Author: Sara

The Elite Book Review

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The Elite by Kiera Cass   

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You Can Find the Books At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, check she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

My Review:

Please be aware that while this review will NOT have any spoilers for The Elite, there definitely will be spoilers from the first novel, The Selection. Please read the review for that one at this link. 

Continuing with the series, I was again impressed with how this story has unfolded. Honestly, I just didn’t know what to expect of this series. I definitely didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. But I have been enjoying it and I am eagerly looking forward to the release of the third book this spring.

What really impressed me with The Elite is that it is completely open to becoming a love triangle, and honestly, I am getting tired of those so much. They are incredibly overplayed. But it doesn’t feel like that to me. I feel like each boy (Maxon and Aspen) represents a different choice. Its not the choice of who to be with but rather the choice of a lifestyle. What world does America want to be a part of: the one that she knows, or the daunting one as a princess, then queen? That seems more of the question. She loves and cares for them both, and I think that its possible for a person to love more than one person. So its not about choosing between them but choosing the life she wants for herself. That is so incredibly important, hugely important, more so than the two boys.

I also just love the world that Kiera Cass builds. She takes this sort of futuristic, dystopian world and makes it so incredibly familiar to us but also makes it very new as well. The problem that can occur with dystopian worlds is that they tend to be much the same. They start to sort of blend together. Kiera takes those sort of expectations of a dystopian world but imagines them so much bigger and I just love that. She takes little bits and pieces from others and creates an amazing world, and I feel like it built even more in this novel. We really begin to learn that there is so much more going on besides just the Selection taking place inside the palace.

I just learned that Kiera is going to be at Wonder Con in April, which is my favorite convention only second to Gallifrey One. So now I’m even more excited about WC, and I’m totally going to attack her and beg her to tell me what happens in The One. The way she left off in this book left me going “SERIOUSLY?” and I can’t wait to see what direction America takes in her life and what the future of the country she lives in is.

My Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

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Book of the Week-These Broken Stars

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Okay, treat I know, buy I know, generic I know. I’m doing right awful with blogging lately. I blame it on the fact that I totally got a “real” job and then I’ve been sick (kidney stones, enough said), and I’ve just been overwhelmed.

But this is totally my baby and I miss being on top of it so I’m going to be doing my best to get back into it, and make sure that I’m posting for you all!

Here is the most recent book that I read: These Broken Stars.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner 

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GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance

Part of a Series?:

Yes, the first novel of the Starbound Series

You May Like if You Liked:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Age Recommendation:

14+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. 

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

My Review: 

I am so glad that I finally picked up this novel. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been seeing this all over the place, and I had NO idea what it was. It was on NetGalley and then everyone was jumping on it when it was finally released, and I knew I had to get my hands on it.

When I finally DID get my hands on it, I must admit…it took me awhile to get into it. The first 100 pages or so, it was very hard to get past. If it weren’t for the fact that I had heard so many good things about it, I may have given up. Its not that the story was bad or anything but I felt like…I didn’t really know where things were going. Tarver and Lilac are crash landed on this planet and obviously this is a problem, and they need to survive and figure out a way off, but…it seemed like a lot of book for that. So it was slow going. I wasn’t fond of either character in the beginning, to be perfectly honest.

That sort of attitude sort of makes me laugh now because I ended up SERIOUSLY enjoying this novel. I think once the two main characters started to warm up to each other in the story, that was the moment that I started to warm up to them and the story. Once Tarver and Lilac really began to question the strangeness of the planet and started really focusing on their survival is when the story starts to pick up. The authors are able to build up this incredible mystery and tension, both in the survival on the planet and the build up between Tarver and Lilac. I honestly had no idea what was going on, and I couldn’t even begin to guess what would happen next. The last 75% of the novel went by so fast, and I read it faster than that first quarter of the book. It sped up, the story was interesting and the character development was fantastic.

I think the characters and the way they developed throughout the novel was one of my favorite parts. Lilac could have been the typical spoiled, privileged rich girl that learns the errors of her ways through the trials and tribulations of survival. And I’m not saying that this is untrue, but there’s so much more depth to Lilac’s character than I would have imagined. She has more depth than that, and I really love Lilac because of that. She could easily have been dismissed on my radar as a typical archetype but they take a familiar character type and make it that much better.

I am seriously looking forward to the next book. Amie and Meagan take a story that could be wrapped up in one novel, but build so much mystery and tension and unanswered questions that its subtle enough to make you go, “Wait a minute…what about…” And I love that. Its not a huge cliffhanger but its just subtle enough, its just there enough that you’re thinking, there’s already so much that is going on and I think we’re only on the tip of the iceberg.

Lastly, the reference of Icarus…oh my god, I love that so much, I couldn’t handle that. If you don’t know the reference of the story of Icarus and the reason I love it as the name of the fallen spaceship, you should definitely look it up! I was SO into that reference.

