Side Characters That Deserve Their Own Stories | Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey

 

 

Dee from the Lux Saga by Jennifer L Armentrout

I've only read the first 2 books, Obsidian and Onyx, but Dee is easily one of my favourite characters in the series. She very relatable and just comes out with the most bizarre things, so I definitely think I'd like to see her have her own story, maybe even before the events in Obsidian.


Maggie from Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover wrote an epilogue (that's online) in Maggie's POV and now I know that I need Maggie to have her own book, or novella. Her character went through quite a lot in Maybe Someday and I'd love to see her be happy, moving on with her own life!


Ella-Claire and Alex from the Dumont Bachelors series by Macy Beckett

I loved Make You Mine and I have yet to read Make You Remember, but I absolutely adore the relationship between Ella-Claire and Alex. They both definitely like each other and I need to see their story, they're perfect for each other!


Megan from I Was Here by Gayle Forman

I LOVED I Was Here by Gayle Forman, in fact it's one of my favourite books of this year, but I can't help but crave for Megan's story. We saw Cody dealing with the effects of her best friend's suicide, so I think it'd be great to see Megan's story, especially the parts from where she suffers with depression.


Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter by J K Rowling

I know that not everyone loves Luna Lovegood, but I do. In fact she reminds me too much of myself. I'm a little bit weird, nothing here nor there, just balancing weirdly in between. With her quirky exterior I think she'd have a brilliant, entertaining story. Plus I'm kind of dying to know what happened with her and Neville.



Which characters do you wish had their own stories?
Let me know in the comments.

Review: Remix by Non Pratt

                                                  

Title: Remix
Author: Non Pratt
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: June 4th 2015
Page Number: 304
Rating: 2/5

Kaz is still reeling from being dumped by the love of her life...

Ruby is bored of hearing about it. Time to change the record.

Three days. Two best mates. One music festival. Zero chance of everything working out.

 

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Non Pratt's writing, and I was so excited to read Remix. I'm not just a music lover, but I'm also a music festival lover as well, so I thought I would've really loved this book.

 

That did not happen.

 

Straight away I knew that I wouldn't like Kaz. She's one of those people who is in a constant daze after being dumped, but being dazed leaves them being stupid, childish and naïve. And that's what you got from her from Page 1 to Page 304. She didn't grow as a character, she just seemed to do things to make herself feel less guilty for being reckless.

 

And then we meet Ruby. At first she was a character I rooted for; funny and honest, which is something I love most in some people. However, she then turned into Kaz. All she did was moan, cry and then moan all over again. She was selfish and irresponsible, someone I just wanted to slap across the face.

 

I think my biggest problem with Remix was how unoriginal it was. Non Pratt included every music festival / concert cliché, and if I am honest the music festival was hardly even in the book. It was more like 2% music and 98% sex, arguments and getting drunk. Oh, and it's not a book if half of the secondary characters are cheating on their partners as well. (Can you note my sarcasm?)

 

Leaving the negative behind, focusing on the only positive about Remix. I did actually really like the tone of the book. It was light, fun and a little flirty.

 

Overall, I just wish that Non could have written characters that weren't spoiled brats who thought everything had to be about themselves.

 

 

 

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Anticipated 2015 Pre-Orders | Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey

 

 



 

 

 

 

Sadly, there aren't that many books that I am dying to get my hands on. However, these four have been on my radar for a few months now and I am so excited for them to be released. If I could get ARC's of these books then I would die. No joke.

 

 

 

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick - August 18th 2015

 

 

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines - August 25th 2015

 

 

Lies About Truth by Courtney C Stephens - November 3rd 2015

 

 

November 9 by Colleen Hoover - November 10th 2015

 

 

 

What releases are you most excited for?

Let me know in the comments.

 

ARC Review: One by Sarah Crossan

"Heart-warming and inspiring. A truly phenomenal story."

 

Title: One

Author: Sarah Crossan
Genre: YA Contemporary / Verse
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: August 26th 2015
Page Number: 448
Rating: 5/5

Grace and Tippi are twins – conjoined twins.

And their lives are about to change.

No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world – a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?

But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined…

I'm not entirely sure how I am meant to express my love for this story into words. I finished this life changing novel this morning and I already want to pick it back up and reread it in its entirety. I first heard of this novel from Amber at themilelongbookshelf. She loved it and said it was easily one of her favourites, so I looked into the synopsis and found myself being completely interested in it.

When it arrived in the post, I knew that I wanted to pick it up then and there. I started it the morning after and finished it within three hours, with tears running down my face and a pack of tissues in my hand. I knew right then that this book had become not only my favourite book of the year, but one of my all time favourite books. It's not just beautifully written, but it has extremely diverse, yet relatable characters. Grace and Tippi may be conjoined, but their outlook on life - that their life isn't as bad as others -  was really fresh in YA. They didn't mope around or let their situation hinder them, they lived life as best as possible, and that attitude really adapted onto myself.

