Mini Reviews: Pushing the Limits and Gathering Darkness

Hey guys, I'm back! I know I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been busy with the Holiday Season but I've still been reading. I just read two books recently. I don't feel like writing two long separate reviews for them like I usually do, so I'm going to write quick reviews for each book. I'm sorry for doing it this way, but I don't have too much to say about these books anyway, just know that I loved both of these books. 

5/5 Lily Pads
I really loved this book! It has been on my TBR for years and I'm so glad I finally read it. I thought this book was absolute perfection. I've never seen such a healthy romance portrayed this well in a YA Contemporary. I read a lot of Contemporary Romance, and this book seriously had the healthiest relationship ever. I loved Noah and Echo. I loved how scarred and flawed they both were, and they loved each other despite all of the personal struggles they have. That's a real relationship for me and I just loved them so much! I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the next book "Dare You To". 

5/5 Lily Pads
I loved this book too! It was amazing. I love this series so much! It's becoming a favorite series of mine and I am obsessed, lol. These books are so addicting, I always have trouble putting them down. I always fly through the books and I read this one very quickly. I'm not gonna put spoilers so this review is pretty short. I don't have too much to say about "Gathering Darkness" anyway. Just know that I loved this book and can't wait to read "Frozen Tides" next. If you haven't read this series yet you need to. Also, Magnus and Cleo are my new OTP, I ship them so hard!

So yeah, those were my two quick mini reviews. I really wanna start "Frozen Tides" next so stay tuned for a review after I finish it. I hope you all have a Happy New Year and I will see you guys next in 2018! I also hope you had a great year in 2017. I have a feeling 2018 will be a lot better for me. Anyway, thanks for reading and I will see you in the new year. Bye and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Awake at Dawn

"Awake at Dawn" by C.C. Hunter(Shadow Falls #2)

Publication Date-October 11, 2011

Genre-Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Paperback Edition-383 Pages

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes if you liked the first book.

Beware of Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hey guys, I'm back with a review. I am reviewing the second book in the "Shadow Falls" series. I just read the first book and really enjoyed it. The book ended on a cliffhanger so I really wanted to dive into the next book. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this book, it was a good sequel. Let's get on to the review. 

Plot-4/5

There wasn't much of a plot. It was basically just about Kylie trying to figure out what she is and just some boy drama. Not much happens which is why I gave it a lower rating. It was entertaining and I was never bored while reading it though so I thought I would give the plot a generous rating. 

Setting-5/5

I'm still giving the setting a perfect rating because I love where these books take place. I love being at the camp, it's so cool!

Writing-4/5

I like the author's writing but it's not anything special. She's good at writing dialogue though so I gave it a higher rating. 

Pacing-5/5

Even though I said this book is slower than the first book, I never found it boring. The whole book is enjoyable. The second half was amazing though! The second half had so much action especially towards the end of the book. I'm not gonna lie, I think the reason why I found the first half kind of slow is because Lucas wasn't in the book until the second half. I love Lucas and reading about Kylie and Derek wasn't as entertaining. 

Cover-5/5

Just like with the first book, I love this cover. I actually love all of the covers. I think they are gorgeous. 

Characters-4.5

You're probably wondering why I didn't give the characters a full five. I'll get to that in a minute. I'm not going to go into much detail about the characters because I explained my feelings for them in my review for the first book. I still love Kylie, she's a great main character. I still love all the side characters like, Miranda, Della and Perry. I totally ship Holiday and Burnett. I still love Lucas, he is my dream guy and he stole my heart even more in this book! So the reason why I didn't give the characters a perfect rating is because of Derek. For those of you who've read this book, you'll understand why. I really liked Derek in the first book, but I started to dislike him in this book. I didn't like the way he treated Kylie. She didn't want to be more than friends with him yet because she has to think about which guy she likes better. (You guys should know I'm totally Team Lucas by the way) and I don't ship her with Derek at all. Anyway, he didn't like that she needed more time so he just took off, ignored her and stopped talking to her. Like seriously? This is your friend, why would you treat her that way? You can still talk to her and be around her. So yeah, that's why I don't like him anymore. I can write a book on why I love Lucas. I was reading a lot of pages of "Team Derek or Team Lucas" and I was surprised to see that a lot of people are Team Derek and I'm like, why? I don't get it, Lucas is so much better and he treats her so much better! He would never intentionally ignore her or stop talking to her. Anyway, Derek is not a bad guy but I just hated that he did that. Maybe he will redeem himself in the third book. 

Ending-5/5

The ending of this book was amazing! There was so much action and it ends on a cliffhanger. I can't wait to see where this series goes. 

