August and September Wrap Up - FTM

The first and second book I read in the month of August was Lux Beginnings by: Jennifer L. Armentrout. This book contains the two first books in the Lux series which are Obsidian and Onyx. I loved these two books and I really want to read the next three. I recommend these if you're really into romance, if you are not a big fan of romance I don't recommend these books at all. I will not have a review for these books but I would rate Obsidian a 4.5 out of 5 stars and Onyx a 4 out of 5 stars.

The third book I read in August was House of Hades by: Rick Riordan. I would rate this a 4 out 4 of 5 stars. 

The fourth book I read in August was Dash and Lily's book of dares by: Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan. This book was so christmasy and cute. I would rate it a 5 out of 5 stars.

The fifth book I read was Four A Divergent Collection by: Veronica Roth. I have a review so you can check it out HERE. 

September: 

The first book I read this month was The Infinite Sea by: Rick Yancey.  You can read my review HERE

The second book I read was Spirit Bound by: Richelle Mead. These books never disappoint, Richelle Mead is wonderful author and I'm really excited to read The Last Sacrifice and then jump into Bloodlines because Adrian. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

The third book I read this month was The Ring & The Crown by: Melissa De La Cruz. 

The fourth book I read this month was Bridge to Terabithia by: Katherine Paterson. The movie was one of my favourites growing up. I just loved the story! I would rate it a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

The fifth book I read this month was The Giver by: Lois Lowry. This book was just a re-read, and I loved it just as much as I did before. A solid 5 out of 5 stars.

The sixth book I read this month was The Elite by: Kiera Cass. You can read my review HERE

I also read part of The Maze Runner by: James Dashner and The Last Sacrifice by: Richelle Mead.

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The Elite: Kiera Cass - FTM

The Selection began with thirty-five girls.

Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?

America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away.

The first part of this review will be SPOILER FREE!

Be honest, the first thing that you expect when reading the synopsis is lots of romance and bucket of cheesiness. To my surprise, it was not cheesy at all. I feel that Kiera did a wonderful job writing out the romance in these books. The romance wasn't overly written which is a great thing. It does have the feel of a love triangle because America is still bouncing between Aspen and Maxon, but not as much as she was in the last book. You can tell that she is definitely more focused on Maxon then she is with Aspen, I loved decision because it gave the readers a chance to really focus on Maxon and America's relationship as it grew throughout the book mainly because in the last book, readers were more familiar with Aspen.

Many have said this before and I will gladly say it again. America Singer is one of the most frustrating characters ever created. Many have said that is stupid, I don't think she stupid. I just think that she is confused. I mean she has these two men in her life who both say that they love her and both are completely different and both have different qualities. Typical young adult love triangles... I'm not a major fan on love triangles, the only time I am somewhat of a fan of them is when the author does it right, by spacing out everything and writing it appropriately. Everything was a lot more fleshed out in this book I would say and that made the reading experience a lot better for me. Although I did get really annoyed of the repetitiveness of the bouncing back and forth of Aspen and Maxon.

Another thing that is really frustrating with America is that she doesn't say what she feels. She stays cooped up in her bubble and her feelings don't come out. At times it made me want to strangle her and just slap her to make her say her feelings.

I finished this book in a couple of hours, it is a rather small book but now that I have finished reading it I have noticed that not much happens. What I noticed is that is very repetitive. I will go in more detail with this in the spoiler section later.

So this is all I have to say for the non-spoiler section. If you would like to read the rest of the review you either click HERE or the READ MORE button on the bottom left.

The Infinite Sea: Rick Yancey - FTM

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

- Goodreads Synopsis

First let me start off by saying that this book was okay. When I first saw it in the bookstore the day it came out I was very surprised by the length. It was exactly three-hundred pages. Me being me, I was really worried that the book was going to be very rushed and compacted. It was quite the opposite. It wasn't rushed at all instead I found it a little more slow paced. I do prefer slow paced over fast paced just because things can be spread out a little more when its spread out.

When ever there are popular books and series, it's very hard to live up to the hype of the previous book especially if it was flat out amazing. The Fifth Wave is one of my favourite books and I was very much looking forward to the release of  The Infinite Sea. I will admit that I do prefer the first one over the second only because I think that nothing really happened. Yes it was interesting but I wasn't really pulled in like I was with the first book. I just feel like there was so much more room to write and create. 

The events that happen in the book weren't really mind blowing and I would consider that a good thing. I find that it is a trend to have nothing really happen in sequels especially the second because the characters are usually trying to really find themselves and really take in what is happening in their lives. Of course we are following Cassie and her friends, and throughout most of the book they are just hiding and making plans for the future. You can really tell how broken everyone is and I give a round of applause to Rick for showing that emotion. I mean it even affects Sammy. in the first book he was always so happy  and hyper even though he knew what was happening. In this book, you can actually tell how different Sammy is if you really pay close attention, he really has become a lot stronger.

I still don't know if there is going to be a love triangle in this series, there were little hints in this one just like the last and to be honest I'm glad that Rick didn't decide to over exaggerate the romance, I loved how he really just focused more on Evan and Cassie then Ben and Cassie. One thing that I love about her relationship with Evan is that it is really complicated. If you didn't know I really like complicated relationships in books because it's realistic. When ever Evan and Cassie said something about them finding each other and how they always find each other I just kept thinking, Once Upon A Time....

Just like the last book, Cassie still has her teenage fangirl mind. Let me just say that Rick Yancey does a fantastic job channeling his inner fangirl. We only see that side of Cassie for maybe a sentence or a paragraph but I found it hilarious and accurate. At first I was wondering how Rick knew how fangirls acted but then I realized that his book has a bunch of fangirls... including me. 

We are introduced to a new character in this book, this character is Grace. Let me just say that I am not a fan of Grace. I just really don't understand her. We didn't really go into much detail about her,  I think it would have been really interesting to find out more about her. Hopefully we do in the next book. I think she will become a bigger character but we didn't really get much backstory, she was kind of just thrown in.

For half of the book, we are with Cassie. I felt like we didn't even get to see enough of Cassie in the story and she is one of the main characters. Cassie is one of favourite characters and we barely got to see her in the book and for the second half it's a completely different character. The character being Ringer, I actually found Ringer's perspective very interesting. I do like Cassie's and the others perspectives more but reading Ringer's point of view was very refreshing. It was interesting to read from somebody else's point of view who was on the opposite side.

I also forgot to mention that this book was literally a straight up continuation of the story. Some questions were left unanswered and nothing was added to the plot therefore acting as a bridge. I don't really enjoy it when sequels are bridges between each other because nothing happens but it is understandable on why Rick decided to write it this way.

Don't get me wrong, it was still very well written it just didn't have the aspects of sequel that I expect in a book. Now that I've read this and realized how short it was and how nothing really happened, I'm a little nervous about the third one, not because I think it will be bad it's because he could take that risk and jumble things up with the characters and the plot.

Overall I still really loved and enjoyed reading this book. Yes it was short and yes it was slow paced but that doesn't mean that the last book is going to be the same. This book didn't have much action and it did have it's flaws but I am looking forward to the next book very much as I did with this one. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

You can read my review for The Fifth Wave HERE

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Four: A Divergent Collection - Veronica Roth - FTM

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

- Goodreads Synopsis

Ever since I heard that Veronica Roth was going to be writing another book, I was ecstatic! I had been looking forward to reading and buying it for months and months. I finally got the chance to do so in August. It did not disappoint.

If you didn't know Veronica originally wanted to write Divergent with Four's perspective but thought it wasn't right and changed to Tris's point of view. This book has four short stories all about Four, from his life in Abnegation to lightly visiting the day he first met Tris. I thought each and every short story was amazing, it didn't feel like you were reading short stories, it felt like you were reading a full on novel. It gave so much backstory which gave me a better understanding of his character. 

Just like Divergent, we get to see Tobias become Four. I have said this many, many times in my posts and I will keep saying it. I love to see a character grow and develop as the story goes on. When we were first introduced to Four in Divergent he was a very closed off person and was kind of cocky at times, but as we read on we got to see his vulnerable side. I'm really happy that Veronica decided to write this because we get to find out so much more about Four that we didn't really know before. 

The things we find out in this book aren't really surprising, they are really just little revelations. The revelations are things that we sort of already knew from Divergent but we go into more detail with it which makes it a lot made it a lot more interesting. 

As we all know, Four was abused by his father as a child while he was living in Abnegation. I loved how we actually got to see his relationship with his father. Even though I already knew who he was and what he did, you would expect to hate him but for me I am a little unsure about his character. I don't really like Marcus but he is such a well written character and I think that may be the only thing I like about him.  Right away, you could tell that Marcus wasn't really well tempered. His emotions would constantly change. It really makes me question whether or not he really loved Four or not.

When I first read Insurgent, it never made sense to on how Four knew where his mother was and how he knew she was alive. I found it a little strange how she just randomly popped up in the dauntless grounds without a trace, it was a little unrealistic in my opinion. I felt like the meetings with Evelyn and the letters were a little rushed, I wish we visited their time with each other just a few pages more.

In a way, it kind of felt like I was reading Divergent. In the beginning Four just seemed like a male Tris but we get to see him evolve into Four. I had very few problems with this book but one of problems that I did have was that there really wasn't any difference from this book and Divergent. Obviously they are both set in the same world and both Tris and Four transfer to Dauntless but the situations that he faces are a little similar to Tris's in Divergent. Their stories aren't very different. I expected to see a somewhat different story, with Four facing different problems and the two characters already have similarities and I can see why they are so similar but I wish there was a little more originality to Fours story. In Divergent, we are told that the initiation system was different, when I read this book they basically seemed identical. The differences weren't even that big of a deal. 

I still prefer the Divergent trilogy over this book but it was still amazing and it was worth the read. If you are skeptical on reading this book, try not be because it's incredible.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would rate it a 4.5 out of 5 stars! 

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Post Make-up: Chaos Walking Books - RQK

So to slightly make up for my lack of posts in August I will attempt to make short posts on a few of the books I have read lately. I will  put the summary of the books as well as name some of my favourites, dislikes and other comments I have on each of the books. I find reviews more time consuming as I have yet to master the skill of slowly reading things and writing good notes in between. Therefore this is my simple way of letting you know more about these books while I improve my blogging skills.

(I am just doing the first two books in this trilogy)

Book 1-Basic Summary from author's (Patrick Ness) official site:

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. 

But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. 

Or are there? 

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. 

Which is impossible. 

Prentisstown has been lying to him. 

And now he's going to have to run...

Book 2- Basic Summary from author's (Patrick Ness) official site:

Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order.

But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? 

And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...

The Ask and the Answer is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure.

Book 1- Favourite Quote:"We are the choices we make" - Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go

I feel that this quote is quite spot on. Everybody is defined by the choices they make. Those choices are who they are whether they are making the choice for themselves or for others sake.

Book 2-Favourite Quote: “Dogs don't got the problems of people. Dogs can be happy any old time.”- Patrick Ness, The Ask and The Answer

I really like this quote because it reminds me of something I said about  goldfish. "I wonder what it would be like to live like a goldfish" -RQK. You see I had been thinking how weird would it be to just live life swimming, eating and being happy. This quote is exactly what I was getting at but with dogs.

Favourite Main Character: Viola Eade.

A lot of people who have read these books might say different. A lot might say that Todd is there favourite. However I personally find that Viola is more resistant to letting people take advantage of her, to let people manipulate her. I realize in some ways Todd can't help it but I still find he gives in super easy which in turn only puts them in more danger.

Book 1- Favourite Side Character: Manchee, the dog.

Manchee starts out being just some annoying dog, but in the end he ends up being a heroic dog who is just one more number in the casualties of the army chase of Todd and Viola. Manchee was a very simple dog, he was loyal and protective. Even though he didn't say much I still found Manchee cute and I was so sad when Todd failed to save him.

Book 2- Favourite Side Character: Wilf

Wilf is just so simple, loyal and honest. He may lack in intelligence, but you couldn't find a more trustworthy ally on your side. Not only was he the one who pre-warned locals that the army was approaching, but he also helped out Todd at a time when he may have needed it most.

Book 1- Dislike: Character Aaron.

I realize every book has to have the opposing, the twisted character to make the story interesting. Even so I can't get over the fact how creepily twisted this guy was. First of all how can somebody be so evil to kill a dog with their own hands just to bring guilt and suffering on another. Like I just don't understand how he thinks this is doing anybody good or how it's the right thing to do. Of course I understand that it's characters like these that make the book what it is. On a personal level, and or as a reader I dislike Aaron very much. However when doing any sort of critique on this book I have to say that the character of Aaron is a great for the story.

Book 2- Dislike: Event, When Todd began to be mean to the Spackle and started thinking of them as sheep.

I guess the point of this was just to show how Viola's departure affected him and to show how he had hit rock bottom in a sense. However I just find it appalling that somebody who fights for the right treatment of people such as him, could treat innocent living alien version of human beings in such a inhumane way. Again I can see the point of having your main character do extreme actions that completely contradict everything about them, but that doesn't make what he did seem any better.

Which book do I like best?

Between both books I have to say I like the second book "The Ask and The Answer" more than "The Knife of Never Letting Go" . It's unusual of me to prefer the second or third book of a trilogy over the first. Generally I find the first book is the best. It's when you learn all the basic things to know about the story.Though in this case I prefer the second book as you learn much more about the characters, but also there is just a lot more happening since it isn't just them being chased anymore.

