Magonia

Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley

Hi all! 
Just finished Magonia, and, I can say, that it is probably one of my favorite books I've read this year. DEFINITELY will be in my top 5 of 2015!!
THIS BOOK IS PURE MAGIC!!!
Magonia is about a girl called Aza, who has always had troubles when it comes to breathing. The doctors cannot help, as no one else seems to be having this problem. Her life completely changes when, one day, she sees a ship in the sky. 

The book itself was insanely unique - if you are looking for something that is YA, but totally different than everything that has been published in the past few years, then this is exactly what you are looking for! I highly agree with its popular comparison with Neil Gaiman - the writing style and the ideas are very similar. However, this book has to be read apart from his books! 

Reading this was magic all the way through. It is super captivating, and is very impressive
The mythology, the fantasy, the imagery, the writing... it is all so beautiful! The characters are amazing! The ideas were so unique! The writing is something that I wish I could read more of!!!

So for my review. 
Let's start with the cover, shall we? 

This is possibly one of the nicest covers i've seen this year. The picture doesn't show it well, but it is slightly shiny. I love the composition of it! The back cover, along with author reviews by Victoria Aveyard and Django Wexler, has a beautiful starry background. Honestly, I probably initially picked this book up because of the cover! 

And now for the story. 

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING!!! There are so many unexpected turns and plot twists, with huge revelations every other chapter. The writing style was great as well! The author took imagery and shaped it into what she was describing. One of my favorite examples is this (p. 115):

          "I don't know why, but my heart is pounding, and then, arcing across the sky, the Northern Lights appear, rippling out in the dark. 

           Green

           blue and 

                          r

                              o

                                  s

                                    e

                               and

                               R

                         E

                   D

            and

              t

                 a

                     n

                         g

                             e

                                  r

                                     i

                                      n

                                     e

                              and

                           w

                      h

                i

            t

          e

    and

    SILVER. 

The colors drape over our ship, and I look at Dai, glowing under the lights."

I absolutely LOVED reading parts like this! It really enhanced the idea, in this case, of the dancing northern lights! The way the entire book is written is just beautiful - some passages were written out in such a way that I could imagine being in the scene myself, surrounded by sounds and colors. 

The Magonian Mythology presented throughout the book was absolutely amazing! It is hard to say a lot about it without major spoilers, so if you want to avoid spoilers, I would suggest not reading this purple part ^^ But I'll try to keep it just to Magonian mythology :) 

SPOILERS! 

Okay so Magonian mythology is absolutely fascinating! Basically, it entails that there is a whole world in the sky, built up by floating cities and flying ships. Magonians are human-bird hybrids, who can sing things into happening with the help of a canwr, a special bird. There are sky-pirates and tradesmen. Another awesome part of the mythology is that these boats are surrounded by squallwhales, which, to humans, resemble clouds and take care of our weather. 

So yeah it may seem strange and nonsensical for now but it all fits in so perfectly with the book!! 

SPOILERS OVER AND OUT! 

I also really enjoyed the fact that Jason, Aza's friend, narrates a part of the book. In a way, he really reminds me of John Green's male characters, especially in An Abundance of Katherines. Jason is quirky, recites pi for comfort, and is interested in the strangest topics! Aza's character is also super interesting - without giving away too many spoilers, her character really develops a lot throughout the novel! And their relationship is sooooo sweet!! 

Overall, this book is fun, quirky, amazingly beautiful and just magic! I highly highly highly recommend it to anyone!! (For those of you who have already read it, see what I just did there...? ;) )

If you have read it, or are planning to read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments! I love hearing from you guys!! :D 

I gave this book a 1000/5 stars on Goodreads! 

This book completed my 'a book by a female author' challenge! (kept this for later for who-knows-what reason)

OH and before I forget! 

I'm starting the Top Ten Tuesday blogging program thing! I won't post every Tuesday - some lists I just can't complete ^^ But I'll do my best!

Prodigy, by Marie Lu


Hi all!

In my honest opinion, Prodigy was a more interesting read than Legend. The sequel continues with June and Day's protests agains the Republic, but in a more interesting way than Legend did. Prodigy had more twists and turns and a LOT of plot-twists! I ended up surprised by what was going on so often, especially in the last few chapters! There were a lot more events in this book, which actually made it easier to read as well, as it was a lot more action-packed. 

