Books and Cookies Tag – Because I’m Currently Hungry and Feel Like Screaming About Books!

Honestly, is there ever a time when I’m not shrieking about books?

I’m pretty sure I can find a way to slip books into every conversation I hold with anybody.

And guess what??? I’m about to talk about them again! Hooray!

Shoutout to Cait @ Paper Fury for inspiring this post!

Chocolate Chip – Classic Book That You Love

I actually really liked Pride and Prejudice! I normally don’t like classics, they’re really hard for me to read, but I enjoyed this one!

Thin Mints – A Hyped-Up Book You Want To Read

I honestly love reading hyped books? Following publishers and book bloggers is how I find almost all of my reads, so most of them are pretty hyped. But these are probably my highest at the moment! (Also a lot of these are out, I just haven’t read them yet.)

Shortbread – An Author You Can’t Get Enough Of

This will probably come as no surprise to anyone, but I have to say Maggie Stiefvater. I just recently finished The Raven Cycle, and I’m even more in love with her writing than I was before. I haven’t read a single book of hers I didn’t like. (Also she’s literally the sweetest person ever! I was super anxious about actually meeting her, but she was very laid back and so nice!) 

I’m still a mess over The Raven Cycle! The Gangsey is the most precious friend group ever, and I have so much love for all of them. Every book will stab you with FEELS and you will want to thank it for the honor. Maggie is the queen of slow-burn romances, so you’re basically flailing and yelling “Just kiss, you oblivious potato chips!” while said chips don’t realize any emotions until the second or third book. I’m shoving the whole series in the faces of all my IRL friends, so I will also tell you to go read them, because you deserve to read such a masterpiece. (also she released news about the Dreamer trilogy and I’m about to HURL MYSELF OFF A CLIFF OR SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST FROM EXCITEMENT)

Samoas – An Emotional Rollercoaster

The Raven Cycle is a very good candidate for this section, but so is The Dark Artifices. Can we just appreciate how wonderful this series is?? It’s so diverse, and while I don’t require my books to have a hugely diverse cast, this one was so well done that it would seem wrong without it. And the friends-to-lovers trope is so beautiful. This is another instance where you’re screaming at the characters to just figure out their feelings because you can’t take it!! and they’re quite obviously in love!! Plus all the characters are so well written. Ty! Mark! Christina! Kieran! Emma! All the Blackthorn siblings! My fragile heart can’t handle all the feels. 

Oreos – A Book Whose Cover Was Better Than The Story

Part of the reason I read all these books was because of the covers, and I was a little disappointed? The books really weren’t that bad, but I was still a bit let down. 

Gingerbread Cookies – Where The Story Was Better Than Its Cover

I loved all of these books, but the covers could be so much better! The alternate cover for Legend is definitely an improvement. Fun fact! The Illuminated Dark is self-published by one of my IRL friends from my dance studio! She wrote it under her pen name for NaNoWriMo a few years ago, and I loved it.

Peanut Butter Cookies – A Book That Wasn’t What You Expected

Probably The Cruel Prince and Strange the Dreamer! The Cruel Prince was stabby and dark and amazing, and since I’ve reread it, it definitely gets a five-star rating. I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did, for sure. And I recently read Strange the Dreamer, and it was so good?? I wasn’t really expecting to like it at first, because the beginning kind of started at a drag. But as it went on, I actually loved it! Lazlo is just the sweetest Hufflepuff, and his nose was broken because he knocked a book of fairy tales off a shelf. If that isn’t the dorkiest, most relatable thing, I don’t know what is. 

Snickerdoodle – A Book You’ll Never Stop Rereading

I know for a fact that I will reread The Raven Cycle and The Dark Artifices many, many times. But I’ve reread the Keeper of the Lost Cities series and The Lunar Chronicles a lot, and I always love them.

Macaron – Sequels You Liked Better Than The First

Again, The Raven Cycle pops up. The Dream Thieves is probably my favorite book in the series, and while it isn’t strictly a sequel, it’s the second book. I also loved Thunderhead and Unhinged!

What is a book you’ll never stop rereading?

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My Most Anticipated Books of 2019! – TTT

*waves* Today, I’ll be listing some of my most anticipated releases of 2019!

Actually, a few may be for 2020, but they’re so good I can’t help but add them.

This is part of Top Ten Tuesday!

King of Fools – Amanda Foody

I read the first book in The Shadow Game series, Ace of Shades, in 2018, and it was one of my favorite reads of the year. I mentioned the main character, Enne, in my previous post, and I can’t wait to see how her and Levi’s story continues in the next installment!

