Top Ten Author Duos You'd LOVE To See Write A Book Together

What if your favorite authors wrote a book together? Would they work well together? Would the story even be interesting? This week on Top Ten Tuesday we explore the question a little. If you could have two authors write a book together who would you pair up? Personally there are quite a few authors I would love to see work together.

1) John Green and Kathy Reichs - I want a John Green book that includes supernatural elements. I'm just craving it. Their styles are VERY different, but Reichs wrote some YA paranormal books. I'd be interested to see what they would come up with.

2) Kendare Blake and Maggie Stiefvater - Neither of these ladies are afraid to be dark or gritty and I love them for it. Plus the magic they create is stunning. I want!

3) Robin LaFevers and Sarah J. Maas - These ladies write bad ass female assassins so well. I'd love to see what kind of characters they would create together!

4) Christopher Paolini and Garth Nix - Ok. This one is more like I would like Garth Nix to mentor Paolini. I really like Paolini's stories, but he needs to learn to cut out some stuff! Nix's story are a lot more adventure. I'd love to see the fantasy they would create.

5) Garth Nix and Tamora Pierce - These two were building blocks of what YA Fantasy is today and I adore their works. I would love to see what kind of magic and world they would build together.

6) Jennifer L Armentrout and Cassandra Clare - If these two ladies partnered up for some kind of paranormal romance story, I think we would all end up fighting over the romantic interests in whatever they write.

7) Bethany Griffin and H.G. Wells - When I read The Fall, it gave me the same creepy feeling as The Island of Dr. Moreau. If these two combined forces, the creep factor would be off the charts! Griffin does a lot of retellings of Poe stories so maybe she would take on a retelling of the classic and I'll try not to have nightmares.

8) Rick Riordan and Rachel Hartman - If these two wrote a book together, it would be nothing but snarky comments!

9) Marissa Meyer and Diana Peterfreund - Space and adaptations! Find me a classic fairytale for these two to write in space and I will be sold!

10) Leigh Bardugo and Rachel Hartman - Give me all the mythical creatures in the most amazing worlds. These ladies are amazing at that!

My Last Top Ten Tuesday ---> If you Like Cassandra Clare check out these ten books.

Review - Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy by Regina Jeffers

Series: Standalone
Genre - Historical Fiction/Mystery
Published - Ulysses Press (2013)
Paperback  - 336 pgs
Source - Purchased Used
Rating: 2/5
Add it // Buy it 

SHACKLED IN THE DUNGEON of a macabre castle with no recollection of her past, a young woman finds herself falling in love with her captor—the estate’s master. Trusting him before she regains her memory and unravels the castle’s wicked truths would be a catastrophe.

Far away at Pemberley, the Darcys happily gather to celebrate the marriage of Kitty Bennet. But a dark cloud sweeps through the festivities: Georgiana has disappeared without a trace. Upon receiving word of his sister’s likely demise, Darcy and his wife, Elizabeth, set off across the English countryside, seeking answers in the unfamiliar and menacing Scottish moors.

How can Darcy keep his sister safe from the most sinister threat she has ever faced when he doesn’t even know if she’s alive? True to Austen’s style and rife with malicious villains, dramatic revelations and heroic gestures, this suspense-packed mystery places Darcy and Elizabeth in the most harrowing situation they have ever faced— finding Georgiana before it’s too late.

While I wanted to like this mystery-filled continuation of Pride and Prejudice, I found myself close to putting it down and never finishing it!

Much like Jeffer's book, Captain Wentworth's Persuasion, this book has too many plot lines! Too much is going on and it really drags the story down. Throughout the book there were so many side stories that could have been cut to make the book shorter and less confusing. We check in on almost every character mentioned in Pride and Prejudice (plus some new characters) which creates a web of stories that is unruly and frustrating. All these smaller plot lines interrupt the search for Georgianna and were simply unnecessary. It made the book feel extremely long and full of loose ends.

