TTT #14 (Places Mentioned in Books I’d LOVE to Visit)

It’s Tuesday! That means it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday! For those of you who haven’t checked out this meme yet or haven’t seen it around, it started over at The Broke and the Bookish and then moved on over to That Artsy Reader Girl !

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1. Prague from Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I’m a sucker for anything set in old European cities. I just adore the history that’s taken place in Europe, it’s so much more in-depth than what we’ve got in the US. I love the old buildings and the history behind all the cities being built.

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2. Wonderland from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Ever since I was little, this was just one of those places that stood out to me and seemed like such an awesome place to at least visit.

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3. Irish Countryside from Love & Luck

I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Ireland, but after reading that book it just made me fall even more in love with it. I want that road trip.

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4. HOGWARTS from Harry Potter

I mean… duh. But ever since I was little and started reading the books, I just adored the idea of visiting this huge castle full of magic in the wilds of Scotland.

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5. Point Zero in Paris from Anna and the French Kiss

I actually went to Paris the year before I read this book and I’m so sad I hadn’t read it before because we were probably feet from this and I didn’t get to go see it.

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6. Caraval from… Caraval

Who wouldn’t want to go visit such an amazing place like this?! Once again, I love all the magical factors and how Caraval came to be and I just feel like it would be incredible to actually see in person.

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7. Barcelona from Isla and the Happily Ever After

One of my absolute favorite parts of the book was when Isla and Josh spent the weekend in Barcelona. The way everything was described was amazing, and once again, all the history in this city.

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8. The Night Court  from A  Court of Mist and Fury

Honestly, nighttime has always been my favorite, there’s something oddly calm about the night and I love it. Plus I LOVE the stars.

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9. Tuscany from Love & Gelato

Aghh. Once again, I loved when we visited Italy but I didn’t get to stop in a lot of places like this. We mainly hit a few big cities (Rome, Verona, Venice) but I would have absolutely loved to see ones like this.

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10.The Shire from Lord of the Rings

I mean, a whole race of people who love gardening and eating and smoking? Count me in. Seriously though, how gorgeous is that?!

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Any places on your list? Any others you’d love to visit?

-Laurenxx

ABC Book Challenge- D

Hello, lovely readers! It’s Wednesday and this week that means ABC Book Challenge!

For each letter, you come up with some of your favorite books that start with that letter, then some books from your TBR that begin with that letter as well! 🙂

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Memorable Reads That Start With “D”:

1. Demons at Deadnight by A. Kirk and E. Kirk

2. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

3. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

5. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Seriously, if you haven’t read one of these, read them. Although… Demons at Deadnight has 3 books and is supposed to have more but there’s no news on that yet. Sooooo that’s your call. :p

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Books to Read That Start With “D”:

1. Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

2. Dark Intelligence  by Neal Asher

3. Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

5. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

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“D” was harder to find 5 favorites for than the last few.
See any of your favorites on here?

-Laurenxx

On a Sunbeam

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Read 2/1/19-2/14/19

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This would probably be closer to 3.5 stars, but I like to round up.

Oh boy. I’m so conflicted with this one because I wanted to love it. I LOVED the artwork, but I found some parts of the story to be a bit… lacking? The characters were interesting but I feel like there was a lot that could have been more fleshed out.

I did enjoy Mia as a character, but I didn’t feel very emotional when stuff happened to her. In fact, I think the thing that was the most off-putting for me was the fact that I really wasn’t attached emotionally to any of the characters and there’s usually at least one character that resonates with me. I liked them all, don’t get me wrong, but none of them connected for me.

My favorite parts of this was definitely the artwork and the overall story was definitely interesting. The artwork- the colors, the space, and those beautiful spaceships- was absolutely stunning. Some pages I would find myself staring at for a few minutes apiece simply because I loved the way they were illustrated.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a nice f/f representation, some beautiful artwork, and an interesting story in space!

-Laurenxx

TBR Tackle Thursday (#21)

Look at me posting this when I need to be. I’m changing it up a bit and not posting the synopsis, because frankly it takes way too long and I don’t feel the need to continue doing so. :p

But anyways, for those who don’t know what it is, the basis is pretty simple:

1. Go to that list of yours wherever it’s at.
2. Go to the OLDEST stuff listed.
3. Pick a chunk (5,10,15, 25, however many you want to go through) of books.
4. Read the synopsis, and decide if you’re going to keep it on that list or if it’s one of those books that sounded good at the time.
5. Post your list and your verdicts!

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1. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Verdict:

This actually sounds really freaking cool and I always love starting new fantasy series! KEEPING this one!

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2. Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Verdict:

Oh man. This just moved up my TBR list because this sounds absolutely fantastic! I cannot wait to read this now. It sounds right up my alley and, it’s got a sarcastic MC with what sounds like very interesting narrative. I’m in. KEEPING!

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3. Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey

Verdict:

I’ll give this a shot at some point. KEEPING!

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4. Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Verdict:

Ehh… not really something that sounds up my alley at the moment. I don’t know if I’d pick this one up and with so many others littering  my shelves…. REMOVING.

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5. First Year by Rachel E. Carter

Verdict:

I’ve been meaning to read this for ages and I’ve just been completely and utterly failing. KEEPING because I own multiple copies and really just have no reason not to.

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6. Halo by Frankie Rose

Verdict:

With the glowing reviews this has received and the premise that sounds FANTASTIC, how can I not want to read it? KEEPING!

