Blog Update: August

Oh my gosh! August is almost over! And while that means that school is starting soon it also means that... okay I'm not a hundred percent sure how to end that sentence on a positive note. But there's always more reading!

 

So, as we said in previous posts we aren't going to be posting as regularly from September on, but we hope to get at least one or two posts a week.

 

Also, we would like to apologize for the lack of posts this week. We've been busy with summer reading, and with our schedules it has been hard to post.

 

 

Anyways, so in September we will be posting reviews, Top Ten Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesdays, etc. as we usually do. We also will be doing discussion posts to talk about topics either about books or not.

 

Also, I have read 40 books so far in 2015 (8 books ahead of my Goodreads schedule!!! YAY!). And Harman has read 60 books (14 books ahead of schedule!!! Super YAY!). But, I personally have been slacking on my TBR challenge. I have only read 10 TBR books this year and I need to read 10 more to meet my goal... Oh well. My sister doesn't really want to talk about her challenges... but we just wanted to give you guys an update. You can get the details on our challenges page located on the head bar.

 

So, that's September so far. I just wanted to give you guys an end of the summer, beginning of the school year update. Not much has changed but I wanted to fill everyone in. Enjoy your school year!





 

ARC Review: Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Author: R.C. Lewis
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Number of Pages: 336
Release Date: October 6, 2015

Synopsis:

"Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.
Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.
Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?
Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow."

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. I mean, look at it! It's beautiful! And then when I read the synopsis for this book I was really excited to read it. 

When I started the book I was really confused for about the first 50 pages. I didn't really understand the setting and whether or not Earth had anything to do with the story. It didn't. Just a heads up if you pick it up. Also, when Liddi couldn't speak it took me another good 50 pages to realize that her society didn't have a system of writing which is why she couldn't write out what she wanted to say. So, I thought that the author should have made a lot of these type of things more clear especially because it's a dystopian novel and to enjoy the book you really need to understand the setting.

But, overall the plot was amazing. I really enjoyed it especially nearing the end. It really kept the reader on their toes and filled with excitement. Although, the only thing I would change would be the romance aspect. I would have stretched it out further throughout the book because at the point it's at right now it just felt really rushed.

Because the book was a retelling, it's really important that the author keeps the original concept in the book which the author was able to do really well while still creating a whole new world for the reader. And I think the best way was through the characters. They were very unique and completely different from other characters I have previously read about. The relationships between the characters were very touching and left me with a great feeling.

Overall, I liked the book, but I wish it was structured better and was more clear. I would suggest it to anyone just getting into dystopian or anyone who already loves dystopian. I'm expecting a lot from the second book, and I hope it meets my expectations.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bout of Books Update Days 4&5

Days 4 remained pretty disappointing for the both of us, but day 5 got better. Hopefully, we'll be able to at least wrap up this read-a-thon with a bang.

Let's start with Day 4!

Harleen continued reading the same two books as Wednesday, not getting too far into either. She read 26 pages in The Magnificent Bastard Tongue and 19 pages in Clockwork Angel.

    

Books Finished: 2

Pages Read: 45
Pages Read Total: 515

Harman started Oedipus Rex (10 pages).

Books Finished: 1

Pages Read: 10

Pages Read Total: 451

Onto Day 5!

Harleen continued reading The Magnificent Bastard Tongue (69 pgs), Clockwork Angel (81 pages), and Dark Lord of Derkholm (9 pages).

    

Books Finished Total: 2

Pages Read: 159

Pages Read Total: 674

Harman continued reading Othello and finished both act 2 and 3 (84 pages).

    

Books Finished Total: 1

Pages Read: 84

Pages Read Total: 535

How is your read-a-thon going?

Flashback Friday #1

Flashback Friday is a meme run by Fiction Fare and Swoony Boys Podcast.

Author: Jenny B. Jones

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Number of Pages: 314

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

Grief brought Finley to Ireland. Love will lead her home.

Finley Sinclair is not your typical eighteen-year-old. She's witty, tough, and driven. With an upcoming interview at the Manhattan music conservatory, Finley needs to compose her audition piece. But her creativity disappeared with the death of her older brother, Will.

She decides to study abroad in Ireland so she can follow Will's travel journal. It's the place he felt closest to God, and she's hopeful being there will help her make peace over losing him. So she agrees to an exchange program and boards the plane.