The mystery did keep me engaged. I was very interested to see how the story played out. There were unexpected twists and turns, which added some shock value, and I had no idea how the story would pan out. My curiosity was the only reason I stayed engaged in the story though.

Throughout the book most of my issues were with the characters. I never want to see Darcy painted the fool or the fop in adaptations. In this particular story his devotion to Elizabeth is just too much and he is not the Darcy I know and love. Both of them have really poor characterization and are hard to recognize as Austen's characters. Also Darcy's obsession over his sister's marriage and well-being comes close to being creepy!

Here is the point where I'll admit I did not know Georgiana married Colonel Fiztwillian for over half of the book. I think I missed this explanation between Darcy and Elizabeth during one of their sickeningly sweet exchanges. However, this only caused me problems later on  in the book when I did realize who her husband was and tried to piece together the two people in my mind.

Overall this book was a weird experience for me. I can't say I liked it but I wanted to solve the mystery as well. Jeffers' writing style might not be for me because I had a similar reaction to other books I've read by her. I don't want to continue to complain, but if you've read this please let me know what you thought. I'd love to discuss this.

Happy Reading! 

October Currently Reading

Right now I am reading so many books. I don't even cover them all in this currently reading. However, these are the ones I feel like I am making the most progress in. I'll probably finish them all in the next few days. What are you reading?

Books Mentioned:

Conversion by Katherine Howe

The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater 

Thoughts on The Martian - Book to Movie Adaptation

In June I declared my favorite book so far this year to be The Martian by Andy Weir. This book really blew my away and I was very excited to learn it was being adapted into a movie. This movie opened this weekend and I happily dragged some of my closest friends to the movie after I failed to get them to read the book. (Though now they promise me they will)

If you haven't read the book, you really should! I have a Review and a Three Reasons to Read for this book if you aren't convinced yet. The trailer for the movie can be found here which might convince you on its own. The movie is rated PG-13.

 

So what did I think of the movie? 

My Favorite Maps in Books

Who doesn't love a good map in a fantasy book? I adore maps and can't get enough of them when I read a book with a great one. These are just a few of my favorites.

September Wrap Up (2015)

September was a heck of a reading month for me. I read nine books and a lot of them were over 500 pages! This was a crazy reading month. Check out my thoughts in the video below

Series Review - Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

   

Series: Fullmetal Alchemist Series (27 Vols.)
Genre: Steampunk/Fantasy Manga
Source: Library 
Published: VIZ Media 2005-2010
Paperback - avg 180pgs
Rating: 5/5 (overall)
Add it // Buy it 

How do I do this? This manga series is twenty-seven volumes of intense action sequences, moral questions and emotional trauma. What was I thinking when I sat down to try and review this entire series in one post!?

I was thinking this series is AMAZING!!

Honestly, this is one of the best stories I’ve ever read. With almost thirty volumes ahead of me, I was worried this would be  an unwieldy manga series and thought it would be difficult to follow. Instead I found a well-organized series I could read  with ease and one that really drew me into the story. I was seriously impressed with the complexity and completeness of the graphic novel storyline. While I expected the story to be good, I didn't foresee a series that would capture my attention so intensely. The librarians probably thought I was too obsessed since I ended up returning and borrowing volumes every few days.

My favorite part of this story is the characters. There is a large cast of complex characters unlike anything I’ve read in a manga series before. The problems the characters faced within this story were captivating but without the intricate backstories and grey area so many of the characters possessed, it wouldn’t have impressed me as much. The story of Edward and Alphonso is only the tip of the iceberg in this series. There are so many other storylines in this world to follow and explore. I never felt like the format took away from the story. Unlike some graphic novel/manga series, this story was complete and I did not wish for more text.