Children of Virtue and Vengeance – Tomi Adeyemi

Children of Blood and Bone is an amazing book, and I can’t wait to read the sequel! Plus Tomi is an absolute queen, and I love her writing.

Finale – Stephanie Garber

I’ve only read Caraval so far, but Legendary is high on my TBR. I’m so excited to see how the series ends!

The Wicked King – Holly Black

This is self-explainable. I posted my review for The Cruel Prince a few months ago, and honestly I love it even more now. I NEED MORE OF CARDAN MY TRASHY FAE SON, ALRIGHT?

An Ember in the Ashes #4 – Sabaa Tahir

No cover or title yet!

Honestly, Ember is one of the best series I’ve ever read! Sabaa has such a gorgeous writing style, and I love her characters. I can’t wait to read more about my babies Laia and Elias! 😍

Chain of Gold – Cassandra Clare

I’ve only read two of The Dark Artifices books so far, but so far, I’m in love with Cassie Clare’s books! Once I read the rest of the books, I’m sure this one will be out so I can read it immediately. 😂 (Also this cover y’all. *heart eyes*)

The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi

I’ve heard of Roshani through the Internet, but haven’t read any of her books yet. The synopsis seems really neat, and the cover. I know they say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but I totally do. 😍

The Toll – Neal Shusterman

No cover yet!

I think I’ve geeked out over Scythe and Thunderhead enough for this to be understandable. Thunderhead ended at such a cliffhanger, and I’ve been dying waiting for The Toll.

Stain – A.G. Howard

I discovered A.G. Howard’s Splintered series earlier this year, and I fell in love. When I saw she was coming out with a new standalone, I knew I had to read it. Like all of her books, it’s a retelling, but instead of Alice in Wonderland or Phantom of the Opera, this one is Princess and the Pea with a gothic twist. I love all of A.G.’s books, and I’m sure Stain won’t disappoint!

Are any of these on your TBR? Any 2019 releases you’re excited for? Let me know in the comments!

Review: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince was a dark, twisted book, and I absolutely loved it!

*WARNING* THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. SPOILERS WILL BE CONCEALED, BUT READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Add on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

The Plot

 At first, I thought this was more of a coming-of-age story, but with dark fae. Jude’s focus is more on earning her place in the Court than anything else for the first portion of the book. But it’s really not! It has elements of a coming-of-age plotline, but it’s also about self-discovery and betrayal.

The world-building also surprised me! There’s a few info dump-ish places towards the beginning, but nothing like some other books I’ve read. The story is set in Elfhame, which is made up of three shifting islands: Insweal, Insmoor, and Insmire. Insmire is the main island, where the royals live and where the story takes place.

The Characters

I loved Jude! She was very stabby, but also very feminine and intelligent to counterbalance the stabbiness. She did have a bit of a habit of making snarky remarks when it really didn’t help her situation, but hey, without the snark messing things up the plotline would have been a lot slower.

I also loved Vivi, but I’m torn about Taryn. Like?? Why would you *SPOILER* go and get engaged to the guy YOU KNOW JUDE LIKES. LIKE SERIOUSLY. I know you want to fit in, but if you know that’s going on, and the dude is purposely playing your twin, I’d cut things off with that jerk. Okay, done with the Taryn rant. On the other hand, Vivi is Jude and Taryn’s rebellious half-sister, and I loved her. She’s constantly sneaking away to the mortal world just to annoy Madoc, which honestly I get. Madoc is not a very good person. But Vivi also loves her sisters so much, and it’s honestly really pure?? I love it??

Cardan tho. *heart eyes* At first, I really did not like him. He was a very self-centered jerk, which granted, is basically in the makeup of the fae, but still. But as the book goes on, you get more of his backstory, and you can understand where he’s coming from.  Also *SPOILER* I started low-key shipping Cardan and Jude towards the beginning of the book, even though he was jerky. I figured he’d have some backstory that could justify his actions, and while they weren’t completely justified, he did get a lot better! And the romance between them was very enemies-to-lovers, and not at all rushed. I really loved those aspects of his character. 

The only thing that really bothered me was all the side characters. The people who were close to Jude I could keep straight okay, but all the other members of the royal family?? And all the people Jude tried to make alliances with?? Gone from my brain in about 12.7 seconds. I understand their purpose, I just have the short-term memory of a house fly and cannot remember all these people for the life of me.

