February Wrap-Up and March TBR

Oh. It’s time for the wrap-ups and TBR, isn’t it? It’s going to be a showcase of shame, so come on in, and settle down—my treat :P. I could just type up a whole paragraph of excuses for why I couldn’t read enough, but I’m only going to mentally chastise myself and hope for the best next month.

FEBRUARY WRAP-UP (click on the books for the reviews!)

I read 4 books this month, with one of them being a children’s chapter book. Shame. I know I said that I would read more this time, and I did, although by one actual book. But it’s not enough. I seriously need to jump on the reading bandwagon in March, or else. . .

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (re-read) [review coming soon]

Geronimo’s Valentine (I read this for Valentine’s day 😛 haha) [no review :)]

MARCH TBR 

Again, my goal is to read more (obviously!) and to post reviews more often. I think that if I don’t remove books from this TBR until I have read them, I will feel bad and end up reading them soon. At least, I hope it works for this month 🙂

Ever Darkening by Janeal Falor

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Your Beautiful Heart by Lauren Scruggs

D

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I have 31 days to do this. A lot of time to read, considering spring break is hitting the school year this month, and I’m excited! A lot of books on my TBR and a handful of time is all I need to hop on this reading challenge.

* Oh, and I did limit my watching of Teen Wolf and the Vampire Diaries 🙂 And that’s the only reason I could shove in one more book 😛

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Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

A magical book, indeed. Normally, I don’t read books with a focus on magic, just because I prefer to see it visually. But when I read the blurb on Goodreads, I couldn’t resist picking up this book, and I really hope it is adapted into a movie someday. I sure would like to see who plays Finn.

 I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.

Finn and Jessamin were not the most original characters, and in my opinion, they could have had more depth to their personalities. Their romance, too, was the same arrogant boy meets stubborn girl and sparks fly. Thankfully, they didn’t really fall in love at first sight. Well, at least Jessamin didn’t. The book didn’t focus on them as a couple, but sometimes I felt as if pushed aside the actual conflict.

Jessamin’s friend Eleanor, on the other hand, was a complex person. She was definitely a piece of work. The villain, Lord Downpike, was as fierce as an antagonist should be. Although if I dare to criticize, he was not as passionate about his wants and it seemed as if he was not given enough evilness, despite the fact that he did do a few malicious deeds.

Authors never cease to amaze me, and I think that is one of the reasons that most of my reviews are laden with four stars and five stars. How they can so perfectly portray a feeling, an emotion, is beyond my understanding. Kiersten White did a nice job by actually using a “historical” voice in this book, and I believe that made it a notch more better.

Favourite Quote: Shadows go in front of you, leading into your future, and trail behind you, leaving a part of you in the past. They are clearest when we are in the light, and disappear when we lose ourselves in darkness.”

Though the book is set in a historical time, it does not really fit in historical fiction—it’s more of a historical fantasy with a little romance and an underlying conflict. I wouldn’t recommend it to all, as I won’t count this novel as my absolute favourite, but it is good enough to be given a chance. That’s what I always say, and I mean it.

My Rating: ★★★★✩ 3.5 stars

(click on the picture for the Goodreads link!)

Endlessly by Kiersten White

I went on a series spree and finished this series back-to-back. That is truly where the fun lies, readers. These books were so awesome, even though they didn’t have a direct cliffhanger at the last page.

Shakespeare’s plays are popular despite the fact that they are tragedies. Why so? Because he did to his characters what he thought was right. And I believe that is one of the most important things to consider when writing a book. You do what is right, even if that means killing one of the best characters.

I am not saying that is what happens to the characters in this book, neither am I trying to spoil it for you. This is what I like about Kiersten White’s writing. She is not afraid to launch a rocket full of problems at Evie, even if that means Evie will have to make a decision that will cost her.

The characters definitely improved and Evie’s natural voice was back, too. You can only guess how happy that made me. I would have been more than content with that alone but how do you stop wanting more when you know you can have it? This book was probably the best out of the series—I can’t decide.

Lend wasn’t perfect. Thank goodness. That was portrayed clearly in Supernaturally. Jack comes an almost full circle. Reth grows less annoying and he becomes even more sweet. Evelyn becomes more strong, more wittier, and a tad bit more sarcastic (is that possible?).

I absolutely loved the ending to one of my now-favourite series but there were times when the tiny boring parts stretched. Nonetheless, I would recommend the series to anybody and everybody. Especially girls. Especially paranormal-loving girls.

In short, this was a bleeping good book! (Obviously not bleeping more almost-perfect than Lend)

Favourite Quote- “We linked hands—my ex-boyfriend, my boyfriend, and my former friend-then-enemy-then friend and I—and walked through a door to see if maybe empty carbs were good for something after all.”

