Born Wicked, Star Cursed, Sisters’ Fate by Jessica Spotswood
Genre: Supernatural (Witches), Romance. Sisters = buzzword
Published by: Speak. Pages: 352, 384, 368 respectively
Rating: ★★★★
This series has quickly become one of my absolute favourites. It’s the story of three sisters who are all witches in a society where if you’re rumoured to be a witch you’re either imprisoned or hanged. There’s also a prophecy that claims one of the sisters will either be the undoing of witches or will help them rise. I loved the drama and the the way every single relationship is written! For a series that was recommended to me by a friend in my Lit class almost four years ago, I’m surprised I didn’t pick it up sooner, because it’s really not one to be missed!
(Warning: As I’m going to be discussing all three books in one post, you might find the reviews of books 2 and 3 spoiler-y since I’ll be noting how the plot progresses.)
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom
Genre: Contemporary Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: 400 Format: ARC e-book Rating: ★★.5 Note: We received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
After quite liking Eric Lindstrom’s debut Not If I See You First, I was really intrigued when his second book came up on NetGalley. The premise sounded so interesting, and I’m always geared up to add another book about mental health to my TBR. But, it turned out that Mel’s bipolar disorder was the only thing that kept me reading the book, and there were a few other things that almost caused me to DNF…for the first time ever. Continue reading “Review: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom”→
We’ve never managed to complete one of these surveys in the two other years we’ve been blogging, but next year we’re planning a lot of thing for our blog and one of them was to get more involved in the community! We get really interested in these kinds of things – stats are so fun to analyse (well…bookish stats!) – so we thought we’d do one too! As there are two of us, Maddie’s answers will be either in pink or on the right and Bee’s answers will either be blue or on the right. Get ready. It’s a long one.
Number Of Books You Read: 238 | 230
Number of Re-Reads: 21 | 28
Genre You Read The Most From:
For Maddie that’s out of 213 and out of 195 for me. Any books we didn’t include we probably uni texts or we just didn’t know how to categorise them! We both read quite a lot of middle grade this year and while my most read genre was fantasy, Maddie’s was contemporary (other) (sounds about right!) which we classified as any contemporaries where romance wasn’t the main component. We probably classified the same books differently too, depending on our individual genre specifications but it’s still really interesting to compare them!
1. Best Book You Read In 2016?
We have a video of our top 10 ! Our #1s were The Serpent Kingand This Savage Song.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
See How They Run by Ally Carter – After an explosive first book, I was pumped for the sequel, but I was completely let down. It was nowhere near as good as the first book, although I did appreciate the continued representation of PTSD.
Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery – I wanted this to be centered on the reality TV side of things, but that was only a quarter of the narrative! I also didn’t really care about the main character, so I didn’t care whether she was persecuted or not. Also, the ending was WAY too Hunger Games-esque.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew – Bee read it first and didn’t make much of it, but we were going to a signing with Julie Mayhew, and I wanted to read one of her books beforehand and ended up loving it! The Big Lie is an alternate history of what would have happened if Germany won WWII, and I found it beyond interesting. There’s a really good friendship dynamic between the main girl and her best friend, and a secret lesbian relationship I didn’t see coming as an added bonus!
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black – I might have talked about this before, but I really haven’t got on with Black’s writing in the past, but I picked this one up from our local library because I hadn’t read a book with faeries in a long time and I was intrigued by the fact it was a standalone, and I have to admit, I LOVED IT! It makes me want to give all her books a second chance now, so who knows…
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – We love both of Alice’s books, but this one spoke especially to us for its representation of someone on the asexuality scale, with lots of other diverse and wonderful characters, concerning race, sexuality and mental health! It ticked all the boxes, and we did a whole video about our reading experience to share how cool it was!
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
The Lone City series by Amy Ewing – It’s a miracle, but somehow it answers all of these questions! I fell in love with The Jewel, that I couldn’t wait to get to the next books and devoured them all within 48 hours! If you like The Selection or Wither, this is the next series for you, with a great female protagonist, a magic system and a romance that doesn’t inhibit Violet from doing what she needs to do to save the world!