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Yes! I honestly think this is one of the strongest YA sci-fi novels written lately and I think that’s incredible, considering its two authors in one. I am really looking forward to what happens in the coming books and I am NOT looking forward to waiting for them!

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s Book of the Week. Head to a bookstore soon to pick up this fantastic novel!

Win an Autographed Copy of Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s!

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Yesterday, information pills I recapped meeting the awesome author behind Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and its sequel, find Hollow City, thumb the awesome Ransom Riggs.

You can read all about that here.

And I thought, while I was there, that it had been quite awhile since I had done a giveaway on this here blog.

So I bought an extra copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and decided to have a giveaway.

Here is the Prize: 

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Now Here Are The Rules: 

(yes, we must have rules!)

This giveaway will run from January 16th to January 30th

The winner will be contacted within 12 hours of the contest end. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours of my email to them, a new winner will be chosen.

The contest is MOSTLY international. If you have a question about your country, please feel free to contact me! Leave a comment below.

Tweet every single day for more entries!

Share with your friends!

Make sure you actually do what the rafflecopter prompts you to do.If the prompt says to “follow so-and-so on Twitter” and that entry gains you a win and you didn’t follow so-and-so, I will choose another winner. I don’t know how many times I have done that, but it is incredibly frustrating. Please play fair!

A Note: This contest is in no way, shape or form, endorsed by Ransom Riggs, Quirk Books or any affiliate.

Now that this is out of the way, now how to enter!

Its simple!

Click the link below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

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Ransom Riggs Kicks Off Hollow City Book Tour at the Grove!

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Yesterday was the release day for Ransom Riggs’ long awaited second novel in the Miss Peregrine’s series, remedy Hollow City. He’s kicking off a tour to celebrate and meet all of you, price so click this link to find out if he’s coming near you!

The kick off of his tour happened at one of my FAVORITE places to see authors at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove! I’ve been attempting to meet Ransom Riggs for months now, treat and somehow was missing him at every turn so I was VERY much looking forward to meeting him.

I hit the event with my fangirl bestie/parabatai Sylvia from Fangirl Feeels and my sister Jessica, and our friends Casey and Gabby met up with us there as well!

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We got there SUPER early so we were able to score seats in the front row. I’m kind of a snob and like sitting in the front row. It also doesn’t help my ever growing snobbery that Ransom Riggs is a VERY handsome man, and I wanted a great view of him while he talked about his books ;)

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Ransom Riggs is a seriously awesome guy, SO laidback. He hopped up onto the table within the first five minutes of talking and just spent his presentation answering questions from the audience. He let us know that Miss Peregrine’s the movie is in development and that he really loves the script that has been written. We learned that there will be three books for the series, and we learned the background story behind them.

I really love that Miss Peregrine’s was almost an accident, and just a product of a hobby that he had. He was just collecting weird, old school photographs when he thought it might make an interesting book, and Miss Peregrine’s was born.

He also has such a fun sense of humor. If you’ve ever watched the YouTube channel he has started with his wife, fellow author Tahereh Mafi, you know they have a fantastic sense of humor. That definitely comes out while he’s answering questions and all that.

Then we all lined up to meet Ransom. Yay! He remembered me from when I assaulted him and Tahereh at the Mortal Instruments premiere

***Side Note: After the City of Bones premiere, and after we watched the movie, Sylvia and I were hanging out in the lobby of the theater, and we were surrounded by all these, like, movie stars and stuff, and then Sylvia spotted them, with Leigh Bardugo and Margaret Stohl, and we practically assaulted them in our excitement to meet them. It was both amazing and embarrassing***

He signed my books, signed my writing advice poster (which is totally running out of room…), and he also signed an extra copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so watch out for a giveaway coming up VERY soon!

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Me and the author, himself.

After I met Ransom, I introduced myself to some people (see, haha, I’m getting so much better at networking. I told you I would!). I saw Tahereh Mafi standing around, talking to some friends, and I had brought my Shatter Me and Unravel Me with me, and I wanted to ask her to sign them, but I got this unusual bout of nervousness.

Eventually, I got up the courage, and she was incredibly sweet and also remembered me from my assault at the City of Bones premiere (again, embarrassing. I’m nothing if not completely professional haha).

She signed the books I brought and my writing advice poster and was seriously sweet. I can’t wait for her event at the end of February at the Grove!

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It was an awesomely good time, and I went home a very happy fangirl and blogger!

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Ransom Riggs’ writing advice. His words: “My gut told me to write that, so it must be true!” Pretty awesome.

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Tahereh’s advice. If you can’t read it, it says “The only difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is TIME. Never give up!”

And check out my awesome signed books :)

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Thanks again to Lita and Barnes and Noble, The Grove, for an awesome event, as always! I can’t wait til Tahereh Mafi in February and Lauren Oliver in March! So many amazing events coming up!

And to all my awesome followers, keep an eye out in the next day or two. I scored an extra copy of Miss Peregrine’s for you guys, and I’m getting all geared up for a giveaway!