Overall Thoughts

"Awake at Dawn" was a great sequel. I'm really liking this series. I can't wait to read the third book. I'm not sure when I'll read it though, because there's so many other books I wanna get to this month in December. Stay tuned for a review for "Taken at Dusk". If you liked the first book, you should pick this one up, it's definitely worth a buy. So that was my review. Thank you so much as always for taking the time to read my posts. I really appreciate it. You guys are the best! Thank you and stick around for more posts coming soon. Bye and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Born at Midnight

"Born at Midnight" by C.C. Hunter(Shadow Falls #1)

Publication Date- March 29, 2011

Paperback Edition-398 Pages

Genre-Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Rating-4.5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? If you love Cassandra Clare's books, I think you'll like this book

No Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hey there, I am back with a review! Today I am reviewing a book that's been on my TBR for five years and that book is "Born at Midnight". I've been wanting to read this book since I first discovered it on Booktube in 2012. So I finally read it. I'll admit, that I dnf'd it after reading the first half because I wasn't loving it. I just decided to pick it up again because I really don't like not finishing books, and I'm so glad I did because I really enjoyed the book. Let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Plot-5/5

I know the plot of this book isn't very original, but I really liked it. I liked that it it's about a camp for paranormal creatures. It kind of reminded me of "Camp Half-Blood" from the Percy Jackson series. I love paranormal books so I thought it was cool that everyone at the camp were different creatures, it wasn't just one type of creature. 

Setting-5/5

I really liked the setting. Like I said before, I love that it took place at a camp for Paranormal creatures. It was cool to read about. 

Writing-4.5/5 

I like the author's writing, but her style isn't my favorite. I've read authors with better writing so I'm not giving her a perfect rating for this one. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was great. It was never slow and I was never bored while reading this book. 

Cover-5/5

I actually love the cover of this book. Purple is my favorite color so of course I love the cover! The spine is pretty too. 

Characters-5/5

I think the characters really saved the book for me. I chose to dnf it at first because I wasn't loving the book, but the characters definitely made me want to keep reading. The character development was done very well. I actually found myself attached to these characters.

I really liked Kylie. I don't understand why she has so much hate. Yeah, she can be immature at times but she's a teenage  girl so it's fine. I liked her because she's a kind, good, person. She really cares about others, especially her friends and family. 

I'm not going to mention all of the characters because that would take way too long. 

I liked Derek. I think I liked him more in the beginning of the book because Lucas wasn't present yet. He's a very good, sweet guy and I liked him. But I don't like that he keeps pressuring Kylie to be more than friends with him. If you read the book, obviously she likes Lucas better(I do too) and she doesn't want a relationship in the first book so I kind of wish he would back off a little. I heard he's more pushy in the second book and I just can't stand guys like that. What's wrong with just being friends first? They haven't known each other for long either. I only see him as a friend to her and nothing more. I'm biased because Lucas stole my heart. 

Guys, I am Team Lucas all the way! I loved him so much!! He's actually not in the book that much but when he was, my heart was beating so fast. He's such a good guy too like Derek but I like him so much better. He's very kind, sweet and very protective to Kylie and I love guys that are protective. Ahh, I love him so much! I obviously ship him and Kylie together, they are meant for each other. I also like that they have a history because their relationship didn't feel insta-lovey like her and Derek. I love that he always protected her when she was little, it's so cute! There's something he does at the end of the book and  I don't wanna spoil you but its' so sweet! I can't wait to see him more in the other books. He is seriously one of my book boyfriends now!

As for the side characters, I loved Della and Miranda. They are so cool and I would love to be friends with them. I loved Holiday and Perry but I don't like Kylie's parents. If you read the book you'll know why. 

Ending-5/5

The book has a happy ending but it ends on a cliffhanger. I need to know what happens next! I can't wait until I get to the next book. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad I decided to finish it and give it a second chance. It's been a while since I've read a paranormal book, so it was a nice change from all the other stuff I've been reading. The reason I didn't give the book a perfect rating is because I didn't love the book. I didn't think it was amazing or mind blowing but it was really good. I can't wait to read the second book "Awake at Dawn". This book is worth a buy. If you love paranormal books with love triangles or love the "Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare I think you will love this book. 

That was my review. Thank you so much for reading. I'm probably going to continue reading "The Rules of Magic" by Alice Hoffman next. Stay tuned for a review for that book soon. Have a great day and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Grim

"Grim" edited by Christine Johnson

Publication Date-February 24, 2014

Genre-Young Adult, Short Stories, Fairy Tale Retellings

ARC Paperback Edition-476

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend it? Yes
No Spoilers!!

