is beautiful and epic and it tells the story from six different perspectives throughout all of them. Between the lonely and dangerous world in the first book, to the war ridden, split territory world in the second, to the underworld and an mysterious beings in the third, this trilogy definitely has a lot to offer during those cold winter nights. Plus the romances are amazing.

3. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

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Need I say anything about this series? It’s got action, adventure, conflict, romance, demons, magic, weird creatures, kickass people, and so much more. Definitely a good read to curl up by the fire with.

2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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This story is both part sweet and bitter, but the sweet far outweighs the latter. This story is about two outcasts and how they come together to find a love that’s truer than anything they had ever experienced before. How sweet for the holidays, right?

1 . All the manga!

I love manga, so reading it is just a fun activity to do in general. You can find everything under the sun from action, adventure, romance, shoujo-ai (girl-girl love) and shonen-ai (boy-boy love), to one-shot, slice of life, horror, and so much more. Really, whatever your preference is, you can pretty much find a manga based around it. Really, all you have to do is find the one that you think best fits your winter mood.

So there you have it! My list of some of my favorite winter reads. Definitely check these out and see what you like curling by the fire with.

What books would you read during the holidays/winter time? Let me know!