Strange the Dreamer By: Laini Taylor Review (Okay, it's basically me fangirling out.)

"Sometimes a moment is so remarkable that it carves out a space in time and spins there, while the world rushes on around it. This was one such."

 I absolutely adore Strange the Dreamer! I am now a HUGE Lazlo fan for life. There are so many great quotes in this book. Even though I don't usually share quotes, I have to share some of my favorites in the review for this one! 

"The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around."

(*Side Note: This print is from Fandom Honey Bees! The colors are so vibrant in person. I love it. I highly recommend you check out her Etsy shop. If you want 10% off an order use the code- BEEWITCHED10*)

"I think you're a fairy tale. I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And I hope you'll let me be in your story." 

SWOON! I love Lazlo and Sarai so much. Also, the writing is beautiful and flawless. My only two MINOR complaints are that the beginning is a tad slow with the worldbuilding and I guessed early on the big reveal near the end. Even though I was expecting it, I still enjoyed how it all played out. So I can't really even complain about that one. 

"Without his books, his room felt like a body with its hearts cut out."

"And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can." 

That quote right there, yes the one right above this that you just read, is my favorite quote from the entire book. The truth in those words has really resonated with me, especially with how my life is 95% dark parts at the moment. This quote and the ending of the book had me literally choking back tears.

Overall Strange the Dreamer is such a wonderful book and I HIGHLY recommend it. It was even better than I had expected it to be. Is it October yet? I need Muse of Nightmares NOW. 

#LazloSwoon

#INeedMuseOfNightmares

The Thousandth Floor By: Katharine McGee Review/List (There is a small spoiler section.)

I'm sorry guys, I did not like this one. I always feel bad when I do a review for a  book that I really disliked, but at the same time I do want people to know why. Instead of just seeing a star rating on Goodreads. Which by the way, I very...very...very rarely give a 1 star rating to a book that I did NOT DNF. So here is me having to get mildy ranty and why my rating is so low: 

1.) To start off the entire beginning is extremely confusing. There are too many POVs and they change back and forth too rapidly. I had to keep flipping back to remind myself who was who. Later, the POV situation did get a little smoother. It was so rough for quite a bit at first though.

2.) The "world building," if I could even call it that, is a complete disaster. By the end of the book I STILL did not have a full grasp on the world. There is too much focus on teenage gossip girl drama. So I don't understand the point of it being set in the future? The book never completely came together for me. 

3.) The ending. I kept on reading because I was waiting for a big reveal and I was hoping for some actual substance at the end. I was disappointed. It ended how it began. Rich people with their ludicrous drama. Which is mostly centered around relationships and frenemy type friendships. Oh, and everyone in the book (except for one character I liked) was crazy and/or using people to get what their rich spoiled self wanted. Specifically Avery. Who was one of, if not THE, most horrible character and yet the author kept making it seem like she is a good little angel. SMH. 

4. Skip this one and go to the IN CONCLUSION section if you don't want SPOILERS!!!

*SPOILERS*

****I'm serious guys MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!****

Okay, now if you are reading this spoiler section YOU WERE WARNED! lol. :P So... here are my MAJOR issues. There is a rape that is very glossed over. A female drugs and rapes a male and it's never brought up again. Wtf? Also, there is a bisexual girl and her girlfriend who isn't as much of a major character like the bi girl is...so of course really the only main LGBTQ character dies. Another wtf? How come in so many books the only LGBTQ character is the one that dies? That is so sad and ridiculous. Another issue I had is that I feel like the book is all about having money and being beautiful/looking perfect (SPECIFICALLY WHITE AND BLONDE.) UGH. Well sorry, but another thing I have an issue with is the creepy relationship between a sister and adopted brother. Nasty. I don't care that he was adopted at age 7 or whatever. They were raised as siblings and that is so disgusting to me and I don't want to read about it. So here we are...a is rape ignored, the only main LGBTQ character dies, there is some racism, looks and money are all that matters apparently, and when it comes down to it...incest. 

IN CONCLUSION- (No more spoilers!)

Overall, I wish I had known about all of these issues ahead of time because I would not have read it. I sure as hell will not be continuing with the series. I feel like this review may come off as brutal or harsh. Even though I know a lot of people enjoyed it, I can't ignore how many major issues there are with it. 