Hey guys. I feel like it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I've still been reading, but I didn't want to review the last couple of books I've read and I just dnf'd a book. Today I am reviewing "Grim". This is a YA Anthology about fairy tale retellings written by Young Adult authors. I got this book from Harlequin Teen years ago and never got to it. I finally read this book and it feels so good that I'm done with it. I did enjoy it, it was pretty good. Let's get on to the review.

I am going to rate each story individually. 

"The Key" by Rachel Hawkins-4/5 Lily Pads

I really liked this one. I never read a book by Rachel Hawkins but I like her writing style. This short story was good but it was too short for me and ended abruptly. I wasn't attached to the characters but that's okay because it was only 34 pages. Overall, I liked this one but it was kinda weird. 

"Figment" by Jeri Smith-Ready-5/5 Lily Pads

I really loved this one! I loved her "Shade" trilogy so I was really excited to read her story and it didn't disappoint me. I'll admit that I was confused in the beginning but it started to make sense soon after that. I really liked the "Puss in Boots" retelling and I really liked the main guy, Eli. He was a good guy and I loved that he was a musician. I loved Lyra and "Figment the cat". Overall I really loved this story, it was very cute. The character development was really awesome and it ended really well, but I wish it was a full novel because I would love to see more with the characters. 

"The Twelfth Girl" by Malinda Lo-5/5 Lily Pads

This is my favorite story so far out of the first three. I liked the main character, Liv even though she was naive. I love the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" story. I liked the plot and the setting at the boarding school. 

"The Raven Princess" by Jon Skrovron-5/5 Lily Pads

This one is my new favorite so far. I loved this story! The plot was awesome and the character development was amazing! I wish this story was a full length novel. I wanna read more about these characters. 

"Thinner Than Water" by Saundra Mitchell-1/5 Lily Pads

I didn't care for this story. It was weird and I didn't like the incest in it, I thought it was gross. I was also bored while reading it, and I don't even remember how it ended. 

"Before The Rose Bloomed" by Ellen Hopkins-2/5 Lily Pads

This one was ok. I didn't love it and I hate books in verse so that's probably why I didn't care for it. She does have a pretty writing style though so I gave it a higher rating than the last story. 

"Beast/Beast" by Tessa Grafton-5/5 Lily Pads

I really liked this story! It was really good and I loved the characters. It's Beauty and the Beast, how could I not love it?

"The Brothers Piggett" by Julie Kagawa-5/5 Lily Pads

I loved this story! Julie is one of my favorite authors so of course I wasn't disappointed. I loved all the characters, especially Percival. He was so cute and I felt so bad for him. 

"Untethered" by Sonia Gensler-1/5 Lily Pads

I'm not sure how I feel about this story. It was confusing and it was only ten pages long so there wasn't really a plot. There wasn't any character development either. It was just meh, and it probably would've been better if it was longer. 

"Better" by Shaun David Hutchinson-DNF

I couldn't finish this story. I didn't care for it. It was boring and I didn't care about the characters. 

"Light it Up" by Kimberly Derting-5/5 Lily Pads

I loved this story! It's a retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" and it was really good! I loved their relationship and the character development was awesome. I honestly wish the story was a full length novel. This story is one of my favorites now. 

"Sharper Than A Serpent's Tongue" by Christine Johnson-5/5

I really liked this one. I love the close sister relationship between Clara and Dina. The story was very creative. 

"A Real Boy" by Claudia Gray-5/5 Lily Pads

This is by far the most beautifully written story in the book. Her writing style is gorgeous. I loved Blue and Rowan, they were great characters and Rowan is such a sweetheart. 

"Skin Trade" by Myra McEntire-1/5 Lily Pads

I'm not really sure how I feel about this story. It was weird and wasn't that great. It was also very short and had insta-love in it. 

"Beauty and the Chad" by Sarah Rees Brennan-4/5 Lily Pads

This story was pretty good. It reminded me of "Mulan" because Belle disguised herself as a boy. I liked that the author made the beast a good guy and he was a really nice person. 

"The Pink" by Amanda Hocking-3.5/5 Lily Pads

I love Amanda's books so I had high hopes for this one. This story was good. The first half kind of bored me, but the second half was a lot better. I loved Brenn, Dianthus and his parents. The ending was really cute. 

"Sell Out" by Jackson Pearce-2/5 Lily Pads

I really like Jackson Pearce's books but I wasn't a fan of this one. It was boring and the plot wasn't very good. 

Final Thoughts

I gave this book an overall rating of 4/5 Lily Pads. A lot of the stories I really liked, but there were some I didn't care for. This was my first anthology and I can't wait to read more of them in the future. If you love retellings, you should definitely read this book. 