Beckett Rush, teen heartthrob and Hollywood bad boy, is flying to Ireland to finish filming his latest vampire movie. On the flight, he meets Finley. She's the one girl who seems immune to his charm. Undeterred, Beckett convinces her to be his assistant in exchange for his help as a tour guide.

Once in Ireland, Finley starts to break down. The loss of her brother and the pressure of school, her audition, and whatever it is that is happening between her and Beckett, leads her to a new and dangerous vice. When is God going to show up for her in this emerald paradise?

Then she experiences something that radically changes her perspective on life. Could it be God convincing her that everything she's been looking for has been with her all along?

 I saw Fiction Fare do a Flashback Friday last week and I wanted to do it too. I read this book forever ago, and I don't really remember too much about it but I remember loving it.  You guys should definitely go check it out if you like YA contemporary. It's a very inspirational book with a lot of thought put into. Definitely one of my favorites.

Bout of Books Update Day 2&3: Significantly Better

Day 2 was a lot better for Harleen than me but I owned day 3. Each of us got a lot of reading done though. 

Let's start with Day 2!

Harleen continued reading the same two books as Monday, thus finishing Darwin and getting 63% through Spinning Starlight. Progress!

    

Books Finished: 1

Pages Read: 207
Pages Read Total: 277

I continued to read Othello and finished Act 1. 

Books Finished: 0

Pages Read: 26

Pages Read Total: 55

Onto Day 3!

Harleen finished Spinning Starlight, started the Magnificent Bastard Tongue (14 pgs) and Clockwork Angel (55 pages).

        

Books Finished Total: 2

Pages Read: 193

Pages Read Total: 470

I was tired of Harleen showing me up and me having to read Othello so I started and finished Fighting for Forever by J.B. Salsbury to finish the series. I did continue to read Othello however.

    

Books Finished Total: 1

Pages Read: 386

Pages Read Total: 441

So close to Harleen!

How is your read-a-thon going?

Waiting on Wednesday #31: The Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights 

upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's "Waiting On" Wednesday is....The Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard!

Release Date: February 9, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 448

Synopsis:

"Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever? 
The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness of her own heart."

This is the sequel to Red Queen which is (so far) my favorite book of 2015. It was the third book in Little Bookworm history to get 6 out of 5 stars. I am so psyched for this book! 

What books are you "waiting on"?

Bout of Books Update Day 1: Not the Best

Yesterday was a busy day yesterday, with me having to work and Harleen having two lessons. Let's just say we didn't get much done.

Harleen started off with continuing Darwin which she read 20 pages out of and then started Spinning Starlight and read 10% of that.

    

Books Finished: 0

Pages Read: 70

I, on the other hand, started off with re-reading parts of a couple of books (which I am not counting because it was my attempt at avoiding Shakespeare). I then finally gave up and started Othello. I suck at reading anything Shakespeare so I had to have a summary of each act after I read it. I only read 29 pages out of it.

Books Finished: 0

Pages Read: 29

Harleen is free all day today and I just have a 2 hour internship so we should both get a lot more read today.

How is your read-a-thon going?

Top Ten Of Your Auto-buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

1. Rick Riordan

I would buy any book Rick Riordan published. Percy Jackson's Greek Gods comes out today!

2. Katie McGarry

Loved her Pushing the Limits series and here Thunder Road series. I need both of them on my shelf!

3. Ernest Cline

I loved Ready Player One and I'm currently reading Armada. Both amazing!

4. Cassandra Clare

She's an amazing author that I can't put down. Currently reading The Infernal Devices series!

5. Simone Elkeles

I loved the Perfect Chemistry series, Leaving Paradise, and Return to Paradise! I just need the How To Ruin series...

6. Jandy Nelson

I fell in love with I'll Give You the Sun and I just picked up The Sky is Everywhere. I can't wait!

7. Victoria Schwab

Love her books! I need more of her writing!

8. Kiera Cass

I love The Selection series! I can't wait for for her next book in 2016.

9. Rachel Hawkins

I've loved all her books! I just need Miss. Mayhem now, but I'll get to it soon!

10. Harper Lee

Who didn't love To Kill a Mockingbird? I just bought Go Set a Watchmen. Hopefully I'll get to it soon.