Yay!

Happy Reading everyone :)

WWW Wednesday

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme, buy more about hosted by Should Be Reading.

The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading? (Click on the book covers for reviews!)

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

What are you currently reading? 

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I just picked this up yesterday and I’m excited to read it! I met Ransom finally, pharmacy officially, salve for the first time yesterday and so yay! Exciting news!

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I’ve honestly been reading this book for nearly a week now. It just hasn’t quite…I don’t know. I’m struggling with it. I’m determined to finish it though.

What did you just recently finish reading? 

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I’m really behind in my book reviews right now (I’m behind in the blog, in general) but I was definitely a fan of this book, and I can’t wait to share my review with you.

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I re-read City of Bones. Again. I have lost count on how many times I’ve read this. Seriously, its getting unhealthy haha.

What do you think you’ll be reading next? 

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The cover and title caught my eye. I’ve heard some good stuff about Colleen so I’m down to read this.

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I am a HUGE fan of Between the Lines by Tammara Webber and every time I google it, this comes up so I figured, hmm, I gotta give this book a try then. So I bought it and its sitting in my “to-read” pile.

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This is one of those books that keeps popping up on my radar, so I’m finally sitting down to read it. Once I get to it. But I bought it so its sitting there for me also.

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What are you reading this week? Share in the comments!

Fictional Crush of the Week-Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices

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As a reminder, capsule since someone complained last week haha, ailment ALL Fictional Crushes of the Week will have spoilers. If you would like me to share this warning every week, diagnosis I can.

Character Name:

Will Herondale

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Book or Series They Appear In:

The Infernal Devices

Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess 

Author/Creator:

Cassandra Clare

Played By: 

No One…Yet

Who They Are:

William ‘Will’ Herondale is one of the main characters of Cassandra Clare’s Victorian steampunk series, The Infernal Devices. In the first novel, he is cruel, cutting but as time goes on, we learn that he is the victim of a demon’s curse, that everyone whom loves him will die. He is cruel in order to keep others away from him,  but he also is very caring to his best friend and parabatai, Jem Carstairs, and has a wicked sense of humor. When we learn that the curse is not real, and he is able to finally stop pushing people away, we learn of the incredible loyalty and kindness he possesses. He’s a natural Shadowhunter, a fierce and talented fighter. He is willing to do anything to protect those he loves, especially Tessa and Jem.

Why I Am Crushing On Them: 

I’ve gotta admit, when I read Clockwork Angel, I was like…Jace Wayland is a jerk but Will Herondale blows him out of the water. Wth. I was on Jem for sure. But then I read Clockwork Prince and realized why Will was the way he was…and that was it for me. I switched SO fast.

The fact is…Will Herondale is an amazing person. He’s an amazing character. He’s amazing in that…I can’t imagine that there is an actual person like this. The loyalty and love that he shows to his friends and to the people who become his family is absolutely beautiful. He is such a large part of why Clockwork Princess is so freakin beautiful. He has that bad boy, sarcasm and wicked sense of humor. Its obviously that he is an ancestor of Jace Wayland easily.

But he also has things that Jace doesn’t have (though Jace will always be my first love). Its HARD for him not to show the love he has for other people, and he only hides it for their safety, to keep them from dying. When they all realize the curse was never real, and he can show it, its awesome. He loves every one in the Institute: Charlotte and Henry, who have helped to raise him, Sophie, Tessa, Jem, even Jessamine a bit. The amount of love and affection he shows for everyone is incredible and to just be his friend would be an honor.

But he also makes me laugh. He always has the most ridiculous things to say, and he’s afraid of ducks, and he’s capable of making everyone, including you the reader, roll their eyes on almost every page, because of the silly things he says.

Plus he has the amazing combination of dark hair and blue eyes, and he’s a Shadowhunter, for heavens sake. He fights demons, he protects the world (well, London anyhow), and he’s amazing at it. He’s a fantastic fighter, he’s extremely brave, and he’s essential to the team at the London Institute. And who wouldn’t want a Shadowhunter for a boyfriend? ;)

Notable Quotes: 

“They ate it too,” Will reminisced. “Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck.”

“Thomas! We must away at once to the nearest brothel. I seek scandal and low companionship.”

“We live and breathe words. It was books that kept me from taking my own life after I thought I could never love anyone, never be loved again. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them.”

“You are the first dream, the only dream I ever was unable to stop myself from dreaming. You are the first dream of my soul, and from that dream I hope will come all other dreams, a lifetime’s worth.”

“I love you, and I will only ever love you until I die —”

“He wanted to make her laugh. He wanted to sit and listen to her talk about books until his ears fell off. But all these were things he could not want, because they were things he could not have, and wanting what you could not have led to misery and madness.”

I could go on forever and ever and ever but I had to stop myself haha.

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Tune in next week for another Fictional Crush :)