I can't recommend The Thousandth Floor to anyone really. Sorry if you are someone that did enjoy the book, but I personally can't recommend it. At all. 

Side Note: Can anyone help me figure out how to hide just a spoiler section in my review here on Blogger? I have no idea. :/ 

Speak By: Laurie Halse Anderson Review

Non-Spoiler Review- 

I know, I know. I am so late to the party on this one. I can't believe I just now read Speak. I've been wanting to read it for ages, but I've put it off because I thought it would be a rough read for me. In some ways it was, but the tough subject matter (insert rape trigger warning here) was handled very well. I loved this one. The end made me cry. I think Speak is a must read for everyone, especially young girls. Thank you Laurie for writing this book and I can't wait to check out more of her books!

Mild Spoiler Review- 

SCROLL TO THE END IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SPOILERS!!

To be honest Speak is a book that I can relate to all too well. It's so relatable that it's scary and it's been difficult to write this review. I know this character (Melinda) very well. I WAS this girl. I was her age when I was raped for the first time. I had a fear of speaking up, I skipped school, became antisocial, and also had to see my rapist in the halls at school everyday. I won't digress anymore into my own personal experiences, but the point I'm trying to make is this book was first published in 1999. This book was out when I could have really used it and I wish I had known about it back then. Speak is such a powerful and important read that brings to light a difficult topic that unfortunately many girls and women have experience with. The end of this book made me cry because Melinda was finally able to fight back and speak up. If you haven't read this book yet then I highly recommend you do so immediately. 

#SPEAK

#SPEAK

#SPEAK 

Sky in the Deep By: Adrienne Young ARC DNF Mini Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy of Sky in the Deep By: Adrienne Young in exchange for an honest review. 

Awe, man. I was so ecstatic for Sky in the Deep. The summary sounded right up my alley and I do love YA fantasy. The very beginning of the book started off wonderfully and I was highly intrigued. However, as I read a little further I started to lose interest. Here's a list of the reasons why:

1. Everything was extremely cliche. 

2. I could not connect to any of the characters.

3. I could not connect to the story.

4. I could not imagine the world or picture anything in it. 

With all of these reasons combined I got bored rather quickly. I had to DNF at 20%. I have a feeling that I will be in the minority on this book. For me though, a lack of connection and a lack of imagery makes it impossible for me to finish a book. 

#NoConnectionAndCliche

Children of Blood and Bone By: Tomi Adeyemi Release Day ARC Review!

I won a copy of Children of Blood and Bone By: Tomi Adeyemi on Goodreads. Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher! 

Look at that #GorgeousCover!

You've seen the #HYPE for Children of Blood and Bone...

Does the book live up to all of the #Expectations?! 

Yes, Children of Blood and Bone lives up to all of the hype and all of the expectations that is inevitable with a book that has THAT much hype around it. It's so difficult when a book has this much hype because even though I think that a ton of buzz can be an amazing thing, it also can create disappointment easily. That is NOT the case with this book. At all. 

#LivesUpToTheHype!

The writing is extremely vivid and beautiful. Tomi Adeyemi's world building is superbly done and this book is so full of emotion that it really comes to life. I didn't want to stop reading it and I was sad when I did finish reading the book. I fell in love with the fantastic cast of diverse characters. Zelie, Amari, Tzain, and Inan are so well fleshed out that they did not feel like characters in a book to me. This is a new favorite book for sure. Also, Zelie and Amari have become two of my all time favorite female characters. 

#NewFave

Children of Blood and Bone is an exciting and adventurous fantasy novel. There's magic, action, bloodshed, romance, a lot of emotion, and some parts are pretty brutal. This novel is not lacking in any area. It has everything I could ask for in a book and I don't have any complaints. Even though the book is a bit lengthy, there weren't any slow parts and it didn't feel like a long book. It's a quick read, because it's that good, and I could have finished it in a day. If only I had that kind of time! Oh, and what about the ending? I had GOOSEBUMPS and it left me highly anticipating the next book. I need book two as soon as possible. 

#ZeroComplaints

I highly recommend Children of Blood and Bone to everyone. This book and Reign of the Fallen are my favorite books of 2018 so far. Do yourself a favor, go buy it (or borrow it from the library) and read it immediately. 

#ExcitingStoryWithVividWriting

#ReadItASAP

#YouWillNotBeSorry