The Young Elites series by Marie Lu – I haven’t been let down by Marie Lu yet, with Legend being one of my faves from last year! The Rose Society is definitely one of my favourite sequels and the more I think about the ending, the more I think it fits! I didn’t end up starting and finishing many series this year because I had a lot on the go already that my focus was mostly on finishing.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?
We made a whole video about just this because we couldn’t just pick one!
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys – I don’t read a lot of historical books, but all the ones I do end up reading, I really enjoy, so it’s definitely something I want to look into more in 2017! This book also won a Goodreads Choice award this year, so it definitely deserves the ‘best’.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – I know it’s not really a genre, more of a specific thing, but I’m not really a fan of books that are compared to Harry Potter (other examples being The Magisterium series). It’s like everyone knows you can’t touch wizard schools, and yet some people are prepared to try. Carry On even had a two boys one girl dynamic and was set in England, but it was one of the only Rainbow books I haven’t read so I gave it a shot and ended up liking it! Not really liking it, but I liked it all the same.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield – Although this was an absolutely tragic story that had me in tears by the end, there was always a glimmer of hope amongst all the bad things, and I just had to know if June made it out okay! Definitely a book I stayed up late to finish!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I was devastated every time I had to put it down to go to class or eat. I just wanted to read the whole thing in one sitting, so that’s practically what I did with Crooked Kingdom.
9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Head Over Heels by Holly Smale – There are so many that I read and thought, wow, I’m definitely reading this another six times, at least, but this is one I know for sure is on my 2017 TBR. We plan on reading all the Geek Girl books on the run up to the final book’s release!
The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch – The contrast of rainbow versus white and grey is just gorgeous, and there’s just something about that little pink car I can’t get over! If you Google the cover, there are so many that didn’t make the cut, but are just so pretty, I don’t know how the final cover was chosen!
The Unexpected Everything – Although I’m devastated that the publishers in the UK didn’t decide to stick with the cute typography covers like the ones I have for Amy & Roger and Second Chance Summer, this cover is still beautiful! So beautiful in fact I paid extra for the US hardback so I could get this cute retro-ish many dogs ice-cream cover. I mean it matches Since You’ve Been Gone at least!
11. Most memorable character of 2016?
River from The Graces by Laure Eve – The only problem is, she’s memorable for all the wrong reasons! One of my least favourite characters of the year, but one I can’t stop thinking about.
Alucard from A Gathering of Shadows – What an addition to the cast of characters, am I right?
George by Alex Gino – A book that EVERYONE needs to read.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?
Wonder by R. J. Palacio – It’s so eye opening, with so many different perspectives, I consider it mandatory reading for book lovers everywhere!
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick – This had a lot of hype and love when it first came out, but it was another book that Bee read and didn’t like, so I wrote it off, but I’m the bigger contemporary fan, and I think I read this at the perfect time during the year that I loved every second!
Winter by Marissa Meyer – Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh. It’s finally done. I’m finished. After over 800 pages I’ve made it to the other side of the Lunar Chronicles…and I want to go straight back in!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
We don’t actually tab passages or quotes from books, so I guess we could’ve skipped this one, but that’s just like a little extra fact about us!
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?
SHORTEST: Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt | Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan at 166 pages
LONGEST: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon at 896 pages!
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian – I saw the plot twist coming, but that didn’t make it any less of a ‘what the heck?’ moment!
The Deviants by C. J. Skuse – Although the ending was pretty guessable, the actually content and some of the twists were just generally shocking, and it’s a story that I think about every now and again – it just creeps up on me!
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Steffi and Rhys from A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard. Perfect pairing.
Nina and Matthias from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. My fragile heart.
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
MALE AND FEMALE: Frances and Aled from Radio Silence. There is literally NO romance between these two and it’s glorious! We loved their text messages and the way they support each other but also how they don’t always get along or understand each other was really touching.
FEMALE AND FEMALE: The Spinster Club trilogy by Holly Bourne, complexly representing girls!