(At first, I decided to choose a funny conversation between Jack, Lend and Evie. But that had a spoiler so then I decided against it 🙂 )

I hereby declare this book worthy of ★★★★½

Bonuses:

1 ★ for Evelyn. You are one of the best heroines and now-forth my idol!

1 ★ for beautiful covers even though they didn’t reflect story 😉

 

 

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

It is totally normal to go from being a paranormal hunter to a high school senior, right? Apparently, yes. The sequel to Paranormalcy starts with Evelyn at her new school, enjoying and dreading the normal teenage experiences.

Many small twists occur in this book. Evie thought she was done with IPCA. But her past creeps up to her. IPCA returns with a job proposal to her, again. Reth has not yet gotten bored with her. And, of course, Evie lands into extra trouble once again.

Jack enters the scene right when things are about to go right. Annoying? Check. Sarcastic? Check. Funny? Sometimes. Cute? Check. But faerie? Jack is a human who can open faerie doors to anywhere. He is one of the reasons Evie agrees to return to IPCA.

One thing I didn’t approve of in this book was that the characters slowly unwound from their true natures. Evie wasn’t the same kickass Evie anymore, Lend’s cute personality dimmed and Reth, the supposed villain faerie got nicer. Or, as nice as faeries get. Evie also lost her funny voice in Supernaturally. Sure, sometimes I managed to let out a little giggle here or there but it wasn’t the same as the prequel. She was still sweet and lovable but This book lacked some of the spirit that got me so connected with Paranormalcy. 

Lend and Evie were fighting for about halfway through the book. I didn’t like it at all but let’s just say that it was the worst part. If you really think about it, it wasn’t that bad because you a girl’s gotta have problems, right? What is a book with a girl protagonist without boy problems?

Overall, I’ll have to say that it was a great book, really, but if I try to join it with the first book, it becomes okay. If you’ve started the series, pick up the book as soon as you can. Also, don’t take my word for it- you never know how it will turn out for you before you give it a try!

Favourite Quote- Jack: “Marry me. Nay, marriage will cost us precious moments together. Let us make sweet, passionate love right here. Let me bear your children.”
A primal growl signaled Miss Lynn getting over her shock at being thus addressed. She lunged forward; Jack deftly rolled off the bench, jumping up out of her reach.
Jack: “Goodness, I didn’t expect you to be quite this enthusiastic about my advances. If I don’t play hard to get, how will I ever know whether or not you respect me?”

It was really hard to choose just one favourite quote. There were so many that were sweet, cute, funny, adorable and… I picked this one because it made me laugh really hard 🙂

I’ll go with 4 stars for this one- ★★★★☆

Bonuses:

1 ★ for the new-ish plot

1 ★ for the faerie-human cute-guy funny-guy annoying Jack

1 ★ for the kinda matching cover 🙂

 

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Can you ever have too much of paranormals? Evie can.

All her life, she has tried to be normal. She prided herself on the fact that she was human. Just a human that could do something extraordinary. Not an extraordinary thing that could do some things human. But after an incident, she realizes she is not normal at all. She doesn’t know who, or what she is.

Reth, the villian-faerie, didn’t scare me like it was supposed to. If anything, I think he was just weird. And annoying. I don’t know if that was what it was supposed to be like, but I didn’t get it. I even liked Reth for a few moments.

Evelyn. Compared to the kickass heroines, she wasn’t much of a fighter. Yes, she had Tasey but that does not count as combat. What made her more real was her girl-ness. Every girl is not Katniss. Most of us do like pink and sparkly things. Even if those things are pink and sparkly tasers. And she did normal-girl things like watching high school dramas. There is the fact that she wanted to be more normal, but she actually did seem normal. That’s one of the signs of a good book- everybody can connect with some part of it.

One of the things I liked was that it was not revealed what Evie was exactly until nearly the end. It kept the story going and it did not once get tiring. This book’s length was dragged either. It is lighter than the average YA but it is a good read. You don’t get the feel that some parts were going on forever.

The plot is really good and was planned out well but it didn’t have much twists. You knew the direction the book was going in, unless there was no known information on the part. This is good for anyone who likes a good, straight book. But with the exception of paranormals. For when can paranormals ever be straight?

I loved the romance- it wasn’t too much but it was enough for a girl to fangirl over a nonexistent fictional character. Sure, most books get the characters right but I really did like Lend. Maybe not as much as William Herondale, my favourite, but enough to be over-average.

I’ll go with 4.5/5 stars- ★★★★½

Bonuses:

1 ★ for (of course) Lend, the Water Boy

1 ★ for the nice paranormals (Yes! I knew you existed)