My Ratings:

          A Knife of Never Letting Go - 4.5 out of 5 

The Ask and The Answer - 5 out of 5

August Wrap Up! -RQK

The first books I read this month was "Daniel X: Watch The Skies" by:James Patterson & Ned Rust. The second book I read this month was "Daniel X: Demons and Druids" by: James Patterson & Adam Sadler. These books are more for middle school age, however I like James Patterson books and thought it would be interesting to read this series.

The third book I read this month was "The Naturals"  by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Last month I read Jennifer's book Nobody and I truly loved it! I decided to try some of her other books and I really liked this one. It had some form of mystery, which I personally love. It wasn't simple either. I was totally clueless about what was the truth which made me feel pretty stupid, but also love this book so much more.

The fourth book I read this month was "Lost Cause" by: John Wilson. These books aren't anything particularly crazy creative or challenging. The books are short, however I just love the idea of each book being written by a different author. I also like the real things that you can learn in these books.

The fifth book I read this month was "Daniel X: Game Over" by: James Patterson & Ned Rust. The sixth book I read this month was "Daniel X: Armageddon" by: James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein.Not everyone would like this series. It can be cheesy and its not really long or detailed. However I am a fan of James Patterson books and every once in a while I like to read good short and simple stories.

The seventh book I read this month was "If I stay" by: Gayle Forman. I found this book to be quite interested in a unique way. I felt so into the story as if it were real and happening to me that I was anxious to know how it ended and what would happen after. I later learned there is a second book and that this book only ends with her decision.

The eight book I read this month was "Fear" by: Michael Grant. I have been really into the gone series. I read the first four books to the series last month and I am just continuing to be obsessed with this series.

The ninth book I read this month was "Light" by: Michael Grant. Over the summer I have been kind of obsessed with this series and I am so sad that I finished it now. I highly suggest this series to anybody and everybody. It is so detailed and complex. I couldn't put any of the books down no matter how hard I tried. (Which wasn't very hard because I didn't want to put them down)

The tenth book I read this month was "To Kill A Mockingbird" by: Harper Lee. This is a very popular classic book. I have heard a lot about this book and I became very curious about what the fuss was about this book and so I decided to read it for myself. I found this book to be quite intriguing. However I will admit that some of the more complex concepts of the book I had some trouble to grasp.

The eleventh book I read this month was "where she went" by: Gayle Forman. FTM and I saw the movie to the first book this month and I have to say the book was immensely better. The movie seemed to completely revolve around Mia and Adam's relationship which I found made the story a little dull. The movie wasn't exactly bad or anything, but I personally wouldn't watch it again.

The twelfth book I read this month was "Every Other Day" by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I absolutely loved this book! Not only was it fast paced but it had some sort of a mystery aspect. You never could guess what exactly was going to happen or what would be revealed next.

The thirteenth book I read this month was "Jump Cut" by: Ted Stauton.
The fourteenth book I read this month was "Ink Me" by: Richard Scrimger. The ending of this book completely caught me off guard. So far in the series the books ended reasonably well. This one however was so different than the others. After this book I really got into the series and began to become more curious about how the rest of the books would end.

The fifteenth book I read this month was "Raised by Wolves" by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Lately I have been really loving Jennifer's books. I will say though that I prefer her newer books. They have more depth than her older books, but I still enjoy reading some of her older books such as this.

The sixteenth book I read this month was "Trial by Fire" by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This is the next book to the one I previously read. I was surprised at how fascinated I was by this series as I am usually not into books like this. This book series though is very distinctive from other werewolf books and I highly suggest it to everybody.

The seventeenth book I read this month was "Taken by Storm" by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I got completely hooked on this series. Im not sure if there will be more to this series or if this is a trilogy. Personally I am hoping for more as I really am into this story.

The eighteenth book I read this month was "The Revenge of Seven" by: Pittacus Lore. So for anybody who doesn't know I am in love with this series. I know some people don't like it, but I can read these books a thousand times and I will still not be able to put the books down. I am excited, but also extremely sad that the next main book will be the last of this astonishing series.

The nineteenth book I read this month was "Close to the Heel" by: Norah McClintock.
The twentieth book I read this month was "Last Message" by: Shane Peacock. This is the last book in this series however Shane Peacock and the other authors have each written another book as a sequel to this series. They are being released in October of this year.

Quick Note: Sorry there haven't been any posts this month. FTM is having technical difficulties and I am just a terrible blogger. I still do have a review I am working on however I got busy and forgot what I all wanted to say about it. I am thinking I will just re-read the book and then re-do the review. Sorry about that.