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
That has to be The Secret Cityby C. J. Daugherty. I also read her Night School series this year, which I didn’t really like but the Alchemist Chronicles were brilliant! I gave both books four stars!
21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Night Owls by Jenn Bennett – Bee loved this book when she read it from the library, but not immediately, she had to read fifty pages before she really got into the story, and because she loved it, I loved it too!
Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven- everyone loves Jennifer Niven and I refuse to read All The Bright Places but Maddie read this book really early and said it was a lot better than she was expecting. It’s not one of the best books I’ve read this year, but I read it on a recommendation!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?
Everyone from The Serpent King.
Everyone from Six of Crows.
23. Best 2016 debut you read?
The Serpent King by Jeff Zetner. I’ve already got my hands on his 2017 release, so I’m raring to go and see what his next heart breaker is going to be.
I’m looking forward to more stuff from Harriet Reuter Haploid author of The Square Root of Summer!
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
How many of these am I allowed to answer with Six of Crows?
I found it really easy to imagine the setting of The Lone City series by Amy Ewing. Usually, I find dystopians hard to map in my mind, but this one formed really easily!
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Head Over Heelsby Holly Smale – We were really anticipating this release being HUGE Geek Girl fans. We were smiling throughout the entire thing – the characters had come so far, it was truly wonderful. Forever Geek is one of our most anticipated releases of next year!
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?
Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani – I adore The School For Good and Evil series, and when Soman announced on EverNeverTV that there was going to be another series that would follow on from The Last Ever After…well, you can guess my reaction!
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James – we got to hear Lauren talk about her next book when we met her in November. It sounds incredible but it doesn’t come out until September – how am I meant to wait that long?!
3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
We’re really not sure, if you have any debuts that we should be looking out for, please tell us about them!
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?
A lot of my favourite series ended either this year or last year, so I’m really pumped for their new releases, like Wires and Nerves by Marissa Meyer, which is a spinoff rather than a sequel, but oh well!
A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab – This one needs little explanation, because A Gathering of Shadows was my favourite book of the year. I have so much faith in Victoria Schwab that this is going to be the best sequel I’ve ever read.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?
Get more involved in the blogging community for sure! If you have any blogs that you’d like to recommend then please send them our way!
6. A 2017 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Earlier this month we got an email from the lovely people at Owlcrate asking if we wanted to receive one of their subscription boxes and the theme for December is…
EPIC FANTASY!
They mentioned that the included book had LGBT protagonists so we were immediately excited! (If you don’t want to be spoiled on anything in the box then click away because you’re about to be bombarded with pictures!)
Harry Potter Mystery Mini – this was a wild ride of excitement. First there was excitement. Then there was hope (that we’d get anyone but Voldemort). And finally there was a mix of hysteria and love as we got the closest mini you could get to Voldemort without actually getting Voldemort (I’m still laughing inside and really glad we caught our reaction on camera).
Sticker featuring a quite from A Darker Shadow of Magic– this is such a beautifully designed sticker (by Miss Phi)! I love the quote and the Shades of Magic series, it was definitely one of my favourite items in the box.
Lucy at the lamppost from Narnia card – The art for this is incredibly cute! I want to frame it!
A set of Game of Thrones coasters – Maddie might have read the first three books in the series and we’ve watched the first season of the show, but we’re nowhere near to being classified as GoT superfans, so we’re going to give these to our friend Sarah who is a superfan!
A Lord of the Rings book pin – This was designed by Jane Mount (Ideal Bookshelf) and I think it’s exclusive to this Owlcrate because I couldn’t find it on the website, but there are some seriously cute pins on there! Again this isn’t a fantasy franchise that we’re invested in, but our Dad’s a big lover of the book series so we can pin this to the satchel he takes to work!
Our favourite things from the box were definitely the sticker and the card, we will definitely be following up on the artists! Then there’s the book which is Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst, a fantasy I’m really excited to get to, hopefully in the beginning of the year! So look out for our review! As always Owlcrate include a letter from the author about their book, and this one did a really great job of describing the book since the back of the book is filled with authors praising it! There’s also a bookmark to match!