There are some deep moral issues and tough questions posed throughout this series. It really made me think. While this is a fantasy world filled with magic and steampunk elements, it really tackles some deeper questions. Even though so many problems were solved with alchemy, even more problems were created because of it. The world would have been seriously lacking if Arakawa did not bring up some of these questions and her great world building with both art and text was phenomenal. Obviously I am raving, but it is easy to do when a story blows you away so completely.

As is to be expected, there are a few times when the translation gets confusing. This series was originally published in Japanese and sometimes you could tell. Overall though the real questions and plot lines translate perfectly. I laughed a lot and cried quite a few times as well. I can't wait to watch the television adaptation of this series and feel all the feels all over again. Though I do hear it is quite different than this series.

Happy Reading! 

October/Spooky TBR

During this month of spooks and ghouls I'll be working on a little project. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. This year I'll be reading as many Halloween themed books as possible leading up to October 31st. Then I plan to post some reviews and recommendations closer to the day so you can have some festive reading ideas. I'm excited for this project and these are the books I'm planning on checking out.

Books Mentioned: 

The Fall by Bethany Griffin 

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice 
Conversion by Katherine Howe 

The Space Between by Brenna Yavonoff
Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey
The Final Descent by Rick Yancey
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

Top Ten Books to Try if You Like Cassandra Clare's Books

If you are anxiously awaiting the release of the next Cassandra Clare series just like me, maybe these series will help the time pass quickly. Depending on which Clare series is your favorite, some of these may appeal to you more than others. If you enjoy The Mortal Instruments, you many enjoy the contemporary romance suggestions as much as the paranormal ones. While if you enjoyed The Infernal Devices, the Historical Fiction recommendations may appeal more.

For more information about Top Ten Tuesday check out The Broke and the Bookish for weekly topics and great posts!

Paranormal:

    '
   

Historical Fiction: 

 

Contemporary Romance

 

Manga Adaptation:

  


My Last Top Ten Tuesday ----> Series I Need to Finish

Review - Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt (ARC)

Series: Once Upon a Crime Family #1
Genre: Contemporary Fairytale Retelling
Published: May 2015 by Bloomsbury
ARC - 400 pgs
Source: Goodreads Giveaway (Bloomsbury)
Add it // Buy it

Rating - DNF (Unfinished)

Penelope Landlow has grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime families that control the black market for organ transplants.

Penelope’s surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise so easily.

And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.

Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not as fragile as everyone thinks.

Ever since winning an ARC of it from Goodreads and Bloomsbury, I’ve tried to read this book several times and it never worked out. Before I thought I wasn’t in the mood for the book, but now I believe it is the book. At this point I’ve read about a third of this story and I’m too frustrated to continue. This will be a DNF for me which I’m really disappointed about.

Personally, I thought the adaptation part of this story was very clever. This is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea and the main character has a rare condition which makes her very delicate. She has wealth and privilege because her family is at the top of the black market for organs. At the start this seemed like a well-built adaptation.

However, Penelope is frustratingly immature and had too many contradictions in her character. For example, in the beginning Penelope flaunts that she eavesdrops and believes she has a good idea of what is going on in the family business. Later when she has an opportunity to sit in on a meeting about serious business, Penelope zones out and explains how she has no idea how to use money. I understand the author was trying to show how naïve she was, but instead I just found it intensely annoying and contradictory to her earlier behavior.

The story was also slow to start and had a lot of predictable turns already. The romance also seemed like a huge focus of this story when many other plot points could have been explored in more detail. From other reviews I’ve checked out, it doesn’t seem like things will improve from here especially since many of them mentioned insta-love and a love triangle later on. (UGH!) At this point too many thing have piled up and I don’t have any interest in picking this up again.

September Book Haul (2015)

The monthly book haul is upon us and hopefully you won't see another for a little while. I'm going to cut down on my TBR pile. I am going to reduce it from this ridiculous number. I know it doesn't actually matter how many books I own to read, but I want it to be lower.

Books Mentioned: 

Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan 

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler 

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas