Top Ten Tuesday [10]

Top Ten Tuesday is an amazing weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is a Halloween Freebie, allowing us bloggers to come up with our own top ten. So I decided my top ten will be Top Ten Books/Series to Read for Halloween.

For those who know me, Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year and each year I go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. Even though they manage to scare the living daylights out of me, I love it more than I can say. For someone terrified of clowns, the picture below says it all (this year’s Halloween Horror Nights host):

Not only do I love the excitement of a good Halloween event or party, but I also love spooky books around this time of the year. So without further ado, here are my top ten choices to read around Halloween time.

Dracula by Bram Stoker – this is not as scary but it is just a classic that I think everyone should read.

House of Leaves by Mark A. Danielewski – this is by far one of the most original books. I read this a few years ago and fell in love with it. I really hope I’ll soon get a chance to re-read it and see what I missed along the way.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice – I haven’t finished reading these, but I read up to book 5 so far and I loved them all. My favorite so far has been Vampire Lestat (book 2 in the chronicles) and I doubt that any of the other books in the series will surpass Vampire Lestat, but that’s just because I fell in love with the character while reading about his backstory.

It by Stephen King – Moment of honesty, I did not read this book, nor do I ever plan on reading it. However, I did watch the movie as a child and it has left me scarred for life; to this day I am absolutely terrified of clowns. Books are always better than the movies, so I would imagine this is one heck of a scary ride.

N0S4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill – the apple does not fall far from the tree. Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son, and a very accomplished author in his own right. I read both of these books and they definitely gave me all the chills.

                       

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – I read all of Gillian Flynn’s books and found them all to be very Halloween appropriate. However, Sharp Objects was my first Flynn read and it holds a special dark scary place in my heart.

Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black – One of my favorite vampire stories in the YA universe. I loved the darkness of this book and Holly Black’s flawless writing.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu – This is not as much of a scary read as it is a dark read. I recently read this and you can check out my full spoiler free review here, if you’d like to know more about this.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – I am in the middle of this book and I am so sorry I waited so long to read it. It is absolutely brilliant and just the perfect read for Halloween.

The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith – this is by far the least scary book on the list, but I really did enjoy it and it did get my heart racing throughout so I felt like I should include it. 

What's on your list of Halloween reads?

To Nowhere by C.E. Wilson

From Goodreads:

A world no one would believe.

From the moment Lyris is treated to coffee by a beautiful stranger, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. In her enthusiasm to start at a new school with a new boyfriend, Lyris is almost able to look past his oddities.

Almost.

The way he eyes up her striking red hair.

The way he loves that she’s seventeen. “The perfect age.”

And the way he’s gone from all but begging to show her a specific room in a specific house to making her swear never to even think about it again.

When Lyris doesn't take his strange warnings seriously, she finds that nothing could have prepared her for what lay behind that door.

Suddenly, Lyris finds herself in a world no one would believe. A world where she’s only a few inches tall and giants aren’t creatures from fairy tales. Where humans are no longer the dominant race, but pets auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lyris understands the true danger of such a place, but there seems to be one person on her side.

Her kind and surprised captor.

And while Brindt appears to be sweet and trustworthy, he also straddles the line between seeing her as an equal and a cute animal.

Lyris has to get home… before the one person can turn to becomes the one person who can’t let her go.

Rating: 3 stars

Thank you C.E. Wilson for providing me with a copy of To Nowhere in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to first start by saying that I loved the premise of this book. Giants? How cool is that? I was super curious to see where the story was going to take me and I must say I wasn’t disappointed at all. Wilson has a great ability to capture the reader’s attention and weave fascinating concepts into a great tale; she is a wonderful story teller.

From the very beginning I was fascinated by the concept of giants keeping humans as pets. I loved the unique language that the author created for the giants and I really hope that if there is a sequel for this novel (fingers crossed), we will get to explore more of that language as well as the giants’ world that we didn’t get to discover as much of in this novel. I wanted to see more of how other giants treat their humans.

The only reasons I didn’t give this novel a higher rating are: the fact that I had a very hard time connecting with Lyris, our main character; the insta-love between Lyris and Wyatt; and, the grammatical errors that I came across. This novel appears to be self-published and I believe that if an editor would have been involved a lot of these issues would have been worked out through the editing process making this story a 5 star read.

I really wanted to like Lyris, but I found her to be a very spoiled, self-centered teenager. I was still rooting for her, despite her personality, because I felt that she was going through quite traumatic experiences. Wyatt smelled like trouble from the very beginning. I did not appreciate his attitude at all and was quite disappointed in Lyris for giving him the time of day, not to mention her constantly defending him.

I loved getting to know Brindt, our gentle giant. In the end he was the only character I truly connected with and cared for. I really loved the relationship Wilson developed between Lyris and Brindt. The progression of their relationship was slow and so well written. I loved the fact that the author took such great care in building their relationship.