And it's not just Tippi and Grace that you grow to love. You begin to understand every character, and how Tippi and Grace affect their life. It reminded me of Wonder by R J Palacio. How August's disability didn't hinder their lives, but enhanced it, and that's what Grace and Tippi did for those around them. They opened their minds to something else, something different. And I loved seeing that take place because it made it real.

There are so many twists and turns in the book, but I don't want to spoil anyone on what happens, however, I will say, like Amber said to me "Have a box of tissues on hand, because you'll need them".

Pre-order the book (Waterstones) | Pre-order the book (Book Depository)

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: September 19th 2012
Page Number: 454
Rating: 2/5

Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey’s spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why – either he is her true love or she has killed him.

Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (lead by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower – a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour.

Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can’t imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them?

I was really looking forward to reading The Raven Boys since I have heard nothing but great things about the series. And since it was about Welsh Mythology, and I am Welsh myself I though that I would really, really like it, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

The Prologue and Chapter 1 were so interesting and they easily captured my attention. I wanted to know more. I needed to know more. But after that things started to get.....boring. Nothing was happening apart from the fact that we learn that Blue has a job and Adam skips school because his father hits him. That was it. There was nothing interesting going on to keep my attention, and by the time that I was on page 160, I had to give up. I couldn't force myself to continue reading a book I simply wasn't enjoying.

What I really liked about the book were Blue's eccentric family. They all harness psychic abilities, but they're all very unusual as well and I found them to be very charming. They reminded me of Nanny McPhee, not in a bad way. Just how their personalities were very similar. I also liked how Maggie showed that family doesn't always have to be of a blood relation, sometimes your best friends can be like your brothers and sisters.

I did, however, have a few problems with the Mythology in the book. Like I said, I am Welsh so I knew what Maggie was talking about, but when she started calling Owain Glyndwr, Glendower then things started to go wrong. Owain Glyndwr is a Welsh legend, so changing his name - even though it was so that people could pronounce it - just didn't sit well with me, I know it also didn't sit well with a friend of mine.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers. But it does heavily depend on what books you like to read. So if you think you'd like this book, then go ahead and read it!

 

Buy the book (Waterstones) | Buy the book (Book Depository)

The Books I am Currently Reading...

I feel like I haven't written a blog post in a while, I guess that's because I really haven't. Like most blog posts mine are scheduled, so they're always written at least 2 weeks before hand. Sometimes I'll write and upload straight away, but that is hardly ever. With me being ill these past few days, I've not had the time to really write anything up. What I have been doing, however, is marathoning TV shows on Netflix (If you'd like me to write a Netflix Recommendations post, then let me know in the comments!).

 

Anyway. This morning I woke up pretty early and started to crave reading. I haven't read a book in about a week, so when I saw The Raven Boys on my shelf I just had to pick it up. Immediately I was drawn into the book and now I am 100 pages in. I really like it! It's really well written with unusual, quirky characters. I especially love Ronan.

I'm hoping to finish The Raven Boys tomorrow and then I'm hoping to finish the rest of the series by the end of next week. I may not finish it by then, but I'm just finally happy to be making a start on this series, which is based on Welsh Mythology. It actually feels good when they mention anything to do with Wales and I'm like "I know that. Ha!"



What are you currently reading?
Let me know in the comments.

Monthly Reading Wrap Up | June 2015

The month of June was definitely an unusual reading month for me. Within the first couple of days I finished 3 books, and then 2 or 3 days later I finished my 4th. Then things stumbled from there....I was more bothered about watching TV and Netflix than picking up a book, and when I did get around to doing that, I got bored! Nothing could get me out, I was in a reading slump.

All Lined Up by Cora Carmack - 4 Stars

I was pleasantly surprised with All Lined Up. I wasn't a big fan of Losing It, which was Cora's first book published, however, All Lined Up was an adorable treat. I read it in 4 hours and I fell in love with Carson. I love a bad boy, but he was a gorgeous gentleman and for once, I loved a good boy.

All Broke Down by Cora Carmack - 4 Stars

All Broke Down was a little more serious than All Lined Up, which I liked, especially since it added a depth to Silas' character. Silas appeared as a cocky player in All Lined Up, but I was happy to see that there was more to him than meets the eye. All Broke Down was also very, very steamy!

All Played Out by Cora Carmack - 4 Stars

If I am honest, I was disappointed with All Played Out. I had fallen in love with Mateo Torres from the teasers Cora was displaying online, but for some reason I couldn't connect with him at all. He was just a cocky, flirty player that loved sex. I did, however, love Nell. Nell was a character I could easily relate too, and it was great seeing how she grew as a character.

The Taking by Kimberly Derting - 5 Stars

All stop what you are doing because I have found my favourite book of the year! Yes, The Taking had now become my favourite book of the year and for all the right reasons. I'm not a Sci-Fi, Paranormal fan but The Taking immediately dragged me in and I finished it within a day. I loved the main protagonist, Kyra. She was relatable and the perfect mix of girly girl and tomboy. The relationship with Austin was.....heart palpitating. I'm excited to read the sequel, The Replaced.



What books did you read this month?

Let me know in the comments.