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! :)