Top 5 Wednesday

Sequels
Lainey (a lovely youtuber)

So you might be saying "What does that mean", and so I will tell you. Lainey created this "Tag"ish thing, where every Wednesday you would pick your top 5 of a certain thing she comes up with. You can go check from youtube who  are the other lovely people participating in this.
So this weeks T5W is top sequels. Now this is a hard one for me since... well seqels aren't always that good. But this got me thinking of some good ones.
In no particular order!:

1. Clockwork Prince- Cassandra Clare
>Even though I didn't exactly LoVe The Mortal Instruments but I did read The Infernal Devices...And I LoVeD iT! I absolutely loved this series and thought the action to be quite extravagant.
2. Sapphire Blue- Kerstin Gier
>I loved the first one, Ruby Red, and continued straight to Sapphire Blue.
3. A Million Suns- Beth Revis
>I absolutely loved this book! I didn't have any suspects and I was suprised by so many things. It did not follow any normal story line or characters which was great.
4. Fire- Kristin Cashore
>This one is not exactly a sequel but a companion novel. Many people have disliked this as a second book since it does not follow the greatness of the first one. The story is great but the writing is very different and it doesn't follow the same characters (let alone the same world).
5. The Elite- Kiera Cass
>I didn't exactly like the first one that much but I did want to continue on with the series and it kept on getting better by the page.

Love,

Sally

Hope you are having a great day!

Authors I Haven't Read Anything By

Top 10

Some of these might come as shocks to you guys... And for some I am in shame and am planning to read something by them, but for most I have reasons why I have not come to read them.
Oh, and no particular order in this list!
1. Alexandra Bracken- The Darkest Minds
>I have this and Never Fade, but have not read them yet...

2. Markus Zusak- The Book Thief
>I'll come to it... My brother has it so no excuse either

3. Dan Brown- the Da Vinci Code
>I really want to read this! But I don't have it and my TBR (To Be Read) is so big I won't justify myself for buying it.

4. Christopher Paolini- Eragon
>I have them... But I just, I don't know.... I will eventually...

5. Stephen King- Carrie / Under the Dome
>I am not into horror books or movies so I haven't read any...I was thinking of reading something by Stephen King, so I'll get to it. Some day.

6. Lauren Oliver- Delirium
>This I am not even planning on reading. It's not that I haven't heard good things about it, which I have, I just have heard so many bad things about the lst book. I am sure the first ones were good but I don't want to get into a series and get disapointed. There are too many good books to read anyway.

7. George R. R. Martin- A Game of Thrones
>This one I don't think I'll read either. It is a super long series and it kinda daunts me. Also in every single book my favourite character dies! Not even kidding! Cause I usually have my favourite character as side character... Anyway so I know almost everyone dies in this series so I'd get annoyed.

8. Rainbow Rowell- Eleanor and Park / Fangirl
>I have Fangirl so I shouldn't have any reason to not read it. I haven't since I guess all the hype is making me not want to read it. I have heard so many things constantly about it and so I haven't been in the mood for reading it. But soon I will since the hype is dying and all...

9. Richelle Mead- Vampire Academy
>I will read it before the movie comes. But why I haven't read it so far? That would be because. I don't exactly know... Huh... I guess I'm not into vampires, leading me to the next one:

10. Stephenie Meyer- Twilight
>Now I know you are all suprised! BUT, here me ouT! I have not read them and will not since the movies ruined the books for me. I have seen the first two or three and really hated them! I hated (sorry for the lovers) Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, as an actors and actress. I kept laughing at them and sure the story line was nice but when I started reading Twilight I kept thinking them as the asctors playing them and I didn't enjoy not getting to imagine it for my own.

Love,

Sally

Chocolate Book Tag

[Book Tag]

Dark Chocolate -- A book that covers a dark topic
This was a hard one since I like more of a different genre... I will go with Survive by Alex Morel covering suicidal thoughts

White Chocolate -- Your favourite light-hearted/humourous read
This is not too much of a known book so hope you check it out: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. When reading this book I felt so giddy

Milk Chocolate -- A book that has a lot of hype that you're dying to read
I am so very excited in continuing the Ruby Red trilogy by Kerstin Gier

Chocolate with a caramel center -- Name a book that made you feel all gooey in the middle while you were reading it
This is easily The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Jennifer E. Smith) which I absolutely LoVe

Wafer-free Kit-Kat -- Name a book that surprised you lately
Again not too known: Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff. I was so suprised by how things turned out in this book!

Snickers -- A book that you are going nuts about
I go nuts when I think about how I still have not read The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Yes I have it. Yes I'm planning to read it. Yes I'll do a review on it...

Hot Chocolate with cream and marshmallows -- What book would you turn to for a comfort read?
The Statistical... So this book again :)
If i can't use this book again then lets go with... Babe by Dick King-Smith... Yes it's the one with the pig :) I have always read this book and I have read it around 30 times since it is quite short

Box of chocolates -- What series have you read that you feel has a wide variety and a little something for everyone
Well this was obvious for me: Harry Potter ! It has mystery, Romance, Fiction, Magic, Darkness, Friendship... And thigs for Adults and Children/Teens

Thanks for Reading,

Sally

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight : review

Jennifer E. Smith

To be honest I grabbed this book because of it's title...Yeah it just sealed the deal for me. So I have been wanting to read some contemporary books since I have been reading so much action/fantasy.

GoodReads:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. What will happen?