And OF COURSE they all have crazy fantasy names. Like, Orlagh?? Nicasia?? Caelia and Elowyn and Roiben and Ryhia?? I called Charis my cousin’s name the other day, which is Serena and in no way similar to Charis. How am I supposed to keep track of all these names that just sound like a keysmash?

Content

• Occasional use of b******, b****, s***, and d***.
• A few kisses, some fairly heated.
• Some implied sexual content.
• Frequent uses of magic.
• Frequent violence, with some pretty graphic descriptions.

Overall, I give it 4.5 stars! If you have better memory than I do, you might give it five stars, but since we’ve already established how bad my short-term memory is, all the names kind of confused me. Other than that, I loved The Cruel Prince and would definitely recommend it!

Are there any other books you want me to review? Leave a comment below! 

A Comprehensive List of All The Book Characters I Would Gladly Steal For My Own (AKA Why I Have Unrealistically High Expectations For The Human Male.)

Hello, everyone!!

I’m really sorry for not having posted in a long time. My schedule has been insane, and I just haven’t had any spare time.

But I resigned from my job, so now I’ll have more available blogging time! Hooray!

So Wednesday was Valentine’s Day, my least favorite holiday. It’s just so superficial and shallow, and blown up by the media to immense proportions. Besides, it’s fairly useless in my eyes. If you’re single, all it does is depress you, if you’re in a relationship, you shouldn’t need a specific day to tell them you love them! And as for getting asked out on Valentine’s, then your ‘special day’ isn’t special at all! I’ve never liked it, and as I get older, it seems more and more useless.

That being said, another reason Valentine’s is rather lackluster for me is my love of fictional boys. I mean, compared to book characters, every boy I’ve met seems slightly dull. (No offense to my very dear guy friends, you boys are the exception!) So today, I’ve compiled a list of all the boys I’d gladly snatch from their fictional world and keep hidden in a closet somewhere, so you can pull your mind off the over-glorified holiday of chocolate, red, and pink, and place it where it will undoubtedly be more happy.

*all art is fanart, official character art, or if the series has a movie, an actor closeup, and was found on the internet. all credit goes to artist*

Day

Series or book: Legend series by Marie Lu

Legend is a new favorite series of mine, and quite a lot of the reason is because of Day. I normally like sassy, sometimes flirty characters, even if I can’t stand boys being flirty outside of a book, and Day fits that description one hundred percent. He’s a wanted convict at the age of fifteen, and just plain amazing. And as the series goes on… *sobs*

Jest

 

Series or book: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Jest is my favorite character in Heartless. He’s Court Jester for the King of Hearts, and a Rook from the land of Chess. His character is so amazing, and he’s not bad looking, either. Plus, he can turn into a raven, which is pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Peeta Mellark

Series or book: The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

I just finished the first HG book, and I’m already in love with Peeta. And once I knew he was played by Josh Hutcherson, well, that sealed the deal for me. Who can resist the boy with the bread, right?

All The Lunar Chronicles Boys

Series or book: The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

Yes, I may be a bit of a sucker for Marissa Meyer characters. But what can I say? Kai, Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin are so well developed and frankly gorgeous guys that you can’t help but fall for them.

Keefe Sencen

 Series or book: Keeper Of The Lost Cities series

This is a given, right? Can’t have a list of book baes without Keefe! At first he comes across as kind of perfect, but as the series goes on he gets so conflicted and emotionally raw and is just amazing. 😍 He’s snarky as all get out, too, and a huge ladies’ man.

Newt

Series or book: The Maze Runner series

I’ve only read the first book of this series also, but I absolutely love Newt. And, he’s played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster! I haven’t finished it yet, so if you spoil it… It will not be good for your health. 

Leo Valdez

Series or book: The Heroes of Olympus series and Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan

And of course, we can’t forget Leo!! As a smol ten-year-old, Leo was one of my first bookish crushes. And once again, he fits the sassy-and-flirty-yet-emotionally-damaged category which I’m so inexplicably drawn to.

Jonas

Series or book: The Giver by Lowis Lowry

And lastly but definitely not leastly is Jonas! I love The Giver, and Jonas is so sweet! He’s a lot older in the movie, which bugs me a little, but overall, he’s a great character.

And there you have it!

Are there any book boys you would add to my list? Any you would remove? Let me know in the comments!

Mini-Photoshoot: Books and BIBPC

It’s a widely known fact that I’m am addicted to books.

I eat books, breathe books, and frequently lose sleep to books.

And as the current BIBPC category is Books, I did a mini-photoshoot with some of my books! See if you can guess what each book is. 😉 I’ll leave secret notes beneath each picture of a new book, if you can’t guess. I’m on Team Kiwi.