I really do hope that there will be a sequel to this novel as the story ends on a somewhat bitter sweet note. I was very impressed with the originality of the world Wilson created and I would definitely pick up the next book in the series, if she plans on writing it. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:

Passenger

By Alexandra Bracken

Publisher:  Disney Hyperion

Release date: January 5, 2016

From Goodreads:

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

My Thoughts:

I recently read the first book in Alexandra Bracken’s trilogy, The Darkest Minds and I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed her writing style tremendously and when she announced her new book I instantly knew that I would read it. I am a huge fan of time travel (in books, movies, tv shows, you name it). This will not be my first time travel read but I always love discovering what each author brings to the subject. With each author’s take on time travel there are always new rules to learn and I for one am looking forward to see what Alexandra Bracken comes up with. She is a fantastic story teller with an amazing ability to bring her world to life. I wished for an ARC for Passenger on NetGalley, but I didn’t get one yet. Hopefully I will, but if that doesn’t work out for me, at least I don’t have that much longer to wait for Passenger to be released.

This is one of my most anticipated releases for 2016. Is this book on your TBR list? Let me know what you guys think in the comments below. 

Top Ten Tuesday [9]

Top Ten Tuesday is an amazing weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is Ten Wishes I’d Ask The Book Genie To Grant Me. This was such a fun topic to write about; there are so many things I would like the Book Genie to grant me, that the hardest part was narrowing it down to just 10 (never realized what a greedy little monster I am when it comes to bookish things). So here’s what I’d wish for:

Wish #1

Dear Book Genie, can I please have super reading speed – my TBR would be so much shorter if I could read faster. Actually for those watching Criminal Minds, I wish I could read as fast as Spencer Reid reads :D Not only does he read super-fast, but he also absorbs all that information.

Wish #2

Dear Book Genie, can I please have an endless book budget? I want an unlimited magic card that would allow me to buy all the books and bookish things I need in my life.

Wish #3

Dear Book Genie, can you please fix Goodreads so that I could add multiple reading dates to the same book because I love to re-read books and I believe they should count towards my reading goals. If I read a book 20+ times (has happened), it shouldn’t count as one.

Wish #4

Dear Book Genie, can we please help others get books? I want everyone that wishes for books but can’t afford any to just get whatever they are interested in free of charge.

Wish #5

Dear Book Genie, can I please get an autographed first edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker? I read this book multiple times as a teenager and it holds a very special place in my heart.

Wish #6

Dear Book Genie, can we please have fall weather at all times? I love reading while wrapped up in a blanket and drinking coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

Wish #7

Dear Book Genie, can I please have Beast’s library – need I say more?

Wish #8

Dear Book Genie, can I please get a new release every year from Rainbow Rowell for the rest of my life? I absolutely adore her writing and I just need more from her.

Wish #9

Dear Book Genie, can you please make all physical books come with a digital copy? That way, when I travel my kindle would suffice, but all other times I can read a physical copy, which I prefer. J

Wish #10

Dear Book Genie, just in case you are trapped, I wish for your freedom :D

Encouraging Thunder Award

I am so sorry to have neglected my blog and for being MIA for a few weeks now due to a vacation and lots and lots of work; but I am back now and first things first, I am starting with a post for the Encouraging Thunder Award that I was nominated for back in September.

I was tagged for the Encouraging Thunder Award by the awesome Lucy from Things Lucy Reads. Thank you so much for the nomination, Lucy! You are the best!

How it works:

v  Thank your nominator

v  Display the logo

v  Talk about your purpose in blogging

v  Nominate others

My Purpose in Blogging:

My main purpose for blogging is simple: books are my life! I started my blog earlier this year and I am pretty much still a newbie. The reason I decided to start blogging is so I could connect with many of the bloggers I already followed, discover new blogs, make friends, and share my love for books with others. Since I started my blog I’ve been writing book tags, reviews, book hauls, and pretty much everything book related. I have made some great friends in the book community. Everyone is just amazing and always helpful. It’s so great to know that if I have any questions about blogging or need any book recommendations or simply can’t decide on my next read, there are so many people willing to help and answer questions. I love the sense of community and being able to fangirl and swoon with others over favorite characters. One of the best decisions I ever made was deciding to start my blog. :)

My nominations:

I will nominate a few blogs by name; however, everyone that reads this post and would like to participate in the tag, consider yourself nominated! I wish I could go out there and nominate each and every blog, but alas time doesn’t allow me to do so.

Eve @ Functioning Insanity

Sabrina @ Beyond The Book Reviews

Sara @ Bean’s Bookshelf and Coffee Break

Jocelyn and Cassie @ Novels and Necklaces

Happy reading and Happy blogging!

Waiting on Wednesday: Ten Thousand Skies Above You

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:

Ten Thousand Skies Above You

By Claudia Gray

Publisher:  Harper Teen

Release date: November 3, 2015

From Goodreads:

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

My Thoughts:

Moment of complete honesty: I didn't read A Thousand Pieces of You yet. I did purchase it, I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. However, I only heard amazing things about this series so I am looking forward to the release of Ten Thousand Skies Above You so I can marathon both books. I've read other Claudia Gray books and I love her writing style, so I know this will be a great series.

The first thing besides Claudia Gray being the author of this series, was the absolutely stunning covers that both books have. They are one of my all-time favorite covers. I can't wait to start reading these!

There is a giveaway on Goodreads going on until October 12, 2015. If you would like to enter, click on the breathtakingly beautiful cover above. Good luck!

Did you read the first book in the Firebird series? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below if this is on your tbr list.