Thank you so much to Owlcrate for sending us this EPIC (*wink*) box!
If you’re interested in subscribing to Owlcrate then check out their website! The theme for January’s box is CLASSIC REMIX, and there was lots of Alice in Wonderland graphics, so it sounds equally as exciting!
What’s your favourite EPIC fantasy book?
If you’ve already read Of Fire and Stars what did you make of it?
Are you Narnia, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings?
The Holiday BookTubeathon starts today, but before it’s truly began, let’s get an idea of what books we want to read on the last three days of the year.
♡ Maddie’s Picks ♡
Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens – A middle grade story I’ve had my eye on because I love murder mysteries and boarding school settings so when I saw it at my local library I picked it up immediately!
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber – One of the most highly anticipated releases of 2017, and I’m desperate to read this UKYA story with a biracial protagonist who loves to run, even if it is only a week in advance of the actual release date. It’ll also be the first time in a long time I’ll have read the most recent book I bought immediately.
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom – A book I requested from NetGalley that’s being published on January 1st. This is my last priority and the book on my TBR I’m least hyped for, but the cover is beautiful and I enjoyed the author’s debut novel, so fingers crossed I like this one too!
♡ Bee’s Picks ♡
Little Stars by Jacqueline Wilson – is my middle grade pick, the last in the Hetty Feather series! I really want to have this series finished by the end of the year, so this is really my last chance! Maddie’s already read it, so I’ve adjusted my expectations accordingly. I know it’s pretty big, but hopefully I can get though it quickly.
Sisters’ Fate by Jessica Spotswood – another last book in a series that I want to finish. The Cahill Witch Chronicles is one of my favourites that I started last year! I’ve already started it a day ahead, but I’m still going to count it!
What Light by Jay Asher – Maddie won this for me in a competition run by My Kinda Book and I still want to cling to the wintery season (or the fun part of it) before school starts, and the best part is it’s only short!
Just so long. This book was SO LONG. It seriously didn’t need to be, and by the end I was certainly trudging my way through it, however, despite all that it was still my favourite of the trilogy and that can entirely be attributed to the fact that it followed Bitterblue, who is not the Queen of her kingdom. This story takes place a few years on from the events of Graceling, so it’s not really a direct sequel, but you still get to see Katsa and Po, so I’m going to classify this a regular series rather than a companion one, just with a random prequel shoved in the middle there.
For the final day of Blogmas, and we can’t believe it’s almost over, we thought it would be a good idea to look forward to 2017, and write about how we want our reading habits to change!
There are so many incredible books on our TBRs and sometimes how much there is to read completely overwhelms us! Luckily, Maddie and I are able to read around 10 books a month on busier months and up to 20 in the summer months, so we’re not too bad when it comes to making dents in TBRs, but we’re constantly adding to them with new releases or series we’ve only just heard about, so it can be hard. At the beginning of the year we thought long and hard about the kinds of books we wanted to be reading and how we could maximise the percentage of books we actually enjoy out of all the books we read in a year. Although we made progress, we still have a way to go, so here are a few of the changes we want to make to our reading habits! Continue reading “Reading Resolutions for 2017!”→
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan Genre: Thriller Publisher: Speak Pages: 298 Format: Paperback (library edition) Rating: ★
I missed this movie when it was in the cinema, so when I saw it in the library I thought I would pick it up to read before I eventually saw the film! I hauled it in a Library book haul and someone commented that the book was quite different to the movie, I can only agree from what I see in the trailer, but I can definitely say that I was completely underwhelmed by Nerve and can see how a movie would ramp this up 100% The premise in general sounded really exciting but there was so much to dislike about the books, I can’t bring myself to give it any more that 1 star.
She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Genre: Thriller Publisher: Indigo Pages: 354 Format: Paperback Rating: ★★
After reading and really liking Marcus Sedgwick’s story in the UKYA Christmas anthology, I went straight to my local library to see which of his stand alones were available. It turns out they had not one but three copies of She is Not Invisible, so this was obviously The One To Read. Continue reading “Review: She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick”→
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom
Bitterblue
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Heart Full of Books 