The ending was not at all what I would have expected it to be! In fact, I'm looking forward to reading Champion, just to see how things play out!

As with Legend, I loved the font-and-color change when changing perspectives! It really helped clear things up from a reader's point of view. However, whereas June and Day's characters seemed almost identical in Legend, they start developing more distinct personalities and characters throughout Prodigy, which I enjoyed discovering! 

However, also like in Legend, I could not get over the fact that Day and June are FIFTEEN (Day turns sixteen in the book). I understand that this novel is supposed to be dystopian, but I can't help but feel that being engaged in an assassination plot at 15 (as well as other huge things that I won't mention because of spoilers) just isn't right. I wish that Marie Lu had made her character a few years older! This is especially apparent when June explains how she finished university at 15 and started at 12, when someone else from the same university was 17 a year before graduating. I understand that the characters are extremely gifted, but I still thing the ages are a bit exaggerated. That's really my biggest rant of the series ^^ 


Let me know what you thought of Prodigy! :D
I gave this book 3.75 stars on goodreads! 

Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! 
Ok so I will include spoilers in this so yeah. You were warned! 

Why don't I already have books 2 and 3??? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!! GIMMEE DA BOOKS! 

ahem, 

Anyway

Clockwork angel takes us back to the world of the Shadowhunters, but in Victorian England.
But, the twist on the Shadowhunter story we already know... is that it is mixed with steampunk. 
HOW COOL IS THAT?! But I won't say how steampunk is involved cause spoilers... ^^

Its really a great read! There's an awesome mix of magic and realism, with just the right dosage of  victorian-ness, steampunk, creepiness, love, vampires, sassiness and craziness.

AND THAT ENDING WAS LIKE FREAKING FIREWORKS! It was one realization after another and it just didn't stop until the last page! I was expecting some of the revelations, though. 
I was just like 


This is the place where all my spoiler-talk will be: 

I was expecting the fact that de Quincey was not the Magister. To be totally honest, for like a chapter or two I thought it could be Magnus! But once I saw how nice and innocent Mortmain was, I knew it had to be him. 
But I TOTALLY WAS NOT EXPECTING NATE TO BE BAD! That came as such a shock! I mean sure I thought it was weird that he was so scared of the shadowhunters, but still! I was like WHAT JUST HAPPENED??
Thomas and Agatha's deaths were so sad! :( Especially Thomas's, with his last words and all! 
I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHATS UP WITH WILL! like why is he always pretending to be drunk and sad and lying??
Oh and since Will is a Herondale, I get where Jace's sassiness comes from >.>
I knew something was weird about Jessie liking Nate, it just didn't work out, in my opinion. 
Am I the only one who thought that the necklace coming to life was strange and kinda pushed aside too soon? Like no one even really reacted to it! 

End of spoiler talk, you can continue reading :) 

I think that the characters are all great! Tessa is a strong protagonist. Although she seems a bit in a daze at the beginning, she develops a strong character that matches her... condition. 
Then Will is so strange and mysterious! I really want to know whats up with him! And he's sassy and funny! 
Jem is so sweet! He's like everyone's big brother in the story! 
Jessie is, well, kinda annoying, to be fair, but I mean you can really understand where she is coming from. 
That Lightwood kid is an absolute pain, so much unlike Isabel and Alec! But for some reason I have a feeling that he'll be helpful to the trio in the next two books for some reason. 
And Magnus is still (still? Can we use that if this happened in the past? Oh well you get it >.>) there! Made me happy to see a familiar character :) 

Even though I didn't think I'd like it, I enjoyed how Clockwork Angel had so many links to The Mortal Instruments! Its like while reading you suddenly come across a sentence and you're like 'hehe, hehehe, I see what you did there!!", just because it will take you straight back to a mortal instruments book. Its like the past was foreshadowing the future in a book that came out after the future-set book was published. 
Wrap your mind around that one! 