So yeah that was my review. Thank you so much for reading and have a great day. Happy reading! :)

Book Review: The Glass Spare

"The Glass Spare" by Lauren DeStefano(The Glass Spare #1)

Publication Date-October 24, 2017

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Hardcover Edition-402 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

 Would I Recommend It? Yes!

Some Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hey everyone! I am back again with a review. Today I am reviewing a new release book which is "The Glass Spare". This is Lauren's new fantasy novel. I read "Wither" by her earlier this year and really enjoyed it. When I found out she was writing a Fantasy novel and read the synopsis, I was so excited! I actually pre-ordered this book and I never pre-order books. This book was really good! I really enjoyed it. Let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power.

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

Plot-5/5

Like I said before, the plot is what made me want to read this book in the first place. I loved the plot! It is so unique and different. Wil can kill people or living things by turning them into gemstone. It's so cool! I never read a book like that before. Also, the fact that this book takes place in kingdoms made me love it even more. I love anything that's set in a royalty setting. It's my favorite type of fantasy to read about so of course I loved the plot of this book. 

Setting-5/5

I love books that take place in castles and I just love fantasy worlds in general so obviously I gave it a perfect rating. The setting was absolutely perfect!

Writing-5/5

I love the author's writing style. When I was reading "Wither" I remember loving her writing and the way she writes is just beautiful. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was perfect in this book. It kept me interested the whole time. 

Cover-4/5

I like the cover but I'm not in love with it. It's pretty but I feel like it could've been better. 

Characters-5/5

I really liked all of the characters in this book. They were developed really well and I like that she threw in some diversity. One character is physically disabled and another character has OCD. 

Let's discuss our main protagonist, Wil. I really liked Wil. She was a really strong, awesome girl. She has three older brothers so she's pretty tough and she's really good at fighting and defending herself. She has a kind heart, and is really close to her family. I love how the main plot revolves around Wil's family and I love how protective she is for the people she loves. She's a great character and I really love her. I feel so bad for her since she's stuck with her bad power, I would hate to be her. I like that even though she has a deadly power, she's not a monster, she's a good person. 

I love her Mom, she's very kind and loves her family. I don't really like her Dad. He's not in the book that much but I don't like him because his intentions aren't good. I love Owen, he's such a good older brother. Spoiler- I was so sad when he died, I thought he would come back to life but he didn't. It broke my heart because I loved Owen. 

I didn't like Baren at all. He was a mean brother, he didn't love any of his siblings and he just wasn't a likable character at all. 

I loved Gerdie so much!! He's definitely one of my favorite characters of this book. He's so intelligent, kind and sweet. I love how much he cares about Wil and I just love their relationship. It's refreshing to see a brother and sister have a close relationship in a YA book. I feel like that's not common. 

I like Zay. At first I didn't like her because she didn't like Wil and didn't trust her. But she becomes nicer as the book goes on and by the end, I really liked her. I really liked Loom too. He was a great guy, he really wanted to help his kingdom and make the world a better place. I kind of shipped him and Wil. This book doesn't have a lot of romance, it's a very minor part of the book. So if you want a Fantasy book with a lot of romance, this isn't the book for you. There's a reason why there's not a lot of romance but it's explained at the end of the book. 

Ending-5/5

Since this book isn't a stand-alone, I can't really judge the ending. It was good. I didn't think it ended on a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens. It stinks that I have to wait a whole year for the next book but I can live because there's no cliffhanger. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I loved this book. It was a great and refreshing Fantasy book. I loved everything about "The Glass Spare". If your wondering, I never continued the "Chemical Garden trilogy" because something happens in the second book that I don't like. So I'm not planning on finishing that series even though I really liked "Wither".  I definitely want to read the next book when it comes out next year. This book is so worth a buy, you should go out and buy a copy of this book right now because it's amazing and underrated. This book seriously needs more recognition. I haven't seen this book anywhere around booktube and I don't understand why. Please go read it and give this book and the author some recognition. She deserves it. So yeah, that was my review. Thank you guys so much for reading. I have no idea what book I'm going to read next, but stay tuned for my next review. Bye and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Pivot Point

"Pivot Point" by Kasie West(Pivot Point #1)

Publication Date-February 12, 2013

Genre-Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Contemporary

Hardcover Edition-343 Pages

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes

No Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hello guys! I am back with a review. I am reviewing "Pivot Point". Even though this is Kasie West's first book, this is not the first book I read from her. I actually read "The Fill-In Boyfriend" earlier this year and loved it so much! I've been dying to read more of her books and I thought I would continue with this one because I wanna read her books in publication order and also because I've been wanting to read this book for years. I'm so glad I finally read this book because I really enjoyed it. I didn't love it as much as my first book by her but it was still good. Let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through... and who she can’t live without.