So first of all: I loved it! It had a well created plot and the characters were well developed. I did not know what to expect from it which probably came to me loving it since I had no idea what it is even about. When I started the book I did, at times, think "Whaat" since the probability of it happening was slightly ridicculous but lovable. It is in the title and I just about laughed every time I said the name...
The book was really short and it bothered me since I wanted more but I will jump into the other books by her then. I have heard that This IsWhat Happy Looks Like by her is not as good but I will still  read it (and it is longer so hope I like it). Also The Geography of You and Me is also coming (and it has a awesome name too) so I'm excited.
Do read this book if you like a cute little romancy read.

Love,

Sally

The Fault in Our Stars : review

John Green

Someone asked me if I had read The Fault in Our Stars and I had yet to. I had heard So much great things about it and I wanted to read it, but I kept pushing it away in thoughts of reading it sometime. I guess I wasn't prepared to cry, as I had heard that I would. Then the movie release date came, and I had to read it before it. So I started to read it. And I read it in one sitting during a lovely evening. I was compelled to read the whole thing. And I did. And I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I can't even express my gratitude to John Green for writing it! I don't know how to express my love toward the book either. No it didn't have "fiction" in the world but it was compensated by the contemporary setting and all the romance and heart-break.
I cried and laughed, shared the joy and grief, I was nervous yet anxious, and most importantly I Loved It!

So onto what it is about if you do not know:  (GoodReads)
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Yeah. That pretty much explains it.
If you still haven't read it and aren't planning to will this help?:

literary awards

Buxtehuder Bulle (2012), Odyssey Award (2013), ALA Teens' Top Ten Nominee (2012), Indies Choice Book Award for Young Adult (2013), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2013)

Dioraphte Jongerenliteratuurprijs (2013), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2012), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), Goodreads Choice for Best Young Adult Fiction (2012)

AnYwAy:
My point in this rambling (Yes, I actually have a point) is that everyone should read it and that all the crying will be worth it. Since after you have read it you will feel happy and lively I suppose...

.5

Love,

Sally

Alphas : review

Lisi Harrison

Firstly I want to say sorry that this post is a day late, but I had a goal of finishing four books during two days. Quite a challenge but I pulles it of :) I wanted to wait writing this until I finished them all, and now I have.

So I read the Alphas quadrilogy: Alphas, Movers & Fakers, Belle of the Brawl and Top of the Food Chain. I made a "deal" with a friend that I read one of her old favourite series and she read one of mine (Divergent).

Goodreads:
At OCD the losers are tormented.

At Alpha Academy, they're sent home.

Skye Hamilton has scored an invitation to the ultra-exclusive Alphas-only boarding school where beta is spelled LBR . What happens when the country's best, brightest, and hawtest begin clawing and scratching their way to the top?

My first impression was being interested but not really too excited. It seemed like a cheesy book about a school for girls. And when I started it was exactly that, but I kept reading since there was something in it. The first book turned out to be really good, second and third not so much, and the last one was just simply fantastic. It had twists and turns in parts where you thought you knew exactly what was coming. It did not have action as I like books to have but it had a whole lot of romance. I was quite giddy at those parts :)

One thing that I noticed I didn't hate so much afterall was the change in the point of character all the time. I HaTe books where every other chapter is someone elses view but I kind of liked how it rotated in these books.
The main characters were: Charlie (whom I loved!), Skye and Allie A.
They were accepted to Alpha Academy all in their own ways and came room-mates and best friends? Not exactly at first.

After reading the last book (and having a break of sitting trying to figure out how on earth anything like that as a twist at the end could be possible!) I gave 3 stars to the quadrilogy. It was well written yet still I had moments during the second and third book where I just wanted to stop. But I couldn't. I wanted to see how some of the romance related problems turned out. Which is why I gave those stars. Overall I enjoyed these two days of reading the Alphas.

Love,

Sally

Divergent : review

Veronica Roth

Today I started reading Allegiant, final book in the divergent trilogy. I am not sure what to think about it before reading it since I have heard some thoughts on it from poeple who've read it... I decided to do this post on Divergent to recap for myself what "I'm getting into" again, so to say...

As a note here I'd like to say, no I'm not stopping blogging I just had a break of Christmas. Many of you did mail me about this, and I'm glad, but I did realize that in the future I will tell you of breaks. So you don't need to wonder... My mail: stuff931@gmail.com

So back to Divergent. The summary, taken from GoodReads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Usually, as you might know, I summarize it in my own words into a shorter version, but I wanted to try taking it from GoodReads and seeing what you guys think...
So, first of all I Loved this book! I was very happy when I went into reading it without knowing anything about it. I had been pushing of anything said related to it to keep the suspence for me. Now for thoughts on the book, other than loving it, and why's too:

This book captured me into it, which I haven't had for a while. I read it in a day and insurgent, second in trilogy, the day after. It was very remarkeble how insurgent started right where Divergent ended! It was perfect for those who were captivatd in divergent and had access to Insurgent immediatly to read, which I did. Most continuations of books start of weeks after where the last books ending, sometimes frustrating me. I would like to know what happens in between! (That is partly why I love novellas).
So Divergent had everything I adore in books: Romance, Action and a sprinkle of Fantasy. It did not have flaws, major ones at least, and it was notable.
One thing I hated, well strongly disliked, was that I was thrown off byt he factions. I could not remember them and the differences of them. My bad memory frustrated me and so I referred to the factions as colours, the ones they wore. I made a list and had it as a bookmark. After reading Insurgent I still could not remember them. I don' t know if it's just me though...
There was suspense in the book, which I loved, some friendship problems and thoughts on life overall. It had me guessing what will happen, especially in Insurgent I had no idea into where it was going. I loved the doubtfulness I had towards what I thought. Not knowing what to think, would be saying it in a simple way.
As a whole Divergent captivated my heart. And for that: five stars.

Sally