The only thing I would suggest is that, if you haven't done so already, you read The Mortal Instruments series before reading The Infernal Devices - they give a better understanding of how the Shadow World works, as well as the relations between the Nephilim and Downworlders, which is a huge theme of Clockwork Angel. But this book does a fairly good job at explaining it all anyway =p 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads :D 

This book completed my "A book I own, but have never read" challenge! I've had this book for a long time now, and I just got to it. ^^

Let me know if you read clockwork angel, and what you thought of it! :) 

I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak 

Hi all!
I finished this book a while ago, but I thought I'd review it now just because
Enjoy! :) 

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC! 
Markus Zusak, you did it again! You managed to write another book that I could not put down and that is an overall amazing story! 

<>
(this is so cute! C: )

I don't know about you guys, but to me, this book is a feel-good book. Ed, the main character, receives aces in the mail (as in the playing cards), with addresses, times, and/or names on them. He goes from person to person, and manages to help them in simple ways. There are many 'cases' he has to solve - some through violence, but others through simple acts of kindness that made me smile. In the end, someone was always helped for the better. Him changing other people's lives makes him realize that, by doing so, he can change his as well. 

However, Ed lives in a somewhat delinquent society, which can shock some readers. Some of the people he helps out go through awful things, as well. However, I find that this contributes well to his character, as well as how his acts of helping others changes his life and those around him.

Overall, the book is nice and easy to read (although a lot of people seem to not like the fact that some sentences are one-worded, I think that it brought out the character in a good way, as well as helped set the intensity for some parts). I really enjoyed how, even though the storyline was basically divided into the various 'tasks' that Ed had to preform, it would still go back to previous people he helped, and we could see how his actions, however small, impacted their lives. 

Books that have characters that make people happy make me happy :) 




If you have read it, let me know what you thought of it! I'd love to hear your opinions! 

If you can, try making someone happy today. It doesn't have to be something big, or for a stranger. Just do something that you know will make someone else smile :) I dare you. 

I gave this book 5/5 stars on goodreads :) 

Triple Liebster! *-*

Hi all! 
I just got re-nominated for the Liebster award, by Kayleigh, over at A Book Lover's Playlist! Thanks so much for the nomination! If you want to check out her amazing blog, just click on her name! I also was re-nominated by Thesi! I tagged both of these bloggers in my first Liebster, and they re-tagged me. 

OK so I may not be playing by the rules, but seeing as I've done this already super recently, and its exam week so I don't have all the time in the world to write another huge post, I'm going to stick to answering the questions asked. I nominate those who I have nominated last time, with the same questions! :D 

Question time!
Kayleigh's Questions 1. If you could be friends with any book character, who would it be and why? 
*stares at bookshelf forever* 
Hmm mentioning this series again, then. Okay! I would probably be friends with Simon from The Mortal Instruments. I'm geeky, like him, he has awesome humor, and, admittingly, I've also played Dungeons and Dragons in high school. So yeah >.>
BUT, my personality aside, I think that being friends with Arianna from the Stravaganza series. Even though she is forced to become the duchess of her city at a young age, she is still super fun and awesome! :) 

2. What is your favorite book to movie adaptation?
I answered this question in the previous Liebster, but my answer remains Harry Potter :)

3. Favorite snack while reading? 
This is hard because even if I start reading with a snack, I'll eventually forget its even there to snack on =p . But I do enjoy snacking on a mix of nuts, seeds, and dried berries when reading for my classes! 

4. Who is your book boyfriend?
Peeta from The Hunger Games. No question! :3

5. What is your favorite book series?
...
I don't like this question!! 
Its so hard because every time I finish a series, it becomes my new favorite! 
I'll give a short list, because I honestly don't know. Plus I just ordered the Throne of Glass series, by Sarah J Maas, so yeah =p AND  I've just read a bunch of first-books-in-a-series!
In my list I would put (surprise surprise) The Mortal Instruments, Graceling, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and Wings. 

6. Name the first three authors who come to your mind when I ask you who your favorites are. 
J.K. Rowling
Rick Riordan
John Green

Wow those were predictable!! 

7. What is your favorite book?
THATS WORSE THAN THE FAVORITE SERIES!!!
I'll say top three of the moment, because its so hard to choose!!! 
I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Startdust, by Niel Gaiman 
Red Queen, by Victoria Avery
Siberia, by Ann Halam
...
Thats more than three...
oh well! 

8. Dogs or Cats?
Cats! :D

9. Physical book or e-readers? 
Physical book, always! 

10. What is your favorite song?
...
I'm really not good at these favorites, am I? 
I can't even choose a favorite singer or band! 
Well, I did re-play Little Bird, by the one and only Ed Sheeran today, so that might be my favorite song for today. Who knows what it will be tomorrow though! 