Plot-5/5

The premise of this book is really what made me interested in reading "Pivot Point" years ago. It's such a cool idea. I wish I could see the results of choices made in the future. It was such a unique and different idea. It was also very creative so I had to give the plot a perfect rating. 

Setting-5/5

I normally rate the world of the book but since this book reads like a Contemporary, it doesn't take place in a different world. It takes place in America. 

Writing-5/5

I obviously love Kasie's writing. Her writing style is very simple but she's so good at writing dialogue and that's why I love her. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was great in this book. This book basically tells two different stories, so I can't really judge the pacing in this book. I loved both stories though. 

Cover-5/5

I really like the cover. It's very cool and unique, that's all I'm going to say. 

The Characters-4/5

I really liked most of the characters. First, let's discuss Addie. I really liked her character and I found her relatable. She's kind of shy and not popular. She loves to read and I loved that about her. She was a really good, caring  person and you know I love nice characters. Overall, I just loved Addie. I loved reading from her perspective. 

I liked Addie's best friend, Laila. She was very out there and into boys but she was a good friend to Addie most of the time and I liked her character. 

The reason I didn't give this section a perfect rating is because of Duke. He's Addie's love interest in one of the stories. He's your typical popular, arrogant, football player with blonde hair and blue eyes. I sort of had mixed feelings about him. Duke was nice in the beginning but you find out something about him later on. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but it made me dislike him by the end of the book. 

But I absolutely loved Trevor! He is Addie's friend in the other story. I just loved his character so much! He is a football player, but he's shy and a geek at heart. He loves graphic novels and loves to draw. He is such a nice, sweet guy and I loved him. I wanted Addie to be with him instead of Duke. 

As for the side characters, they were well developed but I'm not going to say anything about them because that would take forever.

Ending-4/5

I didn't love the ending of this book. It wasn't a good ending and it was kind of sad. I do want to see what happens in the sequel.  

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I didn't love it like I loved "The Fill-In Boyfriend". It was good but not amazing. I feel like her other books won't compare to it but I'm biased because that was my first book from her. Hopefully her other books will amaze me too. There is a sequel to "Pivot Point" and I will probably read it sometime in the future. I'm not really dying to read it so it might be a long time before I get to "Split Second". I think this book is worth a buy because I bought my own copy years ago and just got to it. So yeah guys, that was my review. Thank you so much for reading. I'll have more posts coming soon so stay tuned. Bye and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

"Forest of a Thousand Lanterns" by Julie C. Dao (Rise of the Empress #1)

Publication Date-October 10, 2017

Genre- Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings

Hardcover Edition-363 Pages

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes, especially if you love books set in Asia

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quotes:

Page 115-"Some of us must rely on friends to see the best within us. That is how we find balance."

Page 116-"We all have our battles to fight, but we can choose to overcome them."

Page 144-"Being underestimated can be a blessing in disguise," Xifeng said. "That is to say, it gives us a chance to astonish those who doubt our true worth."

Hey guys, I hope all of you are doing great. I can't believe it's the end of October, this month flew by so fast. There were so many books I wanted to read this month, but unfortunately I couldn't get to them. I pre-ordered this book and started it the day it came in the mail. I was really excited to read this book and it got some good buzz lately. So today I am reviewing "Forest of a Thousand Lanterns". When I found out this was a Snow White Evil Queen retelling set in Asia, I knew I had to read it. I'm always looking for books set in Asian countries. This book didn't disappoint me, let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?

Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

Plot-5/5

The plot of this book is what sold me to read it. I love Fantasy books but I really love books set in Kingdoms and I just love the royalty side of Fantasy the most. I was especially sold when I found out this was a Snow White retelling because I love reading fairy tale retellings. Also, the book is set in Asia so how could I not love it? I'm not going to describe my feelings on the plot more because I would mention spoilers and I'm not spoiling you guys. 

World-5/5

Honestly, this book doesn't have a lot of world building in it. Since it was set in Asia I'm going to automatically give it a perfect rating and also because I loved how most of it took place in a castle. It was a very unique setting, it's never read a book like this before. 

Writing-4.5/5

This is Julie's debut novel and she really impressed me with her writing. Her writing style is beautiful, I really like it. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that this book is written in third person. It would've been so much better if it was in first person, especially because your reading about an evil villain. I like books in third person but I prefer them in first person because it's harder for me to connect to the characters. This is her first book so I'm cutting her some slack. 

