BookTube-A-Thon 2015 Wrap Up

So I was 216 pages away from being 100% successful completing all the challenges. My downfall was picking a 600+ page book for author sharing same first letter of your last name. I could not quite finish The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

The six books I completed were

Nil by Lynne Matson

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre
One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart
Armada by Ernest Cline

Not pictured is Beastly Bones by William Ritter.

This readathon really helped me finish some books and add to my queue of reviews. Since I'm starting grad school in less than two weeks, I know I will not have nearly as much time to read, so it will be harder to maintain three new reviews a week, but I'm hoping to stockpile a bunch so that I can do maybe do two a week. So look out for reviews for these books in the future. You can see initial thoughts on my Goodreads.

Oh and I read a total of 2539 pages during the readathon!

Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Title: P.S. I Still Love You
Author: Jenny Han
Publication Date: May 26th, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

“People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they’re not. There’s no telling how long you will have them near.”

I feel like for a conclusion to a duology, I should not feel so unsatisfied. There were many aspects of this book that I loved and they were cute and fun. But there was also the fact that the end was overly rushed and just happened and I do not understand why Lara Jean did what she did in the end.

This duology definitely focuses on family and I really appreciate that aspect of the story. I love the Song sisters and their dad and the relationships they have with each other. I really wish there had been more Margot in this book, even if that was not feasible because she is in college.

One final note, I loved how in middle school it was Team Peter and Team John and something similar came into play in this book. It was a nice little touch.

Overall, this was a disappointment for me. I did not appreciate where the story went and while I understand this showcases Lara Jean who is very sheltered and inexperienced, I'm still frustrated. I also feel like the ending was way too rushed. There was a point in the last fifteen or so pages where I was convinced we were going to be left with another cliffhanger.

What are your thoughts on the book and the duology as a whole? Let me know in the comments!

Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

Title: The Collector
Author: Victoria Scott
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: EntangledTeen
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

“How can someone be cruel to this chick? It’s like picking a fight with a chipmunk.”

I have some conflicting thoughts about this book, and as such the high rating might be confusing, but I have to rate this book based on my overall thoughts not based on the single thing that irked me. This book is ridiculous, but it is ridiculous in a great, entertaining way. Victoria Scott has written one of those rare YA novels where our  POV is a male. These are extremely rare in single POV YA books and she did a great job in The Collector.

In terms of what my issue with this book was, it has to do with this theme of changing yourself to fit into society's notion of beauty. Charlie is depicted an an average, if not below average beauty, who proceeds to change the way she looks to be happier. To me this is very dangerous territory in today's society where people are constantly judged based on how they look.  While this theme really bothered me and affected my enjoyment, I do think Victoria Scott took steps to show us that this was not how Dante felt.

I choose to believe that based on Dante's character growth in this book, he would still protect Charlie regardless of her appearance. I also think Victoria Scott hinted at Dante not agreeing with all the changes she was making. As for other plot elements, I found it to be slightly predictable, but nothing too cliche. The predictability did not bother me in this case because it is a paranormal romance there is a certain level of predictability that is expected.

So for me this book was well done with only one major issue. It was also about demons which is one of my favorite character types so that increased my enjoyment of this book. I own the other two books in the trilogy so I will be finishing it eventually, it just is not currently on the top of my list of books to read. 

What other books with demon characters have you read and enjoyed? Let me know in the comments!

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Reese Brennan (Waiting on Wednesday #8)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that everyone’s eagerly anticipating!

Tell the Wind & Fire is about a young girl called Lucie who lives in a New York very different from the New York we know: the city is torn between two very different kinds of magic, and Lucie’s own family was torn apart years ago by that conflict. Lucie wears magic rings and carries a burden of guilt she can’t share with anyone.

The light in her life is her sweetheart boyfriend Ethan, but it turns out Ethan has a secret too: a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic, who has to conceal the face identical to Ethan’s with a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life…

Tell the Wind & Fire will be released April 5th, 2016 by Clarion Books!

We are jumping way ahead this week to a book that does not come out for 8 months, but the cover is gorgeous and I'm obsessed with the premise. I also really love Sarah's writing style. 

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Teaser Tuesday #22- Nil

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme where you post a quote from a book you are currently reading. It is hosted by A Daily Rhythm.

"And once the mask falls off, so does the glamour. That's the island of Nil in a nutshell. Blow-your-mind gorgeous, until you peel away the facade and see her for who she really is.
                                                                       - Nil by Lynne Matson

I finished this book yesterday and I just loved the premise and the setting with this almost sentient island that controls everyone's lives and who comes and leaves the island. It is very Lost-esque. However, I must warn of insta-love because if that bothers you (like it does me), this book may not be for you.

Find the book here: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Let me know in the comments what book you are currently reading!

August TBR

So I'm obviously doing the BookTube-a-thon and already have a TBR for that. On top of those books, I'm only picking a few other books to keep my TBR very small for August. Grad school starts at the end of the month, so after this month, my reading with be significantly impacted. Once school starts I'm hoping to read a book a week at most.

1. Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
2. Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
4. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

I'm also potentially reading the I Am Number Four series with my friend EJ, we just have not decided when we are starting or how fast we are reading the books.

What are you planning on reading in August? Let me know in the comments!

July Wrap Up

July was a really interesting month for me. I was not really doing much, so I had lots of time to read, but I was very slumpy and just did not feel like reading. As a result, I read way less than I normally would. And I completely failed when it came to following my TBR. The worst part was when it got to be the last part of the month, I felt like I had failed because I had not ready 15+ books like I have been doing in the past. I realized that I've been having such amazing months reading that 6 books and 3 graphic novels felt like failure to me. This also made me realize that reading 6 books is amazing, that is more than one a week and that is more than many people accomplish and I should be proud of myself instead of mad because I did not have an amazing reading month.

So long story short, I did not read as much in July as I normally do, and while my TBR may still be out of control, I'm happy with being able to read 6 (or 9, depending on how you look at it) books this month! As always links to reviews, if I have them!

1. Locke and Key Vol. 2 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (4 Crowns)
2. P. S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (3 Crowns)
3. Ensnared by A. G. Howard (4 Crowns)
4. Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (2 Crowns)
5. The Collector by Victoria Scott (4 Crowns)
6. Locke and Key Vol. 3 (4 Crowns)
7. Locke and Key Vol. 4 (4 Crowns)
8. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd (4.5 Crowns)
9. The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent (4 Crowns)

I was also in the middle of Tithe by Holly Black at the end of the month and have since finished it, but technically finished it in August not July.

This month I read 2,829 pages which is still amazing even if it is way lower than my normal total.
 
#0by16 is getting to the point where I'm probably going to fail, but I'm trying not to put that much pressure on myself. I'm at least keeping my TBR constant at around 60 books, so I'm not increasing it drastically each month, which is an accomplishment. Hopefully I can continue to lower that number by the end of the year.

Look for my August TBR later today. How did you do in July? Let me know in the comments!