Thesi's Questions!

1. Which author would you most like to meet? 
There's a lot I'd like to meet, but I think J. K. Rowling is way up high on my list :)

2. Where would you most like to live?
Right now I'm happy in the Netherlands, but I would absolutely love to live in Italy again! (Tuscany) 

3. What is your favorite instrument? 
I played the flute for a long time, so I would say that! However, I also think that lesser known instruments like the ocarina and the pan pipes are amazing! 

4. What book are you currently reading? 
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare :) 

5. What is the furthest away from home you have ever been? 
This is hard, because I don't know if home is where I am from, or where I live. If it is where I live, I would say San Fransisco, but if it is where I am from, I would say Florida. 

6. What is the last movie you watched? 
Pitch Perfect Two!

7. What is the last song you listened to? 
Ed Sheeran's Grade 8 

8. Where would you like to go on holiday? 
Japan, or Australia, or New Zealand, or India, or Argentina, or an island! 

9. What is your favorite sport? 
Archery. Self-taught since 2008 ^_^

10. Is Neville Longbottom cool?
He is so awesome by the end of the books! :D


Those were all my answers! Thanks again to Kayleigh and Thesi for re-nominating me! :D 

Legend, by Marie Lu

Hi all! 
So I just finished Legend, by Marie Lu. It is about to main characters; a rich girl named June, who has a perfect score on her Trial and has a high rank in the local military, and a boy named Day, who is poor, lives on the streets, and is a wanted criminal. It is set in a dystopian Los Angeles, where law and order rule over everything. One day, the two character's lives will meet in an unexpected way...

So now for the review! 

This book was a real page-turner!

<>

Even though it too me a while to finish due to university and whatnot, I found Legend to be a very enjoyable read. Marie Lu has created a complete dystopia - hurricanes, a super-strict military, a plague, a sort of 'eligibility test', death sentences, extreme poverty... you name it, and it was there! 

<>

Okay.. maybe no penguins. But you know what I mean. All major elements that can be seen as dystopian are there in this crazy blend of a book! 

Another aspect that I appreciated is that as you hop between June and Day's point of views, the font style and color changes. The chapter title are also the character titles for further clarification. Had this not been the case, I would have definitely been confused about who was talking when. 

I can totally see this book becoming a movie - the descriptions are mostly very clear, to a point where you can actually imagine the surroundings. 

One little problem I have with the book is the age boundaries. I mean sure, kids can take their Trial at ten, to check how they will do in the future. Then it gets very blurry. June is 15 in the novel, and already has a very high rank in the city's military. Day is 15 and he is a wanted criminal. Tess is even younger and lives on the streets as well. I just wish the ages were more realistic for the situation. 

Otherwise, this book was a very enjoyable read, with a great idea behind it! 

I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads! 
This book completed my "a book written by someone under 30" goal!

LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINATION

So yesterday I'm just casually looking through my email when I receive one saying that I was nominated for the Liebster award! This 'award' is basically a new blogger recognition. I'm actually really surprised that someone noticed my blog so quickly!!! Many thanks to Nerdychampagne for nominating me!! You can find her blog here!

(ooh pretty banner!) 

Now! This is how this works

THE RULES:

1.  Once you are nominated, make a post thanking and linking the person who nominated you. Include the Liebster Award sticker in the post too.
2. Nominate 10 other bloggers who you feel are worthy of this award. Let them know they have been nominated by commenting on one of their posts. You can also nominate the person who nominated you.
3. Ensure all of these bloggers have less than 200 followers.
4. Answer the ten questions asked to you by the person who nominated you, and make ten questions of your own for your nominees.
5. Lastly, COPY these rules in the post.

Okey dokey guachamole lets get this going! (Wow did I really just write that? Oh well =p )

First, I'll answer the questions that were asked! 

1. If you were to give your life a soundtrack playlist, what three songs would be there? 

THIS IS SO HARD BECAUSE I LOVE MUSIC!!! Ok I'll try though. 

1. Good ol' Days, by the Script - this is because I've been feeling massive waves of nostalgia for the past few weeks for the craziest stuff. Okay so I don't go out partying like it describes in the song, but the chorus is perfect! 

2. Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae - I love this song, and I feel that it perfectly captures just taking things easy :) 

3. I Lived, by OneRepublic - This song is basically how I try to do things. Plus it was my graduation song. =p

2. In seven words, tell me how you felt about the last book you read. 

So the last book I read was The Shock of the Fall, you can scroll down to see my review :) 

1. eye-opening

2. Sad

3. Confused

4. Sorry

5. Lucky

6. Awed

7. Fascinated 

3. What is your favorite color and why?

This shade of purple is just magnificent. I've always loved purple, not too sure why, to be honest! I think its a really calming color, especially a shade like this. Its dreamy and imaginative and I like it :)

4. How often do you read books? 

When I can, meaning when I am not at Uni or doing homework or with my friends :) 

5. Coffee or Tea? 

UHHHHHHH I LOVE BOTH!!!! But more specifically for both, either Cappuccino or Frappe for coffee, and a caramel or fruity blend for tea *_*. But, for a more day-to-day basis I'd go with tea.

6. Which movie adaptation is your favorite? 

I'm guessing book-to-movie? Harry Potter was an absolutely fantastic adaptation! Coming second would be a tie between the Hunger Games and The Fault in our Stars! 

7. In five words, describe your home country. 

Ooh its like a double dare for me! Coolness! 

America

Monuments, Parks, Famous, Patriotic, Freedom 

France

Bread, Cheese, Countryside, Bonjour, Diverse 

8. What book made you a bookworm?

Becoming a bookworm really started when I was tiny - I've always loved books! But I guess you can say that when I was in middle school, one series really stood out and made me want to read all the time. That series is *drumroll please* ... Percy Jackson and the Olympians. About that, The Lightening Thief came out 10 years ago yesterday!!! Stay tuned for a review of the series! ;) 

9. Name a book that everyone hates, but you love so much. 

I just don't understand why Wings, by Aprilynne Pike, has so many negative reviews! I loved it! Such a cute story, with a good idea behind it! 

10. What is that one series that everyone loves but you absolutely hate?

Ok now this is probably very common, but I just can't STAND Twilight! I honestly tried liking it, I got through the first book-and-a-half before giving up. Its just annoying and whiny and overly stalkerish. Sorry Stephanie!!! 

Okay so thats it with the questions!! Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, here are the people I've nominated! Give a nice round of applause for....

Thesi

Kayleigh

Meedah

Kritika

Jess

Aga

Alexandra

Savvina

Amanda

Amber

Yay congrats! I stumbled upon most of these blogs, and thought they were great! Make sure to take a look! 

Now, here is my list of questions for you ten! :D 

1. What is your favorite book that has a blue spine? 
2. How do you react to people interrupting your reading time? 
3. Favorite bookish quote
4. Do you own any bookish items that is not a book, bookmark, e.reader, light, etc... (eg, poster, mug, book sculpture? Harry potter items, etc...) 
5. What is your favorite season and why? 
6. What is your opinion on readers (kindle, for example) ? 
7. One place and time you would love to be at right now. 
8. Go to your shelf, close your eyes, spin around, and pick a book at total random. What is it? What's your story about it? 
9. Pink or blue? 
10. Is the glass half empty or half full? 


HAVE FUN ANSWERING THEM!  :D 


Here's my answers. 
1. The Fault in our Stars, by John Green
2. Inwardly, I get annoyed, but then I just talk to the person normally =p
3. "All you need are books and tea!"
4. A bookish sticker on my laptop :) Plus a mug that says 'do not disturb, I'm in the book's world" 
5. Summer because its warm and there's vacation and you can travel! 
6. They're fine, especially for traveling and school purposes. 
7.A week or so before high school final exams, in our school's library, with my friends, discussing anything but school, taking massive selfies, and taking slow-mo hairflip videos. I've had a nostalgic afternoon okay? Either that or last summer, in San Gimignano, sitting on the well in the center of town, in the evening, eating raspberry ice cream. 
Time machine why you no exist????
8. *ish dizzy* The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Got this as a box set with the other first three Percy Jackson books, and its worn on the spine by many many reads. 
9. uuuhhhhh blue? 
10. FULL TO THE MAX! 


Let me now when you have answered the questions! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with! :D