Pacing-5/5

I thought the pacing was pretty good. It never felt slow and I was never bored while reading it. 

Cover-5/5

I really like the cover. I love the green, it's so pretty. I like the flower and the snake. The snake has a meaning in the book so I liked that the cover actually goes with the book. 

Characters-4/5

How I feel about the characters in this book is kind of complicated. A lot of the characters I liked but didn't love. I wasn't really attached to them. 

First of all, I had mixed feelings about the main protagonist, Xifeng. I understand she's supposed to be an anti-hero/evil villain. I found her unlikable in the first half of the book but I started to like her more in the second half. I liked her but I didn't love her. I'm not used to reading anti-heroine stories so that's probably why I couldn't connect to her. I liked her at some parts but then other times I didn't care for her. I just have mixed feelings about her. I also found myself rooting for her though at times. Guma I couldn't stand. She was so mean and abusive. I liked Wei, he was a nice guy. I was rooting for them and wanted them to be together. I hated Lady Sun, and I liked the Empress. I really liked the Crown Prince and I wanted to see more of him, he was barely in the book. I liked the Emperor. I liked the side characters including Hideki and Shiro. So basically I liked the characters in this book but I didn't love them. I didn't have a huge attachment to them and I didn't really care who died. I wasn't emotionally attached to anyone. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. I guess my expectations were too high. I still don't know how I feel about the book to be honest. This review was hard for me to write because I didn't know what to say about it since I didn't love it or hate it. I still found it very enjoyable and I'm glad I read it. I thought it ended really well and I found out there's a sequel. I'm curious to see what she does with it because I thought the book ended perfectly. I do want to read the next book but I'll have to wait until next year. So yeah, I recommend this book if you love retellings or reading about asian characters. I think you should borrow this book before buying a copy just to see what you think. Even though I bought my copy(I preordered it) I don't think it's worth buying but you'll probably love this book more than I did. So I gave this book 4/5 Lily Pads because I really liked it but it wasn't worth 5 stars to me. So anyway, that was my review. I'm sorry that this review is kind of lame and all over the place. I didn't know how to review this book, it was just hard for me. Thank you so much for reading this review. I'll have more posts coming soon so stay tuned. Bye and happy reading! :)

Book Review: A Torch Against The Night

"A Torch Against The Night" by Sabaa Tahir(Ember in the Ashes #2)

Publication Date-September 8, 2016

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy

Hardcover Edition-454 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? If you loved the first book, you have to read this one!

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quotes

Page 158-"Always so afraid of the darkness within." Mamie takes my hands. "Don't you see? So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light."

Page 380-"Perhaps grief is like battle: After experiencing enough of it, your body's instincts take over. When you see it closing in like a Martial death squad, you harden your insides. You prepare for the agony of a shredded heart. And when it hits, it hurts, but not as badly, because you have locked away your weakness, and all that's left is anger and strength."

Intro

Hey guys. I promised you I would write a review for "A Torch Against The Night" once I finished it and here it is. This book took me a long time to read, but it was so worth it because I loved it so much! I loved the first book, but this one was even better. This review isn't going to be as long as the first one because I already said most of my thoughts in my Ember review. I also don't wanna spoil you so don't worry, this review is spoiler-free. I'm not going to describe the plot because of spoilers. So let's get on with the review. 

Plot-5/5

At the end of the first book, I pretty much predicted the ending and knew what would happen in the second book. I'm so happy I was right because the plot of this book was awesome. I loved that Laia and Elias were together more and I loved the journey they went on together. I'll admit that the first book had more of a plot but this one was great too so I gave it a perfect rating. 

Writing-5/5

Of course I loved the writing in this book. She's becoming one of my favorite authors because I really like her writing style. Also like with the first book, I loved that this book was also in first person narration. I loved that we also got Helene's pov this time too. I liked reading inside of her head. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was pretty good in this book. I wasn't bored. It wasn't as fast paced as the first book but it wasn't a boring sequel at all. The ending was awesome!

Cover-5/5

I bought the UK hardcover for this book because I like the UK cover so much better. The American cover isn't bad, but I think the gold and the colors are much prettier on the UK cover. The blue font for the American cover is boring to me so that's why I own the UK edition. Both covers are gorgeous though. 

World-5/5

I really like the world and setting of these books. They are very unique and different from other YA Fantasy books I've read. I would not want to live in this world though, it's horrible, lol. 