Queen Anne’s Lace looks so pretty with books. *dreamy sigh*

No peeking! This book is Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. 😉

This book is Heartless, by Marissa Myer. It made me cry. You have been warned. XD

This is my BIBPC entry. Clara and Ilsa should be able to guess this book. 😉 (Megan just pointed out Clara’s link was wrong… Sorry!)

It’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, for non-Potterheads.

This book should be easy to guess. 😉 If it’s not, what rock have you been living under for the last two decades?!

I hope you like these pictures! What would you like to see that is dance related? I already did a dance bag tour and pointe shoe tutorial, so if there’s anything else you’d like to see, make sure to let me know!!

I almost hit the publish button, then realized I’d typed Harry Potter as Harry Pooter. That would have been unfortunate. XD

#TheReadingQuest TBR

Hi everyone! I would’ve posted Wednesday and Friday, but I was sick. 😥 So, I’m officially back, and I have a fun post today!

I’m participating in #TheReadingQuest, hosted by Aentee at Read at Midnight. It’s a reading challenge, in a video-game style. Each book gives you a certain amount of Health Points and Experience points, based on number of pages and other criteria, and you level up the character of your choosing based on the number of Experience Points. You can check out the whole post at the link up there. I’m being a Rogue because Rogue One and also ’cause he looks cool.

The ‘playing board’ is based on a bingo board, and each character follows a different path. I’m on the Fifth Across path.

All of the art for this challenge was done by CW of Read, Think, Ponder. I went and checked out her blog, and her art is amazing!

And now for the fun part… The books I’m reading for it!! (The book thumbnails link to Goodreads, for your convenience.)

A Banned Book

This is one of those books that people say, “Oh, have you read this book yet?” And I’m like, “no.” 

A Book Cover With A Partially Obscured Face

Ahhh! I’m so excited to read this! It’s been on my TBR since I started reading KOTLC, plus I ordered all three (!!!!) so it’ll be mine, all mine! *laughs evilly*

A Book With <500 Ratings On Goodreads

Hey, May…. *wink wink* I’ll let you know when I get it from the library! (This book has 1,284,459 ratings. 😮 )

A Book Published By A Small Press

Still deciding on this one… My grandmother’s friend owns a very small local press, so I’ll probably get my hands on one of the books she’s published.

A Book With A One Word Title

Yay! I’m so excited to read this series! Edie fangirls about this a lot, so I’m excited!

And, if I have time, I’ll do another path, either the Mage or the Knight.

I’m so super-duper excited about this!! It seems like a great way to dig into the TBR that is threatening to eat me alive. Seriously, my TBR on Goodreads is the same length as my Read list. No joke. 😥

I have big plans for Monday, so I’ll see you then!!

My little sister was just ‘oinking’ Twinkle Twinkle Little Star….

Winner Of Blogiversary Giveaway, What Books I’m Reading, And a GINORMOUS Apology

BAD BLOGGER, VERY BAD BLOGGER!!!

I believe I’ve started a post that way before… Oh well.

I’m SO SO SORRY I didn’t post Monday!!! I was getting ready to sit and write my post, and a thunder storm pops up and our power goes out. *facepalm* And it didn’t come back on until, like, ten o’clock at night. (When I was still awake reading Lodestar…. OMGoodness, that book, you guys… *cries*)

Anyway, I’m super sorry about that! And going on an unplanned hiatus also needs a big apology…. Work and dance and life got hectic, especially with new baby sister… But I kept you in suspense about the winner longer, so that’s a plus! #sorrynotsorry

(Hashtags are so grammatically incorrect, aren’t they? Sorry, I’m rambling… I’ve missed you guys!)

Alright, enough chatter. You want to know who won the giveaway, right?

The winner issss….

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IZZY at Sew Sweet Dollies!!!!

Congrats, Izzy!! Izzy said if she won, she would like Nightfall by Shannon Messenger. (Can’t blame you there, Izzy… I’m waiting in agony for November!) You can contact me at thebuddingwriter@yahoo.com to claim your win! NOTICE: If the prize is not claimed within two weeks, I will have to pick a new winner. I really don’t want to do that, so if you could contact me as soon as you can, that’d be great! 🙂

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Yay! Thanks to everyone who entered!! On a different note, I read a lot of new books in April, and I thought you’d like to see which ones they were! Also, if you have any books you think I’d like, I’m always open to suggestions! My TBR list is fairly small right now, so I’d like some recommendations!