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7. Relentless by Karen Lynch

Verdict:

Keeping. Absolutely 100% keeping, I know how much some of my friends love this book and I’ve got it on my Kindle now so I definitely need to read it soon! KEEPING.

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8. Party Girl by Rachel Hollis

Verdict:

I think I’m going to try this one out, actually. I think I may enjoy it, if not for a good change of pace. KEEPING!

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9. Just Breathe by Vincent Morrone ***** trigger warning *****

Verdict:

*****This is a very, very heavily trigger warning book. I know some friends who had some pretty serious reactions to what goes on through the book, so don’t take that TW lightly if you’re sensitive to sexual-assault because this book goes HEAVILY into that.*****

I am willing to read this at some point, when I know I can fully take it. KEEPING.

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10. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Verdict:

Once again, this book has phenomenal reviews and I’m definitely interested to check it out! KEEPING!

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*** Total Kept/ Removed: 9/1 ***

Definitely not my best week. xD But, that’s okay, I was reminded of some I wanted to read quite some time ago, and got rid of one that just isn’t my thing anymore.

-Laurenxx

WWW #4

It’s been about a month now since I’ve done this one… oops. But that’s okay, it just means there’s more to go over as far as what I’ve finished. 🙂

For those of you who don’t know what this one is, it started over at Taking on a World of Words and it consists of just a few simple questions:

The 3 W’s:

–What are you currently reading?

-What did you recently finish reading?

-What are you planning on reading next?

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What I’m Reading:

The Bone Season was a pick that’s part of a book club my friend and I started on Facebook (if you’re interested in joining, let me know!) and I’ve been wanting to read On a Sunbeam for a while and finally snagged a copy when I went to Barnes and Noble the last time. Super good so far!

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What I’ve Finished Recently:

You’d Be Mine was a 4-star read, review here: Country Girl, Shake It For Me

The Gunslinger was a 3-star read, review here: Slinger of Guns

Ash Princess was a 5-star read, review here: Princess of Ash

A Discovery of Witches was a 5-star read, review here: Discovering Witches

Clockwork Angel was a 5-star reread (my 7th time), working on a new review for it as we speak!

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I know some of these are from my previous ones, but I’m DETERMINED to read Lady Smoke as soon as I’m done with my current reads, and the others are ones I’ve been meaning to read for ages.

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What’ve you read recently or what are you looking to read soon? 🙂

-Laurenxx

ABC Book Challenge- C

Hello, lovely readers! It’s Wednesday and this week that means ABC Book Challenge!

For each letter, you come up with some of your favorite books that start with that letter, then some books from your TBR that begin with that letter as well! 🙂

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Memorable Reads That Start With “C”:

1. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

2. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

3. The Calling by James Frey, Nils Johnson-Shelton

4. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

5. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

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1. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

2. Circe by Madeline Miller

3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

4. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

5. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

TTT #13: TBR Books I Need Help Deciding On

Hello, dearies! Hope your morning/afternoon/ evening is going well! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means… Top Ten Tuesday time!

For those of you who haven’t come across this yet, it started at The Broke and the Bookish and they handed the torch off to That Artsy Reader Girl and she’s been absolutely fantastic.

Not sure if any of you are like me and have some books that are just sort of… chilling on your TBR list but that you haven’t bit the bullet on to either read or remove them. So, if any of you have read these, let me know what you think! 🙂

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1. 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

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2. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

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3. From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

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4. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

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5. Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Predergast

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6. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by McKenzi Lee

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7. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

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8. Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

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9. Crazy House by James Patterson

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10. Generation One by Pittacus Lore

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Anything you see on here that you’ve read? Any on your TBR as well? Let me know down there in the comments! 🙂

-Laurenxx

Discovering Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Read 1/25/19-2/4/19

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So, I totally understand all sides of this. Why people love it, why others don’t, and all of those who fall in between. It’s Twilight for adults, but it’s written sooooo much better and it’s so interesting. There’s a lot of backstory and a lot that goes into the story. Plus, Harkness definitely loves her detail and I know that for some people, wordy books are very off-putting.

I’m an Anthropology major, and I’m leaning towards either archaeology or forensics, so all of the DNA aspects of this book were super interesting to me. And being a history fanatic, I was enthralled to hear anything and everything when they talked about the past.

Diana was one of the best main characters ever. I loved how realistic she was, she wasn’t without her flaws but she’s such a badass and I absolutely adore her. And Matthew is probably my favorite vampire character of all time.

Learning about Matthew’s past was something I looked forward to in every instance it was brought up. With him being as old as he is, he lived through A LOT of history and hearing the stuff he experienced and lived through was amazing.

The lore in this book was absolutely fascinating, with the witches, vampires, and daemons, it’s definitely an interesting world, especially once they bring the genetic side into it. I can’t wait to find out more of what’s behind everything and just… can’t wait to continue reading this series.

I love that the setting wasn’t stationary and how much the characters actually went through over the course of this novel. Man, what a whirlwind!

The supporting characters in this book all brought something unique to the story and I just absolutely LOVE them all in their own ways. I would have to say that Hamish, Marcus, and Sarah are my favorites but I honestly adore them all.

This book was daunting when I first picked it up, but I am so thankful that I did, thanks to the suggestion of my friend, and cannot wait to pick up the second one.