Characters-5/5

I'm not gonna go into too much detail about the characters because I already talked about them in my review for the first book. I still love Laia, Elias and Helene. Elias is definitely my favorite character in this series. He is so amazing and he's such a good person. I feel so bad for him because he's been through so much and doesn't deserve all the cruelty and harsh treatment. I just love him so much! He's definitely my new book boyfriend. Laia is so much stronger in this book, I love how kick butt she is. I liked Helene in the first book but this book made me like her even more. I felt so bad for her too. I'm not going to talk about the side characters because I would have to spoil the book for you and I'm not doing that. I try to keep all my reviews spoiler-free. 

Enjoyment-5/5

Even though I was kind of frustrated because this book took me forever to read, I also didn't want it to end. I loved the ending but I need more. I can't wait for the next book. I enjoyed reading this book, this series is so great but it's also heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine living in that cruel world. Overall this book was an amazing sequel. It's so worth a buy and I highly recommend Torch if you loved the first book. I obviously gave this book 5/5 Lily Pads. 

So that was my review. Thank you so much for reading! It really means the world to me. :) I'll have another post up soon so stay tuned. Have a great day and happy reading!

Book Review: The Hating Game

"The Hating Game" by Sally Thorne

Publication Date-August 9, 2016

Genre-Adult, Fiction, Romance

Paperback Edition-362 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes!! If you love romance books, you have to read this book!

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quote:

"Gamins resented the notion of books as units. Books were, and always would be, something a little magic and something to respect". 

Hey bookworms! I know it's been a while since I last posted. The reason why is because I recently read a book but I didn't finish it. I never write reviews for books that I don't finish. I also haven't been reading much lately until I picked up "The Hating Game". I buddy read this book with my good booktube friend, Rachel. Here is the link to her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHwH-WfFqH-lXWg5ToMptgg

I absolutely loved this book! This is probably one of the best romance books I've read in a while. Read on to see more of my thoughts. 

The Plot (Goodreads summary)

Nemesis (n.)
1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

My Opinion

Plot-5/5

I loved the plot of this book. The main characters work at a publishing company which is my dream job. I love reading about characters that love books. I also love reading about characters that take place at work. This book has the hate-to-love trope which is one of my favorite tropes so overall I had to give the plot a perfect rating because it has everything I love in a book. 

Writing-5/5

I love Sally's writing style. This is her debut book and I thought her writing was amazing. She's really good at writing dialogue, I loved all the conversations in this book. They were really sweet and it also made me laugh at times. 

Pacing-5/5

There was never a dull moment in this book. Every single word and every single page was amazing! This book kept my attention the whole time. It was never slow or boring. I also found this book very addicting, I didn't want to put it down. When I wasn't reading it, I found myself thinking about it and wanting to pick it back up. 

Cover-5/5

I love the cover of this book! I love that Lucy and Josh are on the cover and the blue is stunning! I also like the UK cover too. 

Characters-5/5

The characters are amazing in this book! This is a debut novel but you wouldn't be able to tell because the character development in this book is so amazing. Let's talk about our main character Lucy first. I loved her character. She works at a publishing company and she is very kind and a pleasant person to be around. Everyone at work loves her and she's just a very likable girl. I just loved her so much! She loves books and she was just such a good person. She's a hard worker and she stands up for what she believes in and she can be sassy at times. 

The other main character is Lucy's coworker, Josh. They hate each other and have to work near each other every day. Josh isn't the most likable guy. He's mean and doesn't really show emotion. Everyone at work is scared of him and he's just not pleasant to be around. Basically he's the opposite of Lucy. I actually really liked Josh. He was a good guy and he can be nice at times. He is incredibly shy and I liked that because I rarely read books with a shy guy in it. In the beginning he's not that likable, but he becomes a better, nicer person by the end of the book. I love him because he's nice, caring and very sweet to Lucy. He was so sweet, I want a guy like him. 

I loved their relationship. They went from "hating" each other, to liking each other. I loved watching their relationship grow and them developing feelings for each other. The romance was so sweet, and I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. They are such a good couple. I really liked that even though Josh isn't a very likable guy, Lucy liked him and was nice to him. She wanted to get to know him. I liked that Lucy fell for a different type of guy. Usually in romance books we see the girl fall for a popular, likable guy. Josh isn't really nice at first and he keeps to himself most of the time. It was just so unique that she liked a unlikable guy. It takes a special kind of person to love someone like that, and Lucy was that girl. She saw the good in him that a lot of people and his family never saw. That's why I loved their relationship. They are such a strong pair. 