 I *think* that’s all the books I read. There may have been more. But KEEPER, PEOPLES!! OH MAH GOODNESS!!!!! I read all of the series in about a week and a half, I believe. I have found a new fandom…. GAH!!! The love square absolutely kills me… How do I choose between Keefe, Fitz and Dex?!?!? Keefe reminds me a lot of one of my friends, with the jokester personality, but Dex is also adorable, and Fitz is just…. GAH! And the plot is amazing…. I’m writhing in agony over here just thinking about Nightfall! Has anyone else noticed Keefe is on the covers more than any other character except Sophie? He’s on Exile, Neverseen, and he’s going to be on Nightfall. I wonder if that’s significant! Overthinking over here, don’t mind me.

(That turned into an unplanned Keeper rant… Oh well. I needed it out of my system.)

ANYWAY, I’m back! I’ll try to keep on schedule now. 😉

Did you miss me? Are you as big a Keeper fan as I now am?

Blogiversary Giveaway!

Hey everyone! You can stop waiting in suspense, because I’m here to announce my giveaway! Which you still don’t know… Oops, the featured image kind of gives it away… Dang it! Need to work on that…

So, yeah. I’m giving away a free book of the winners choice! Of course, there is some criteria…

• The book must be clean… No profanity, unless you’ve read the book and any cursing doesn’t bother you.
• It cannot be above a Young Adult rating, unless it is a classic. Anything above tends to be borderline inappropriate. UPDATE: If the book is in a Christian genre, such as Christian Romance, or you have read and know the book, it can be above Young Adult.
• It can be any price, but nothing extreme, like fifty dollars or something.
• You don’t have to be a follower to enter.
• If eighteen or younger, you must have a parents permission.

To get entries, you can…

1. Leave a comment saying you’d like to enter, and saying what book you would pick if you won. Also state that you have a parents permission.
2. Reblog this post on your personal blog, and link back to this post.
3. Post to social media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. (Which I have zero idea of how to do because I don’t have social media, so good luck.)
4. Tell a friend about this giveaway.

Each of these will give you one extra entry. (Each social media platform will give you one, also, so if you post to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, you’ll get three entries.) And make sure you fill in the comment form correctly, because that’s the email I will use to contact you. If you already have a WordPress account, just send me an email through the contact form labeled ‘Giveaway’, so I have your email. 🙂

Sorry, this giveaway is only to open to residents of the USA. 

UPDATE: Giveaway ends April 30th. Winner will be announced on May 1st.

Good luck, everyone!!

First Review!

Hello everyone! today I’ll be doing my first book review!!! Yay for me! ; ).

Seriously, though, I have not done a very good job with reviewing stuff. And I really have no idea how to write a book review, so here goes nothing.

So, I found this book through my best and greatest friend IRL, Grace! I had been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, and Grace said, “Hey, have you seen the Kane Chronicles series by Rick?” I got The Red Pyramid at the library, read it, and completely forgot about the series. Then my Nanny got the all three books for me for Christmas, and I remembered, “hey, I was reading this series and completely forgot about it!” Welllll, I probably didn’t say that. Anyway, here’s a picture of the cover:

And here’s a quick summary:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe–a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

And here is the first few paragraphs of the book:

We only have a few hours, so listen carefully. If you’re hearing this story, you’re already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance.

Go to the school. Find the locker. I won’t tell you which school or which locker, because if you’re the right person, you’ll find it. The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you’ll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we’re about to tell you isn’t complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.

The most important thing: when you open the package and find what’s inside, don’t keep it longer than a week. Sure, it’ll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you. Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.

Okay, Sadie is telling me to stop stalling and get on with the story. Fine. I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British Museum.

Oooo! Suspense! I really like this book a lot. Carter and Sadie Kane are great characters, with completely different personalities. All the other characters are awesome too. One of the downsides, though, is that there are so many different gods, magic terms, and deities, it can be confusing to keep track of all the names. At first it makes your head spin, but once you finish the book, it gets easier to remember. Overall, it’s a really great book, with lots of mythology and magic. I’d give it…

Four out of five stars! If it wasn’t so confusing to a new reader, it would have earned itself another star. *off to book* See? I told you to be less confusing, and did you listen? Nooo…

So, I hope you guys like my first review! Feel free to tell me it needs work. But if it doesn’t, yay! That’s better than I thought. Thanks for stopping by! See ya later!!!  ~Bella

P.S: Anyone have any ideas for a signature thing for me to say in place of goodbye, or see you later? Any ideas welcomed!!