February in Review

So I'm going to start using the In Review section of this to not just list the books I read this month and talk about them. Instead I'm going to list books I read this month and give them a rating. I'll link my comments about that are here, on Youtube or on Goodreads. I'm also going to post about books I'm excited for or have heard about in the past month. I'm also going to post about things I have started reading or given up on. Hopefully this turns into more of a month in review than a list of what I read this month.

Books I Finished: (2) 

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness 

Rating 5/5 

Review of This

Howl's Moving Castle -  Daine Wynne Jones

Rating - 4/5 

Review of This

Books I Started: 

Brisingr - Christopher Paolini (Inheritance #3) 

I'm currently about half way through this book. I've read it before and I'm starting to remember why it was such a drag to finish. The plot isstalled right now I'm frustrated with it. 

A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) 

I'm barely one hundred pages in but liking it so far. My problem is I read Game of Thrones about 6-8 months ago so I'm having trouble remembering exactly what happened with each character. 

Unnatural Exposure - Patricia Cornwell 

I'm not completely captured by this yet even though I'm half way through the book. 

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Caster Chronicles #1) 

Loving this! Another book I'm half way through, but this one is keeping me on my toes. I love the descriptions of Gatlin and Lena is fantastically mysterious. Ethan is one of my favorite narrators since Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars. 

Opal - Jennifer Armentrout (Lux #3) 

I'm actually not as impressed with this one as I was with the first two? I'm no where close to giving up on it but I'm flying through this one like I did the first two books. 

I started a ton of books this month and hopefully I'll finish some of them next month. I've been busy with coursework and all of these books are 500+ pages so they are taking me a long time to get through!

Review: Howl's Moving Castle

by: Diane Wynne Jones

Description: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

Review: Howl's Moving Castle is an amazing fantasy story. After finishing A Monster Calls, I was looking for something light and fantastical. This turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I think one of my favorite aspects of this book is that the author creates a world that is equal parts fantastic and realistic. One this I loved about this story was that even though there is a lot of different scenery, the author doesn't spend a ton of time describing the outside world. She puts all the focus on the castle and I fell in love with the castle fairly quickly. Another great aspect are the characters! Howl, Michael, Calcifer and Sophie are a great group. I fell in love with Howl even though he comes across as selfish at first. Sophie is a character that I root for through the whole book. When she is working in the hat shop I wanted her to get out and be adventurous because I knew she could do so much more! The curse gives Sophie a new life with Howl, Michael and Calcifer who are all fantastic. The humor in this book is quarky, but I think it is a big part of why I loved the book so much I loved this book and I would love to read it all over again soon.

Rating: 4/5 

Review: A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness 

Description: The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Review: 

I loved this book. I read it in an afternoon. It is a simple story but emotional and touching. It is gorgeous, the illustrations and design on the book are fantastic, and beautifully written. The monster is an amazing character and its voice is incredible. It is an intense story with a lot of emotions that hit you throughout the book. I cannot praise this book enough. I loved the reading experience and the illustrations make it unique. 

Going into this book I knew that there was a certain predictability to it. Even so, this plot is fabulous. I think it resonates so well with the audience because it is easy to relate to the pain Conor is going through whether you are a child or an adult. The story is tragic but beautiful and I think anyone could read it and enjoy it. 

Who Did I Hear about this from?

Kayley Reads: https://www.youtube.com/user/kayleyreads/featured

Books and Quills: https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandquills

January in Review

1) Would I Lie to You? - Cecily von Ziegesar

Rating 1/5 

I'm very tired of these stories and after this one I don't think I'm going to be reading anymore of them. The story is repetitive and boring. The characters don't change and they are all very selfish and self-centered. Even characters that I liked in the beginning I loath now. 

 2) Shatterglass - Tamora Pierce

Rating 5/5 

I flew through this book. During this series the four young mages have a fallen into a familiar pattern and each one finds a student that they must learn to teach. This story is all about Tris and I think she is one of the more mysterious and complex characters in the Circle Opens series so I was excited to read her book. After Daja's book I was hoping I would be able to finish this one fast and I absolutely did. The story keeps moving and it feel more like a detective story with more urgency than Daja's book did. I think that is one of the things that wouldn't let me put this book down. Pierce's writing is fabulous as always and she always fits something original into her stories (like the lightening globes that are important in this story) that don't interfere with the world she has already built. I think this is a great conclusion to this series of stories about the four.  

3) Opal - Jennifer Armentrout 

Rating 5/5 

I really enjoy this series so far. It is intense, thing keep happening, but it isn't out of control. I think the tension between Kat and Dawson of course keep things interesting but after this book I see less of the parallels to Twilight than I did in the first book. I like the two of them and their hot and cold relationship is very fun to read. I liked that more characters were involved in this book other than just Dee, Kat and Dawson. The first book I flew through but this one is much longer and I had to spend more time with it. I loved it none the less. I will definitly be reading the third book soon because I need to know what happens next. There is also a prequel out and another book to come I think? 

4) Cause of Death 

5) Eldest 

These last two are rather old popular titles that I read but I don't necessarily think I need to give my thoughts on. Both of them were great though and I will continue to read both series.