As for the side characters, I liked them. I'm not going to describe them in detail because the side characters are barely in the book. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I loved this book so much! I've been wanting to read it for a while and I'm so glad I finally read it. "The Hating Game" is definitely one of my favorite books now and it's also on my "Favorite Books of 2017" list. If you love romance books that take place at work or just romance books in general, you need to read this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone. This book is definitely worth a buy. I'm so going to reread this book in the future. I really wish there was a sequel though because I want more. I wanna read more about Lucy and Josh. I can't wait for Sally's new book "The Comfort Zone" that comes out in February. I feel like she's going to become an auto-buy author for me. Obviously I gave this book 5/5 Lily Pads. So that was my review. Thank you so much for reading. I'm currently reading "A Torch Against The Night" by Sabaa Tahir so stay tuned for a review for that book once I finish it. Have a great day and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Cinder

"Cinder" by Marissa Meyer(Lunar Chronicles #1)

Publication Date- January 3, 2012

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance

Hardcover Edition-390 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend it? Yes!!

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quote:

"Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth."-Page 172

Hey guys, here is another review. Today I am reviewing "Cinder". I actually read this book three years ago but never did a full review for it. I decided to reread it for a couple of reasons. I wanted to reread it and give it another try to see if I would like it more now because I didn't love "Cinder" the first time I read it. I was also in a reading slump and wanted to reread a book. This book got me out of my reading slump and I'm so happy my slump is gone! I loved this book! I guess my reading taste changed over the years. I don't know why I didn't love it before. If your wondering, I read "Scarlet" two years ago and loved it. I really need to continue the series. Anyway, let's get on with the review. 

Plot-5/5

Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

I really love the plot for this book. It is so unique. It takes a different twist on Fairy Tales. I absolutely love Fairy Tale retellings, they are so fun to read. "Cinderella" will always be my favorite so it's obvious that I loved this book. I love what Marissa did to this book. It was like "Cinderella" but a little bit different. I love that this book has Cyborg's in it and there's so much technology. I'm not usually a fan of sci-fi books but this series is awesome. 

World-5/5

First of all, I love that this book is set in New Beijing. It's such a different setting and I love Asian countries so I loved how diverse the world is. I also loved that the world is connected to space and another planet, it was just so cool to read about. I can't wait to learn more about the world in the last two books. 

Writing-5/5

I can't put my finger on why I love Marissa Meyer's writing style, I just do. I can't say much about it. I just love the way she writes. 

Pacing-5/5

When I first read "Cinder" I remember thinking that the beginning was slow. However, after rereading the book I didn't think it was slow at all. The pacing was great and the second half was even more intense. This book was actually very addictive. I flew through it and read it in three days which is fast for me.

Cover-5/5

The cover is simple but I like it. I like that it shows Cinder's foot and I love that you can see the metal through the skin. It's cool and I love the font of the title of the book. I personally think all the cover's are beautiful though. 

Characters-5/5

I forgot how amazing these characters are. I liked them the first time I read the book, but I really loved them more now. I love Cinder, she is such an amazing character. I love that she's a tomboy and she's a mechanic, that was so unique. Also the fact that she's a cyborg is amazing, how many characters are a cyborg? I loved her personality. She's really nice, and caring. I liked that she stood up for herself and really cared about the world.

Prince Kai I absolutely loved! He's a Prince, how could you not love him? I do have a soft spot for them though. He's so nice and sweet and I thought he was a great ruler. He always puts his country first and tries to do his best to save all the people. I loved his relationship with Cinder. I ship them so hard! Their interactions were the best part of the book. I loved their friendship and want them to become more than that. They need to be together. Of course I loved Iko. I loved Peony, she was very sweet but I hated her stepmother and Pearl. They were so cruel to her. Queen Levana is that villain you love to hate. I liked Dr. Erland, at first I didn't trust him but I ended up liking him. What's really cool is there were some minor appearances from characters from the other books like Cress and Jacin. Even though I haven't read the last two books yet, I know who they are so it was cool to see a sneak peek of them . So yeah, the character development was awesome. I loved Scarlet and Wolf by the way. I can't wait to read more about Cress soon. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this book was amazing. I'm so glad I reread it and gave it another try. I loved "Scarlet" so I really wanted to love this book too. This series is so unique and cool. If your looking for a great series with fairy tales and a futuristic society I highly recommend this one. This book/series is definitely worth a buy. I originally gave this book 4/5 but after rereading it, I decided to bump it up to a 5 because I loved this book more now the second time. I also felt it deserved 5/5 Lily Pads. So yeah that's my review. Thank you so much for reading. I already have a review up for "Scarlet" so you can check that one out if you want. Hopefully I will read "Cress" soon and then I will update you guys once I finish it so stay tuned for a review. Have a great day and happy reading! :)